Worried and please clarify

[sans123]

Hi Terri,

Two weeks ago me and my colleague were sitting at office and we had our face masks on. To take few photos we both removed the masks (it was a Single Use Disposable blue color Face Mask).
Then my colleague kept his mask on the desk. And Within 1 to 2 minutes, after he left it there, mistakenly I took his mask ,from the table and wear it. Within 15 to 30 seconds I realized that, I was wearing my colleagues mask and removed it immediately. I am pretty sure It was very dry. (It was on the table for 1-2 minutes, from the time he removed it and then I wear it.)

I checked his lips many times but I couldn’t see any sores or blisters. As I heard he is not much sexually active and may had sex 1 time in his life as he is young (we are in late 20s).

After 10 minutes I wipe down my lips and face with some hand sanitizer using a paper towel as I was paranoid (I have little OCD too). Next day my lips were irritated and face was very dry (may be due to hand sanitizer ). I used face cream and lip balm to keep the area calm.

Could you please clarify below as I am really worried about this incident

What is the risk that I am getting oral herpes from wearing his face mask in this incident ?

What is the risk of getting any other STD (hiv , chlamydia) due to this incident?

Do you think I should worry about this or get tested for STI?

Can I get infected from this incident, If he already had HSV or any other SIT ?

Thanks

[Terri Warren]

There is no risk from this incident with the face mask of you getting HSV. There is no risk of getting an STI from this experience. You should not be tested and also should not worry.

Terri

[sans123]

I have a dry mouth issue which occur intermittently(rarely occurs ) where my tongue get very rough and burning (mostly if I consume alcohol or if I am under a lot of stress).

After 4 days of face mask incident I drank some wine and cold beer.
After 7 days of the mask incident my face get irritated and mouth got very dried. BUT Lips started to burn and peel a little bit and tongue was rough and feel irritated (Not sure becz I use hand sanitizer to wipe my lips and face using a paper towel). This was continuous for 2 weeks.

I was scared I got some sti by wearing my colleagues face mask. I went to a doctor and he check my mouth and he told me it seems normal and ask me to apply some Vaseline as this may caused by the cold weather.

But Still I have the dry mouth issue, but burning of lips reduced a little after applying Vaseline. Now more than a weeks, I am still having little dryness on lips. And for few days tip of my tongue stings, instead of dryness on whole tongue. I cant see any blisters. After having meals this irritation goes away for a while.

I am not sexually active and never had sti issues or cold sores.

As you said, is this mask incident, zero risk for transmitting any STI?

What if there were some saliva droplets and virus on the face mask? Can hsv or any other sti transmit via a mask?

Do you think these oral symptoms are due to hsv or any other STI?

Do you think this burning on tongue and lips due to a allergic reaction as I used hand sanitizer to wipe my lips and face after the incident?

Do you still think I should not get tested?

Should I swab my tongue for hsv?

I am really worried as for few days now under the my tongue tip is stings and irritated? Can this be due to any STI?

[Terri Warren]

Your symptoms are unrelated to any possibility of infection from the mask incident. However, you could certainly have had an HSV 1 oral infection from the past, unrelated to any sexual activity but rather from some adult kissing you with a cold sore, though you are symptoms are not consistent with that either. You should stop worrying about an STI now

Terri

[sans123]

Thanks for the answers! final follow up!
I had a similar incident one year back. I shared drinks and smoke with a stranger and as I was worried, I wiped my face and mouth with rubbing alcohol. So until 2-3 weeks I had a dry mouth and sore throat/irritated tongue/pain in lips. As I was really distressed I did a full STD panel including IGG test for herpes (All were negative). After 6 months my physician ordered an UOW blot also, which was negative.
As I have some ocd I live very carefully. But this mask incident happened last month.

So for more than 3 weeks I have this dry mouth condition. Currently edge of my tongue tip stings and intermittently different areas(side or middle mostly) of my tongue feel painful. I am really worried and stressed. Even though I had dry mouth last time, my tongue tip was not this much painful. After meals this irritation goes away for a while.

Do you think these symptoms are related to hsv or any other STI infection?

Should I do a viral swab of my tongue for hsv?

Do you think I should do a full panel of std testing ?

Can there be enough virus on the face mask to transmit hsv or any other sti? It was on the table for 1-2 mins.

Can this be due a to allergy as I used hand sanitizer to rub my lips and face?

Thanks again.

