Dear Dr,

Welcome to the Forum and thanks for your questions.  I’ll be glad to comment.  There are no data evaluating whether or not isolated redness at the urethral meats (opening of the urethra) is a sign of infection or not.  Certainly among uncircumcised men, there is more redness under the foreskin and around the meatus than in circumsized men.  If there is concern I would suggest that he be tested or a throat swab for Gonorrhea and chlamydia for you.---

Thank you doctor! Lastly re when to test post exposure please. On most offical health and government websites from Canada, it says NAAT can be done without waiting for 48 hours due to the test being highly sensitive. I have always been told to wait at least 7 days. So what is the right way to go about this? I chose somewhere in the middle and waited for 48 hours as some website suggested. Negative throat swabs. My question is can I accept this as a firm negative? How accurate is NAAT done as Canadian health recommended, basically anytime post exposure? Why isn’t anywhere else in the world recommending the same approach? Thank you!

There are only limited data on how soon all infected persons would develop a positive NAAT test for gonorrhea or chlamydia. We typically advise waiting three or more days however I anticipate that a two day result would also be reliable. Your risk of infection is quite low and with a negative test, I would be confident that I did not have gonorrhea.   If I were you, I would believe your test result and not seek further testing. EWH.---