[Question #11532] Messed up

13 months ago

Hi ya’ll

I messed up and while intoxicated gave a blowjob to a male co-worker (I’m female) it was like 10 seconds maximum, nothing deep into my throat - no ejaculation occurred - what are my realistic odds of acquiring chlamydia? I have a boyfriend who I’m supposed to meet up with in a week, can we safely have oral sex with out fear of transmitting something to him or do I need an oral test?

Co-worker is mid 40s, nurse, no obvious symptoms- we have been “friends/coworkers” for 8 years -

Only really worried about chlamydia since it’s usually asymptomatic ( and he doesnt have any symptoms- so he says)

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

13 months ago

Welcome. Thank you for your confidence in our services.

Oral sex is safe sex -- not entirely free of risk, but much less likely to result in STD than unprotected vaginal or anal sex. And in this case, it sounds like your oral sex partner is very unlikely to have had any transmissible STD.

Chlamydia in particular is near zero risk: for reasons not well understood, chlamydia doesn't take well to the throat or oral cavity -- such low risk that CDC and other STD and public health agencies recommend against ever even testing for oral chlamydia. And there are almost no cases in which oral sex transmitted chlamydia to a partner's genital tract. If there is any risk at all from this event, it's for oral gonorrhea much more than chlamydia -- but even that is rare, especially since your co-worker partner didn't have visible pus dripping from his penis.

So all is well. I see no need for you to be tested for anything, and if somehow I were in your situation, I would continue unprotected sex (including oral sex) with my wife without fear of infecting her.

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

HHH, MD

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13 months ago

Thank you for your expertise! The internet, especially DR Google had me believing it was quite a common mode of transmission

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

13 months ago

Indeed there is a giant amount of flatly wrong information about oral chlamydia online, e.g. at sites like Reddit.---

13 months ago

Thanks again! Even though chlamydia is a near zero risk- do you think that I might have even lowered that risk by not allowing the penis to touch my throat or for ejaculation to occur?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

13 months ago

There are no data on this, but it is logical to assume that the risk of any STI rises with duration of exposure -- and that 10 seconds is very brief. Perhaps depth of exposure make a difference, but I would guess this is less important than whether or not there is ejaculation in the mouth. All in all I would describe this as a very low risk event, even if your partner was infected with gonorrhea or chlamydia -- which probably he was not. Research has also found that when partners have known each other a long time before having sex -- as in your situation -- STIs are rare. Probably it relates to the respect that comes with long term friendship, working relationships, etc -- i.e. people at high risk or with symptoms tend to not have sex with their buddies. Just think of the difference compared with a pick-up in a bar, for example.

I truly don't think you need worry about chlamydia or any other STI consequences of this event. Don't confuse your anxieties or worry over a sexual decision you regret with infection consequences of that decision. They aren't the same!

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful.

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13 months ago

Very helpful - thank you