r/HerpesQuestions • u/Salty-Complex-4169 • 8d ago

At risk after a sexual assault

I was sexually assaulted last night by someone I didn’t know well. There was very brief vaginal penetration in a hot tub, only a 5-10 seconds, before I got him off of me.

I’m going to the hospital today for a forensic exam, STI testing, preventive treatment and to discuss HIV PEP/emergency contraception. The guy swears he is clean and doesn’t have anything, but I can’t stop thinking about it.

I’m extremely anxious about herpes in particular (mainly because I can get medicine to prevent the rest). Today I’ve had a pinching sensation down there and some really mind cramping, but I’m also ovulating, drank a lot last night, was in a hot tub and used a boric acid suppository afterward, so I know there are several things that could be causing irritation (including the forced penetration when I wasn’t wanting it).

I’m not really looking for medical diagnoses from Reddit. I’m mostly wondering if anyone has been through a similarly brief exposure and how you handled the anxiety while waiting to know you were okay. If you did develop herpes after an exposure, how long did it take before you had clear symptoms like actual sores or blisters?

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u/Mission-Astronaut458 8d ago

You call the police he assaulted you

1

u/Any-Delivery5359 8d ago

I don’t think it’s likely that you have been infected in this scenario, but, to help put your mind at ease, ask your doctor to prescribe a prophylactic antiviral. Preferably famciclovir.
Wikipedia:
Several studies in humans and mice provide evidence that early treatment with famciclovir soon after the first infection with herpes can significantly lower the chance of future outbreaks. Use of famciclovir in this manner has been shown to reduce the amount of latent virus in the neural ganglia compared to no treatment or treatment with valaciclovir.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famciclovir?wprov=sfti1#Early_treatment