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Syphilis Rash?
Hello Community,
On May 6th I had protected sex with a Thai sex worker in Hong Kong. She seemed clean as I saw no visible lesions on her body(well maybe a small scab on her lower back) and no visible lesions on her lips. After the nude body massage she gave me some nude body rubbing/frottage. After that we engaged in deep kissing. She licked my nipples. She wanted to give me bare penis oral sex but I declined. However, she proceeded to suck and lick on my testicles as well as licking a bit on the shaft and tip of my penis. I fingered her a little bit. After that we decided to have sex. I made sure that I wore a condom as well as to check the expiry date of the condom. I had brief protected vaginal sex with her that lasted no more than 6 to 7 minutes. I even checked if my condom was intact after finishing and it was. After that I showered and left.
Ever since then it’s been 7 weeks. I don’t think i’ve noticed a chancre on my body since my sexual exposure except for some pimples that I developed on my chest and lower neck, however, I suspected that maybe it was just chest acne. No lesions noticed on my penis except for some red bumps my doctor told me that it was just balanitis. I developed a rash on my neck. From what I googled online my rash sort of looks like a heat rash. A slight rash on my chest as well as on my abdomen. Maybe on the back as well but I don’t really know. The rash on my body sometimes itches. My palms also itch sometimes as well. The weather in Hong Kong now is quite humid and hot in the summer so many of the rashes on my body could be due to some sort of eczema. I carry a backpack frequently and I gym 4 to 5 times a week so maybe the rash is due to the amount of sweating I do and also the contact from my skin to my clothes. Maybe the rash is due to the friction from me drying myself with a towel after a shower as I shower daily. Maybe it is just a dermatology problem.
However, I heard that a syphilis rash can vary and sometimes asymptonmatic. I heard that syphilis is more predominant in gay men rather than in heterosexual groups. And it usually takes 3 months for syphilis rash to appear. From what I read from Dr. H Hunter Handsfield's respones in the medhelp forums it usually takes 3 months. Usually. My paranoid brains keeps telling what if i’m the special occasion that the syphilis rash developed before 3 months. I don’t want to be contagious. I visited the STD clinic two days ago and showed my doctor my rash. He said it didn’t look like a syphilis rash but also told me that a syphilis rash developed symmetrically as in if the rash developed on one side of the body it will also show up on the other side as well. I have a red patchy rash on the left side of my neck, however, I also have a rash on the right side of my neck but it is not as red and visible and much smaller. I have a slight rash on both sides of my chest as well as my belly.
Two days ago on my visit to the STD clinic. I took a blood test however I don’t think it was a syphilis specific/exclusive blood test. The doctor I talked to said that the only conclusive blood test were for 3 months after exposure. I will have to go back to the clinic within 3 to 4 weeks for the results. By the way the STD clinic I visit is a public one in Hong Kong.
My logical mind is telling me it is just a coincidental skin rash problem due to the weather. However I am having trouble getting through my anxiety based on what ifs scenario.
If anyone has any suggestions and opinions it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You!
On May 6th I had protected sex with a Thai sex worker in Hong Kong. She seemed clean as I saw no visible lesions on her body(well maybe a small scab on her lower back) and no visible lesions on her lips. After the nude body massage she gave me some nude body rubbing/frottage. After that we engaged in deep kissing. She licked my nipples. She wanted to give me bare penis oral sex but I declined. However, she proceeded to suck and lick on my testicles as well as licking a bit on the shaft and tip of my penis. I fingered her a little bit. After that we decided to have sex. I made sure that I wore a condom as well as to check the expiry date of the condom. I had brief protected vaginal sex with her that lasted no more than 6 to 7 minutes. I even checked if my condom was intact after finishing and it was. After that I showered and left.
Ever since then it’s been 7 weeks. I don’t think i’ve noticed a chancre on my body since my sexual exposure except for some pimples that I developed on my chest and lower neck, however, I suspected that maybe it was just chest acne. No lesions noticed on my penis except for some red bumps my doctor told me that it was just balanitis. I developed a rash on my neck. From what I googled online my rash sort of looks like a heat rash. A slight rash on my chest as well as on my abdomen. Maybe on the back as well but I don’t really know. The rash on my body sometimes itches. My palms also itch sometimes as well. The weather in Hong Kong now is quite humid and hot in the summer so many of the rashes on my body could be due to some sort of eczema. I carry a backpack frequently and I gym 4 to 5 times a week so maybe the rash is due to the amount of sweating I do and also the contact from my skin to my clothes. Maybe the rash is due to the friction from me drying myself with a towel after a shower as I shower daily. Maybe it is just a dermatology problem.
