[Question #10882] Oral sex and STD

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19 months ago
Hi,

Firstly thanks a lot for your service, it's an unvaluable resource on a subject filled with misinformation.
 I have visited on 2 occasions in the past few months a CSW. The last one 18 days ago.

In both occasions I had protected intercourse and unprotected oral.

From what I understood what I could catch from this is mainly Gonhorrea, Syphilis, Herpes, and HPV.
I did not have any symptoms pointing to Gonhorrea. No discharge or dysuria. My understanding is for most males following an oral exposure this would be symptomatic. 
I saw that chlamydia would be extremely rare from this, but again so many different opinions....
As far as herpes, I haven't had any symptoms pointing to that either, so I m trying to let it go.
Now there is Syphilis. Where I live cases are on the rise. I do realize that the chances from one oral exposure are fairly slim. I keep checking my genitals for a trace of a lesion, causing irritation and more stress. I know it's too early to test right now, so before going to a lab I took a insti multiplex HIV / Syphilis rapid test to see my current serology and confirm I am HIV and Syphilis negative at 17 days. I tested negative for both. So I guess I need to keep monitoring for a Chancre for a couple of weeks and get tested.

My question was for HPV. Is oral / genital transmission common ? This is where I see the most misinformation. I do realize this is super common and I most likely already had a strand of it in my life. But I am curious on what to expect.

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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
19 months ago
Welcome to the forum. Thank you for your confidence in our services and for reviewing other discussions related to your concerns.

You have learned well. Indeed gonorrhea is possible from unprotected oral sex (but still occurs in probably fewer than one in a thousand exposures with female partners. Chlamydia from oral sex is virtually nonexistent, and the risks of herpes, HIV, and HPV are exceedingly low from such events.

You are also correct that 17 days is too soon for meaningful results from any STD blood test, except to confirm you weren't infected before the exposure described. However, if your test panel included urine or urethral swab for gonorrhea and chlamydia, those negative results are conclusive.

Indeed genital HPV is nearly universal; assuming an average sex life, almost certainly you have had it and may still carry one or more strains of the virus. In any case,HPV is exceedingly rare after oral sex, especially after only a single exposure -- you can consider the risk zero for all practical purposes. For sure this event did not elevate your chance of having HPV any higher than it was previously.

Had you asked ahead of time, I would have advised that no STD testing at all is needed after such an event. But having started down that path, for reassurance (and not because of plausible risk), it would make sense to have repeat syphilis and HIV blood tests 6 weeks after the event. You definitely can expect negative results once again.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD


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19 months ago
Awesome,

Thanks for the answer. I did not have a urine test. I might go this week for piece of mind. I will also have a blood test later at 6 weeks for syphilis.

One that I see rarely mentionned as well is hepatitis B. My understanding would be the means of transmissions are similar to HIV so no risk for receiving oral ?

Thanks


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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
19 months ago
Hepatitis B virus is rarely transmitted heterosexually; it's an issue mainly for men having sex with men. And rarely if ever by oral sex.

Everybody should be immunized against HBV, and depending on your age and what country you are in, you might have been vaccinated -- in which case you're immune. So for several reasons this is not a serious worry at all. (If you were not vaccinated previously, you could discuss it with your doctor now.)
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18 months ago
I am just answering because I know it's always nice to have a follow up for people reading those.
I took a urine test / blood at 21 days (the blood test was kind of unnecessary at this time frame but I did it anyway because of only minor price difference. It was 4th gen HIV + syphilis).

It came negative for Gonhorrea, Trich, Chlamydia, Syphilis, and HIV.  
I am one of those persons that get really anxious when running those kind of tests, and let me tell you the 'same day results'  I do not recommend. I spent a full day feeling useless with symptoms popping up randomly. When there is a 24 hours waiting time I usually can go on with my day.

Anyway, I will do a test at 6 weeks just to nip this story to bed, but I am much more reassured now. I m now at 4 weeks in, never seen a chancre in sight although some painful irritation because I was looking for chancres, so if you want to find symptoms you will find them.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
18 months ago
Thanks for these comments, which indeed could help some readers with similar concerns. It certainly is true that being overly alert to subtle symptoms often will reveal them!

That completes this thread. I'm glad it has been helpful. Best wishes and stay safe.
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