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Oral Sex & STDs
Hi,
I would like to thank you in advance for your help. Recently I had unprotected oral sex (received) with another man and am completely paranoid that I now have something I could pass on to my girlfriend. He claimed that he doesn't have any STDs but I can't be sure as I had never met him before. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened and I'm rather terrified that my stupidity could affect my girlfriend's health. I have no visible symptons and both of us already have HSV-1 so i'm not worried about that. The urgent care prescribed doxycycline and ciprofloxacin just in case. Since the incident I have had protected sex with my girlfriend twice and unprotected oral sex once (for about 45 seconds). My questions are:
1)Is my girlfriend in any danger?
2)What are the chances that I have an STD?
3)Should I get tested before I take the antibiotics to see what risk, if any, there is for my girlfriend.
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to thank you in advance for your help. Recently I had unprotected oral sex (received) with another man and am completely paranoid that I now have something I could pass on to my girlfriend. He claimed that he doesn't have any STDs but I can't be sure as I had never met him before. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened and I'm rather terrified that my stupidity could affect my girlfriend's health. I have no visible symptons and both of us already have HSV-1 so i'm not worried about that. The urgent care prescribed doxycycline and ciprofloxacin just in case. Since the incident I have had protected sex with my girlfriend twice and unprotected oral sex once (for about 45 seconds). My questions are:
1)Is my girlfriend in any danger?
2)What are the chances that I have an STD?
3)Should I get tested before I take the antibiotics to see what risk, if any, there is for my girlfriend.
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Unprotected oral sex is much lower risk for all STDs than vaginal or anal intercourse, and probably zero risk for many of them. The main recognized risks of fellatio (i.e., for the insertive partner whose penis is exposed) are gonorrhea, herpes due to HSV-1, nonchlamydial nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), and syphilis.
Gonorrhea virtually always causes symptoms; if within a week there is no abnormal penile discharge, usually with painful urination, you can forget gonorrhea. Herpes risk depends in part on prior infection; as you say, it is not a risk in people with prior HSV-1 infection (or low enough to be disregarded). The frequency of NGU isn't certain, but if you have no discharge or uncomfortable urination after 2-3 weeks, you can disregard it. (In any case, NGU due to oral bacteria may carry no health risk for a person's other sex partners.) Syphilis is uncommon after oral sex, but the risk depends a lot on geography, partners' risk factors, etc. Syphilis usually shows up as a painless penile sore (the chancre) 3-6 weeks after exposure.
Everybody worries about HIV, but the risk is theoretical more than real. Although there have been claims of acquring HIV, there are few if any proved cases. If it occurs, it is extremely rare (estimated at no more than 1 chance in 10-20,000 exposures to an infected partner). Still, the wise person in your situation will ask a male partners whether or not he has been tested recently and whether he has HIV.
So the answers are that your GF probably isn't in danger, the risk you are infected is minimal (assuming you still have no symptoms), and most experts would not have prescribed the antibiotics--but if you take them, you're pretty well covered against the bacterial STDs.
HHH, MD
Gonorrhea virtually always causes symptoms; if within a week there is no abnormal penile discharge, usually with painful urination, you can forget gonorrhea. Herpes risk depends in part on prior infection; as you say, it is not a risk in people with prior HSV-1 infection (or low enough to be disregarded). The frequency of NGU isn't certain, but if you have no discharge or uncomfortable urination after 2-3 weeks, you can disregard it. (In any case, NGU due to oral bacteria may carry no health risk for a person's other sex partners.) Syphilis is uncommon after oral sex, but the risk depends a lot on geography, partners' risk factors, etc. Syphilis usually shows up as a painless penile sore (the chancre) 3-6 weeks after exposure.
Everybody worries about HIV, but the risk is theoretical more than real. Although there have been claims of acquring HIV, there are few if any proved cases. If it occurs, it is extremely rare (estimated at no more than 1 chance in 10-20,000 exposures to an infected partner). Still, the wise person in your situation will ask a male partners whether or not he has been tested recently and whether he has HIV.
So the answers are that your GF probably isn't in danger, the risk you are infected is minimal (assuming you still have no symptoms), and most experts would not have prescribed the antibiotics--but if you take them, you're pretty well covered against the bacterial STDs.
HHH, MD
So by taking the oral antibiotics and only engaging in protected sex with my GF until finishing the medication my GF should definitely (obviously can't guarantee it but in all likely hood) be ok.
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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.