However, I heard that a syphilis rash can vary and sometimes asymptonmatic. I heard that syphilis is more predominant in gay men rather than in heterosexual groups. And it usually takes 3 months for syphilis rash to appear. From what I read from Dr. H Hunter Handsfield's respones in the medhelp forums it usually takes 3 months. Usually. My paranoid brains keeps telling what if i’m the special occasion that the syphilis rash developed before 3 months. I don’t want to be contagious. I visited the STD clinic two days ago and showed my doctor my rash. He said it didn’t look like a syphilis rash but also told me that a syphilis rash developed symmetrically as in if the rash developed on one side of the body it will also show up on the other side as well. I have a red patchy rash on the left side of my neck, however, I also have a rash on the right side of my neck but it is not as red and visible and much smaller. I have a slight rash on both sides of my chest as well as my belly.
Two days ago on my visit to the STD clinic. I took a blood test however I don’t think it was a syphilis specific/exclusive blood test. The doctor I talked to said that the only conclusive blood test were for 3 months after exposure. I will have to go back to the clinic within 3 to 4 weeks for the results. By the way the STD clinic I visit is a public one in Hong Kong.
My logical mind is telling me it is just a coincidental skin rash problem due to the weather. However I am having trouble getting through my anxiety based on what ifs scenario.
If anyone has any suggestions and opinions it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You!
There are so many different diseases that cause rash along the body, not just syphilis. This infection can be transmitted even when condom is used, if your skin touches the chancroide, but as you said, you didn't see any signal on that lady's skin, which probably indicates the lack of that std in particular. Sometimes, chancroides can be inside the body, but that wouldn't have exposed you to syphilis, as you were using condom. Oral sex would have exposed you to syphilis though, and also to gonorrhea and herpes.
As it's been already 7 weeks, if you test for gonorrhea, your result will be accurate, and a test for syphilis could be accurate as well, but there are people that take longer to show a positive result, so it would be better t wait until it's been 3 months since you had the intercourse. For herpes, the window period is also 3 months.
Honestly, I think you are worrying too much. The risk is really low. Go to get your test, but I am sure you will get a negative result.
All the best.
As it's been already 7 weeks, if you test for gonorrhea, your result will be accurate, and a test for syphilis could be accurate as well, but there are people that take longer to show a positive result, so it would be better t wait until it's been 3 months since you had the intercourse. For herpes, the window period is also 3 months.
Honestly, I think you are worrying too much. The risk is really low. Go to get your test, but I am sure you will get a negative result.
All the best.
3 Comments
Thanks for the reply! It's greatly appreciated! However she didn't suck on my penis though. She only licked it a bit with the tip of her tongue. That surely was a lower risk as opposed to her fully inserting my penis into her mouth right? One more thing, the blood test I took, i'm not sure if it was a syphilis specific blood test. Does't it matter though? In my case, will any blood test do? I've hadn't had any symptoms of Gonorrhea... I don't think I have it but i'm not sure if the virus can be asymptomatic... If you can further address any of these matters I would appreciate it. Thanks for the reply to the post!
Thanks DragonPulse
Thanks DragonPulse
Several things about your last replay:
-Regarding your test for syphilis, if it's specific or not that's something you will have to discuss with your doctor, as he/she knows the kind of products he/she uses at work.
-Gonorrhea is not a virus, it's a bacterium, and it's transmitted through unprotected penetrations and oral sex. But as that lady just licked your penis, the possibilities of getting gonorrhea were negligible if not zero. If you are concerned, you can test, and 3 weeks after the exposure, any test for gonorrhea will be accurate.
-Sometimes, stds don't show any symptoms at all, and that's the reason why is important to test if we have sexual encounter with casual partners.
Al the best.
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-Regarding your test for syphilis, if it's specific or not that's something you will have to discuss with your doctor, as he/she knows the kind of products he/she uses at work.
-Gonorrhea is not a virus, it's a bacterium, and it's transmitted through unprotected penetrations and oral sex. But as that lady just licked your penis, the possibilities of getting gonorrhea were negligible if not zero. If you are concerned, you can test, and 3 weeks after the exposure, any test for gonorrhea will be accurate.
-Sometimes, stds don't show any symptoms at all, and that's the reason why is important to test if we have sexual encounter with casual partners.
Al the best.
-
Thats all I needed to know. Thank you DragonPulse. Hopefully I can just go on continuing to live my life without letting what-ifs getting in the way.
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
