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Symptoms after unprotected oral sex with sex worker
About 16 days ago I received unprotected oral sex from a sex worker. When she was giving oral, her teeth made a small cut on the head of my penis. We then had protected sex (with a condom) and also kissed. We also kissed a few times. Right after that, I started getting a tingling feeling on my penis, under the scrotum, and lips. This past weekend, I went out drinking and took ibuprofen before bed and when I woke up. Later that morning, I had a rash all over my body. I was really scared and went to see a dermatologist. He said it was just an allergic reaction. He prescribed me something for the rash to go away and it lasted only 2 days. Since I have never had an allergic reaction to ibuprofen, I am thinking my immune system is compromised. I have had so much anxiety lately that my throat feels tight and heart rate is high. I don't know how much of this is anxiety or an actual STD from the oral sex and kissing. I would greatly appreciate some advice.
Rashes are uncomfortable and I'm glad yours cleared up quickly. That was smart and the right thing to do to go to your doctor. With STD worries, protected sex isn't a risk nor kissing but oral sex can be a low risk. Normally you don't have to test unless you have actual symptoms. I'll link a post from Dr. H Hunter Hansfeld, an expert doctor that has a history with this site. Here are quotes from his answer. " I'll start with the general reassurance that oral sex is safe sex. Not totally free of STD risk, but much safer than vaginal or anal intercourse. The odds are strong you didn't catch any STD at all.
Then he says the risks are: 1) The most common STD after oral sex is nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), often due to normal oral bacteria. When not due to chlamydia, which is not transmitted by oral sex, NGU is never serious and usually causes no problem in men's sex partners, so it's not a serious worry. Other possibilities are gonorrhea, herpes due to HSV-1, and syphilis. All these are rare outcomes of oral sex.
2) In theory, the chance of syphilis or herpes might be eleveted by local skin trauma, but by too little to matter. (now you are saying your penis was cut by her teeth. but she'd have had to have oral syphilis herself to transmit and hsv to begin with in order to put you at risk for this). Hansfield goes on to say it is so unlikely you caught herpes from this. He described it as one in a million.
Dr. HHH says too 3) Whether acquired orally or by vaginal/anal sex, the symptoms are the same: discharge of abnormal pus or mucus from the penis, sometimes accompanied by painful urination (gonorrhea, NGU); or penile sores (herpes, syphilis). Gonorrhea usually causes symptoms within 5 days, NGU 7-10 days, herpes 2-5 days, syphilis up to 3 weeks. If you decide to be tested even without symptoms, a gonorrhea test can be done reliably any time now -- 2 days after exposure is plenty. A syphilis blood test can be done at 6 weeks, and HIV testing could be done at the same time. I recommend against testing for HSV unless there are symptoms that suggest herpes.
Here is the link to copy and paste into your browser. I hope it helps. https://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/STD-Risk-Receiving-Unprotected-Oral-Sex/show/1200596
Then he says the risks are: 1) The most common STD after oral sex is nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), often due to normal oral bacteria. When not due to chlamydia, which is not transmitted by oral sex, NGU is never serious and usually causes no problem in men's sex partners, so it's not a serious worry. Other possibilities are gonorrhea, herpes due to HSV-1, and syphilis. All these are rare outcomes of oral sex.
2) In theory, the chance of syphilis or herpes might be eleveted by local skin trauma, but by too little to matter. (now you are saying your penis was cut by her teeth. but she'd have had to have oral syphilis herself to transmit and hsv to begin with in order to put you at risk for this). Hansfield goes on to say it is so unlikely you caught herpes from this. He described it as one in a million.
Dr. HHH says too 3) Whether acquired orally or by vaginal/anal sex, the symptoms are the same: discharge of abnormal pus or mucus from the penis, sometimes accompanied by painful urination (gonorrhea, NGU); or penile sores (herpes, syphilis). Gonorrhea usually causes symptoms within 5 days, NGU 7-10 days, herpes 2-5 days, syphilis up to 3 weeks. If you decide to be tested even without symptoms, a gonorrhea test can be done reliably any time now -- 2 days after exposure is plenty. A syphilis blood test can be done at 6 weeks, and HIV testing could be done at the same time. I recommend against testing for HSV unless there are symptoms that suggest herpes.
Here is the link to copy and paste into your browser. I hope it helps. https://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/STD-Risk-Receiving-Unprotected-Oral-Sex/show/1200596
5 Comments
Thanks for the quick response. Since I posted this, I have flu like symptoms and very fatigued. I also developed a canker sore on my gums. Could this be unrelated?
No, that is unrelated.
Allergies aren't caused by being immunocompromised, and STDs don't make you immunocompromised. You could have had an allergic reaction to something you ate or drank the night before, and not the ibuprofen. If it was the ibuprofen, it might have been one of the inactive ingredients in it, like a coloring.
Tingling is very rarely an actual STD symptom, and is most often anxiety.
If you are so concerned, just test.
Allergies aren't caused by being immunocompromised, and STDs don't make you immunocompromised. You could have had an allergic reaction to something you ate or drank the night before, and not the ibuprofen. If it was the ibuprofen, it might have been one of the inactive ingredients in it, like a coloring.
Tingling is very rarely an actual STD symptom, and is most often anxiety.
If you are so concerned, just test.
Hello! Just wanted to check back in with an update. 28 days after the potential exposure, I got several STD tests done. HIV (4th gen) and all others were negative (thank goodness). But I am still worried since I have some symptoms that won't go away. My neck lymph node has been swollen and my throat has felt tight. In addition, my feet are often tingling and my hands do on occasion too. Could this be residual anxiety that hasn't yet gone away? I keep thinking I could have something that is causing nerve damage. Also, researching online keeps pointing me to HIV, so I start to doubt the tests that were done. My doctor in the US suggested I take vitamin B12 daily. Any idea what could be causing my issues? Thank you!
Forgot to add: my skin feels like it has been more sensitive than usual and I still get red blotches on the top of both feet after a hot shower (lasts about 20 min). I keep thinking this is some infection surfacing when body temp increases. My US Dr also said I should see a neurologist if B12 doesn't help with symptoms.
From unprotected oral sex, your only risks were for syphilis, genital herpes type 1 (if you don't already have oral herpes type 1), NGU, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
You were not at risk for HIV and your negative test is conclusive.
No STD causes nerve damage in your hands and feet. No STD causes red blotches on your feet after a shower (which is normal after a hot shower, and I bet that's happened forever, and you are just noticing it), your body temp will increase after a shower - also normal.
Did your doctor tell you that your lymph nodes were swollen? We are notoriously bad at diagnosing this ourselves.
I can't talk to you about B12 and neurology - not applicable to this forum. Please, talk to your doctor about your anxiety, and see if your lymph nodes are swollen, etc.
If you've tested negative for STDs, that's not your concern. It could be anxiety, or something else, but it's not an STD.
You were not at risk for HIV and your negative test is conclusive.
No STD causes nerve damage in your hands and feet. No STD causes red blotches on your feet after a shower (which is normal after a hot shower, and I bet that's happened forever, and you are just noticing it), your body temp will increase after a shower - also normal.
Did your doctor tell you that your lymph nodes were swollen? We are notoriously bad at diagnosing this ourselves.
I can't talk to you about B12 and neurology - not applicable to this forum. Please, talk to your doctor about your anxiety, and see if your lymph nodes are swollen, etc.
If you've tested negative for STDs, that's not your concern. It could be anxiety, or something else, but it's not an STD.
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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.
