[Question #10454] Unprotected Oral STI
22 months ago
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Hi dr Hunter,
3 weeks ago I received unprotected oral from a male sex worker (I’m a male).
I tested 11 days after the incident and everything was negative (syph, chlam, gon, hiv, hep). I suffer from anxiety and I’m not sure if I need to retest for anything.
What are the chances of having caught something ? If I caught something it would be obvious ?
I was thinking to retest at the 1 month mark for peace of mind.
Please advise. My anxiety is driving me to depression and mental anguish.
22 months ago
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We also engaged in heavy kissing. This person said they are on prep, have taken mpox vaccine, and taken gardasil. Do
I have to worry about HPV ?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
22 months ago
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Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your confidence in our services.
Oral sex is quite low risk, with low chance of all STIs and zero risk for some. The reasons are both that oral/throat STIs are uncommon, so the oral partner rarely has nothing to be passed on; and even when oral infection is present, the chance of transmission is low for any one exposure. The main risks are for gonorrhea, herpes due to HSV1, and nongonococcal urethritis (believed to often be caused by normal oral bacteria). Syphilis is a risk, especially for sex between men, but still quite rare. Your test results are reassuring in regard to gonorrhea, but the syphilis blood test was too soon to mean anything. Chlamydia, HIV and viral hepatitis are no risk at all from such an exposure so those negative test results are expected.
Would infection "be obvious" if you caught somethings. Yes and no: yes for gonorrhea and NGU, usually yes for syphilis and herpes, and usually no for the others.
HPV is rarely transmitted by oral sex, and assuming you have had an average sex life, you already have been infected (perhaps a few times) and this exposure does not further raise your risk. And the chance is even lower in this situation, i.e. with an HPV vaccinated pattern.
Do you need follow-up testing? Definitely not for gonorrhea and chlamydia. It's optional for syphilis. No need for HIV, but certainly OK to do it (6 weeks after the event) for reassurance. For sure no testing for anything else.
All in all, this was a very low risk event. You really needn't be worried about it.
HHH, MD
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22 months ago
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Thanks for your response. I forgot to
Mention we had penis to penis contact, not sure if there is something to worry about there?
For retesting , can I do it sooner than the 6 week mark ? And is that just for syph ?
Can I have unprotected vaginal intercourse with my partner in the meantime ?
Also what does 11.95 iu/L mean for
The hep B test result ? Does that mean I got the hep B shot when I younger ? I can’t remember all my immunizations
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
22 months ago
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There are no data on STI risk from penis-penis contact. Probably it should be studied one of these days but for now it's just logical guesswork. Probably some but likely low risk for all the main STIs (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, HPV) and probably little or no risk for HIV. Anyway, if your negative gonorrhea/chlamydia test was a urine test, that result is valid at the time you had it.
Syphilis is the only necessary test, although almost everyone in your situation would include an HIV test as well. Negative results for both at 4 weeks would be very reassuring (at least 95% conclusive) but both need 6 weeks for 100% reliability.
Sex with your partner? No worries about gonorrhea or chlamydia. I cannot guarantee you are not incubating syphilis but not having a penile chancre (open sore) by this time makes it even less likely, and I wouldn't be worried about anything else. If somehow I were in our situation, I would continue unprotected sex with my wife with no worry about infecting her with any STI. But that's not a guarantee and you'll have to make your own decision, with an extremely low but not zero risk of having to 'fess up to her at a later time.
The lab result you give is the numerical value but says nothing about exactly what the test measured. If it's hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb or sometimes called anti-HBs), it means either past vaccination or past hep B, cured by the immune system. Either way, you are immune.
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22 months ago
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Thanks for your quick and Detailed responses.
The 11.95 value was listed under the hep b surface antibody section.
I don’t see any sores in my genitalia area.
Yes I did urine test for gon/chlam.
Last couple of questions:
-any risk of anal fingering ? That’s what i did as well to the other individual.
-I constantly check for warts or sores on my genitilia and I don’t see any. If they were to appear how long would it have taken ?
Sorry for all the questions but it’s my anxiety and worry
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
22 months ago
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As I expected, you are immune to the hepatitis B virus, most likely from vaccination.
Fingering of any and all body orifices is entirely free of STI risk.
The chance of warts is almost zero, and there's no point in looking for them now. Genital warts do not appear sooner than 6-8 weeks after exposure and it can be up to a year or two.
That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. Before I close it, let me know if there are any final brief questions or concerns.
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22 months ago
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Just to put In summary, my incident was very low risk. All test results are good so far and my risk for anything is low. So I don’t need to get the syph test again ? But that’s optional at 4 weeks onward if I want.
Any further
worry is just my mind / anxiety ?
22 months ago
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Also Thank you once again
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
22 months ago
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Indeed very low risk, but I would have the syphilis blood test. The chance you have it is vanishingly small, but on the other hand it's a dangerous infection and testing (ideally at 6 weeks) is cheap and easy -- and better safe than sorry. I agree you should have no real worries. Think objectively and keep in mind the difference between a sexual decision you may regret and the STI risks from it: they're different.
Thanks for the thanks. Take care and stay safe.
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