[Terri Warren]

Nothing here sounds at all concerning to me. You don’t need any swab testing or std testing if this is your only concerning event. There would not be enough virus on a mask to infect you. I note that you also posted a question on the ASHA forum. I hope you can move on from these worries – they just aren’t rational and pose no threat of getting HSV or any STI.

Terri

[sans123]

Hi Terri

For 5 months, still I am having irritation on tip of my tongue after the face mask incident. first 3 months it was like continuous. Last 2 months it was faded away a little and occurred only intermittently.

No irritation or issues on lips. Only on side and under the tongue tip and some times lingual frenulum of the tongue. Still no sores or blisters. My physician thinks this is due to burning mouth syndrome or due to anxiety. Still I am worrying this may be due to a hsv infection I got from the mask incident. Last few days I had lot of anxiety and took antidepressants ,and this made burning of tip of the tongue worse.

Note : Only incident I had was this face mask incident 5 months ago.

Is there any way these symptoms are due to a hsv infection?

Do you still think I should not be tested for hsv based on the face mask incident?

Do you think these tongue tip irritation can be caused by anxiety?

I also had covid 3 months ago. Can recent covid infection impact the WB test results? Can covid antibodies cause false positive in WB test?

Does WB test generate false positives? If not what is the reason?

Do you think UOW WB test is worth ,if it helps me to get rid of these worries?

[Terri Warren]

there any way these symptoms are due to a hsv infection?
I think that is very unlikely, but if they are related to HSV, it would be from an infection that you had well before the mask thing.

Do you still think I should not be tested for hsv based on the face mask incident?
I still don’t think you need to be tested for HSV based on the mask incident, correct.

Do you think these tongue tip irritation can be caused by anxiety?
I don’t know, maybe

I also had covid 3 months ago. Can recent covid infection impact the WB test results? Can covid antibodies cause false positive in WB test?
No

Does WB test generate false positives? If not what is the reason?
No. Four protein bands need to be present to call a positive on the blot. Four bands are not present falsely

Do you think UOW WB test is worth ,if it helps me to get rid of these worries?
Yes, if you are still worried, yes. But remember if your test is positive for HSV 1 this is not from the mask incident.

terri

[sans123]

Thank you for the help Terry!.
Final question
Last year I shared few drinks with a friend and reading unwanted stuff on internet made me anxious which lead me in to OCD on STD. Without any symptoms ,I ended up doing a full STD panel including IGG test for herpes (All were negative). After 6-7 months of sharing drinks my physician (upon my constant requests, just help to clear my worries) ordered an UOW blot also , which was negative too.

To be clear last year, I did a Western blot and few Igg tests and all of them were negative for both HSV 1 and 2. (I know that was really stupid ,but what’s done is done).
So I am pretty sure and do not worry about any childhood hsv infection or any other.

My only concern is this mask incident as I didn’t have any other encounters so far.

I think OCD make things worse, but I am tying to be rational and let these worries go away!

I read about viral load in this forum. So there shouldn’t be enough virus on a face mask to infect me right? I just put the mask on did not wipe my mouth with it. Also mask was on the table up to 2 mins after my colleague remove it and until I wear it

Do you consider this a no risk event for oral hsv?

As my only concern is mask incident do you think I should Cleary stop worrying about hsv infection and move forward?

Do you consider continuous irritation under my tongue tip (around 6 months now only started after this mask thing) is not related to any infection from the mask thing?

If I get a future partner do I need to mention about this to them?

Based on your expertise what is your final advice to me on these worries based on face mask incident?

Thanks again Terri!

[Terri Warren]

I read about viral load in this forum. So there shouldn’t be enough virus on a face mask to infect me right? I just put the mask on did not wipe my mouth with it. Also mask was on the table up to 2 mins after my colleague remove it and until I wear it

YOu did not read about viral load on this website. Viral load refers to blood. There is no such thing for HSV
I think you might be thinking about the amount of virus present in a lesion or on the mask. There would be not be enough virus present in a mask to infect you.

Do you consider this a no risk event for oral hsv?
Totally a no risk event

As my only concern is mask incident do you think I should Cleary stop worrying about hsv infection and move forward?
I definitely do

Do you consider continuous irritation under my tongue tip (around 6 months now only started after this mask thing) is not related to any infection from the mask thing?
Correct. Not related.

If I get a future partner do I need to mention about this to them?
absolutely not

Based on your expertise what is your final advice to me on these worries based on face mask incident?
I would encourage you to listen to good advice from professionals and recognize that this is not a risk. But I think you already know this, in your heart of hearts.

Terri

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