Possible symptoms shortly after encounter

[Rnnc]

Over the most recent weekend, I had an anonymous encounter with a man that claimed to be tested regularly and is clean of STIs. I received oral sex from him and nothing else.

The very next day, I started to feel a burning sensation in my scrotum. There have not been any issues with urinating. It has since been 2 whole days since the encounter and I have yet to notice any physical signs accompanying the burning, i.e. sores, bumps, redness, etc.

Is it possible that I have been exposed to a STI, or is it too early to tell?

I don't want to be anxious about the situation, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[auntiejessi]

No STD would give you symptoms that quickly. It takes at least 2 days, often many more, to see symptoms.

Could you be anxious and hyper-aware of the area? Dehydrated?

You can get gonorrhea, chlamydia, NGU, syphilis and genital herpes type 1 (if you don't already have oral type 1) from receiving oral sex. Syphilis is uncommon in most developed countries, so I wouldn't worry much about that.

Most experts think that testing after a one-time oral encounter isn't warranted. If you decide to test, you can test for gonorrhea, chlamydia and NGU at 5 days, syphilis at 6 weeks, and herpes at 12 weeks (if you don't already have hsv1 - many people do, even if they've never had symptoms).

Overall, I wouldn't worry about this. Oral sex is a lot lower risk than genital sex.

[Rnnc]

Thank you very much for the response! This is good to know.

I could very well be all of these things, honestly. I have posted here before with the same level of anxiety. I think this makes sense when I consider everything feels normal when I wake up in the morning, aka when I'm not really thinking about the sensation.

I have tested for all of these before and results have come back negative every single time, so I'd like to think that I'm in the clear this time around. However, this was a new partner, so I will schedule tests to be done later in the month and continue to monitor as necessary.

[auntiejessi]

A good sign that it's not actually a symptom of an infection or illness is that you don't notice it when you are busy or when you aren't thinking about it, like when you're waking up.

Think about when you have a cold - you notice your stuffy nose, cough, sore throat without thinking about them. If you've sprained your ankle or wrist, you know it hurts without having to think about it.

Make sure you are drinking enough water, and lay off the caffeine and alcohol, if those are things you drink. If you have STD symptoms, you don't need to "monitor" them - you'll notice them, mostly. The only thing you might miss is a syphilis sore, which is usually painless. That won't happen until about 10 days, at the earliest. Check once a day. Any more, and you might cause irritation, which will then scare you into thinking you have STD symptoms.

And talk to your doctor about your anxiety, and if this is a new regular partner, you should both test. :) Good luck!

[Rnnc]

That's a good point and it goes nicely into this question... when should I start to consider the burning sensation an legitimate issue?

Thank you so much for your input! I see your contributions all over this site and you have great insight!

[auntiejessi]

If you increase your water intake, etc., and it lingers more than a few days, then it's an issue. If it increases or you get any other symptoms with it, it's a issue. Good question.

Thanks for your kind words. :)