For the past week I have felt a little discomfort in my lower throat/adams apple area. Not a sore throat or anything. I cannot see anything out of the ordinary when looking at my throat either. I know most infections are asymptomatic though. This could also just be my anxiety making my throat feel that way. 

I have read some of your responses about oral gonorrhea and was curious about the time to clear on its own. Previously you have said it takes a few months, but your more recent answers have said multiple times that it clears on its own within 2 -3 weeks. The only recent research I have found (staying power of pharyngeal gonorrhea in 2021) says about 16 weeks is the median. Has there been an update to your current thinking to say 2-3 weeks now?

Basically, I am asking if I weren't to get a throat swab test, how long should I wait until I engage in oral sex again?  

Oral exposure always is low risk for HIV, with or without swallowing semen. One estimate from CDC is that such an exposure has one chance in 10,000 of transmitting HIV. That's equivalent to giving BJs to infected men, with ejaculation in the mouth, once daily for 27 years before being infected might be likely. Other STIs are higher risk, with gonorrhea being the main one of importance -- but even that is uncommon. You correctly understand as well that oral gonorrhea rarely causes symptoms; and neither HIV, gonorrhea, or any other STI is a likely cause of "a little discomfort" in the neck. (And whenever someone suspects their own symptoms to have a psychological or emotional origin, usually they are right!)

The data on duration of pharyngeal (oral) gonorrhea have fluctuated over the years. The most recent studies, using the latest nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) indeed indicate infection can last 16 weeks or longer. However, most such persons have negative culture tests, which generally means they have a low organism load -- i.e. a low grade infection that might not be transmissible to partners. In other words, many persons with positive NAAT results probably do not infect partners. And most people's judgement about their STI status is accurate; your recent partner's statement that he is "clean" most likely is correct. Based on all you have said, I would not advise any need to wait at all on continued sexual activity.

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

HHH, MD

Thank you again for your advice and information!

Mail-in tests typically employ the standard technology that also would be used if a doctor or lab tech collects the specimen. Transit conditions -- temperature, time, etc -- have been well studied and established to make no difference.