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Gonorrhea of the Throat

Hello,

Here is my situation.  I am a Gay male.  My partner was tested positive for Gonorrhea after he noticed a discharge from his penis.  All symptoms cleared after treatment.  As he has only been with me for the past 6 months, i immediately went to the doctor and was tested for many things.  My test all came back negative.  

Due to a business trip it was several weeks before we were together again sexually.  We were together for 2 weeks and i am now back on the road.  It has been 4 days and he again has symptoms.  Discharge from the penis.  

If I have Gonorrhea of the throat, will it show up in a swab of the urethra or do i need a throat culture?  Can I transmit Gonorrhea of the throat to someone else's throat?  I show no symptoms of any kind and would like to know if I need further check ups.  

thanks very much
5 Responses
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300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the Forum.  To best address your questions I first need a bit more information.  I do not doubt that your partner had penile discharge.  How was gonorrhea diagnosed, i.e. what sort of test was performed?  Was it a culture or another kind of test?  To that end, if it was not a culture, which type of test might be important - there are some types of non-culture tests which give false positive results for gonorrhea.  We also do know that men receiving oral sex from partners can get urethral discharges from these activities which are not gonorrhea, hence the request for more information.

Similarly, you mention that you were tested.  Again, was your throat tested? and, if so, with which test.  Standard culture tests for gonorrhea detect only about half of throat infections caused by gonorrhea.

While I wait for your thoughts/comments, let me address some of your other questions as best I can.

1.  If you have gonorrhea of the throat, the throat must be tested to find it.  In many instances, people can have gonorrhea at one site (like the throat) but not another (the penis for instance).  In fact, gonorrhea of the throat is typically present without symptoms but can still be transmitted to others
2.  If you partner has gonorrhea, you should be treated for it, even if your tests are negative, to be sure.  The preferred treatment for gonorrhea of the throat is a shot of a medicine called ceftriaxone.  This works better than pills or other kinds of medicine at the throat.

Hope these comments are helpful to you and your partner.  EWH
Helpful - 1
300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Glad to help. Take care.  EWH
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you for the information Dr. Hook.  I'll throw the name of the test in here tomorrow. I was going to say that after the first encounter where this happen, I did transfer my sore throat to him.  I will make an appointment to be treated all the same.  Thanks  
Helpful - 0
300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for the clarification.  I am still interested in what type of test your partner had.

Transfer of infection through oral sex occurs regularly.  On the other hand, transmission through a kiss is very rare.  

Your negative urethral swab does not mean that you do not have a throat infection and it is possible that you transmitted it to him once and then, a second time following treatment.  Even if you have your throat tested and the the test is negative, should the test be negative, it is best to assume that the infection came from you. In addition, you need treatment as outlined above.  EWH
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you very much for the reply.  I'll go ahead and answer your questions.

1. My partner gave a urine sample for testing.  I am not sure what kind of test was run but I'm sure he can look at his copy of the results to see.

2. My test was a swab of the urethra, NOT of the throat.  

When you say that it can be transmitted to my partner from the throat, does this include transfering it to his throat, or is that uncommon?  By say, a kiss...  

A false positive is what we originally thought it was. I had started developing somewhat of a sore throat the day before the act of felatio occured.  We assumed that the discharge was some sort of infection from the throat.  I'd just like to track down the cause.  

Thanks again sir.
Helpful - 0

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