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STI worry after 1 night stand
Hello,
I'm a male. 3 weeks ago I had a one night stand with a woman of unknown sexual background to me. Protected sex with a condom, condom seemed to have worked fine, and then I received unprotected oral sex for a matter of minutes. I'm in a very long term committed relationship. Feel very stupid for the risk I may have put myself under. Have not resumed sexual relations with my partner yet, am very worried about it, but that can't go on indefinitely. Explaining what happened is not really an option. It is 3 weeks now, I have no symptoms of anything, yet I understand STIs can be symptom free.
What in your opinion is the level of risk of having caught an STI?
I'm a male. 3 weeks ago I had a one night stand with a woman of unknown sexual background to me. Protected sex with a condom, condom seemed to have worked fine, and then I received unprotected oral sex for a matter of minutes. I'm in a very long term committed relationship. Feel very stupid for the risk I may have put myself under. Have not resumed sexual relations with my partner yet, am very worried about it, but that can't go on indefinitely. Explaining what happened is not really an option. It is 3 weeks now, I have no symptoms of anything, yet I understand STIs can be symptom free.
What in your opinion is the level of risk of having caught an STI?
COMMUNITY LEADER
You do have some risk, but most experts feel that one act of unprotected oral sex doesn't warrant testing.
You had protected sex, and unprotected oral, so you're at risk for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HPV and genital herpes, both type 1 and 2.
Condoms offer significant, but not full, protection against the infections that are spread by direct skin to skin contact - syphilis, herpes and herpes type 2.
Since you received oral sex, you'd also be at risk for genital herpes type 1, if you don't already have oral hsv1.
I don't know how long your oral sex was, but the briefer, the lower the risk.
If you feel like you won't be able to move beyond this without testing, then test now for gonorrhea and chlamydia. You can test for syphilis at 6 weeks.
There is no test for men and HPV.
The tests for herpes are up to you, but without symptoms, I wouldn't test. The hsv1 test misses 30% of infections, and the hsv2 test has a fair number of false positives. Additionally, the blood test can't tell you where the infection is - if you test positive for hsv1, you don't know if that's a pre-existing hsv1 oral infection, for example, or a new one.
Remember that oral sex is lower risk than vaginal or anal sex, and that guilt doesn't equal risk.
You had protected sex, and unprotected oral, so you're at risk for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HPV and genital herpes, both type 1 and 2.
Condoms offer significant, but not full, protection against the infections that are spread by direct skin to skin contact - syphilis, herpes and herpes type 2.
Since you received oral sex, you'd also be at risk for genital herpes type 1, if you don't already have oral hsv1.
I don't know how long your oral sex was, but the briefer, the lower the risk.
If you feel like you won't be able to move beyond this without testing, then test now for gonorrhea and chlamydia. You can test for syphilis at 6 weeks.
There is no test for men and HPV.
The tests for herpes are up to you, but without symptoms, I wouldn't test. The hsv1 test misses 30% of infections, and the hsv2 test has a fair number of false positives. Additionally, the blood test can't tell you where the infection is - if you test positive for hsv1, you don't know if that's a pre-existing hsv1 oral infection, for example, or a new one.
Remember that oral sex is lower risk than vaginal or anal sex, and that guilt doesn't equal risk.
2 Comments
Thank you. That’s very helpful
You're welcome. :)
It does seem like you feel bad it happened. Protected sex with condom is safe and would not worried about that. Oral sex does pose some risk but you had brief oral sex. You have no symptoms of anything? When that is the case, some elect not to test. but since you are in a committed relationship, are you seeking the time frame for routine testing just to check?
1 Comments
I have no symptoms of anything at all. It seems you suggest risk of exposure is low? And yes, what would be recommended window, for what tests, if any. And yes, feel bad it happened & worried
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You are reading content posted in the STDs / STIs Community
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.
