[Question #13854] Mycoplasma Hominis - Throat
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3 hours ago
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Hello,
On 31 Jan and 13 Feb of this year I gave and received unprotected oral sex with two different women. I also have a female regular partner but haven’t had any sexual activity with her for a few months.
On 3 March of this year I had a routine urine and throat swab (PCR) to be on the safe side. I acknowledge that the typical view is that these are relatively safe sex encounters and you wouldn’t normally advise testing. However, I prefer the peace of mind.
This was done at a private clinic. I would normally only ask for chalymidia and gonorrhoea to be tested. But the basic test package also included a number of other pathogens, including for the throat swab.
Results all came back negative today apart from the throat swab, which was positive for Mycoplasma Hominis. Spoke with the doctor who said it was optional to take a prescription of 100mg of Doxycline for 7 days. But then also said it could be passed to a partner through oral sex, and the implications could be infertility for women. Didn’t make sense to me to disclose that risk, but then say the antibiotics were optional?
I had a quick read on the previous questions, and I appreciate that the view of this forum is that this isn’t really an STD and doesn’t need to be treated. However, there was no information about it from a throat perspective.
My questions are:
1) Should I take these antibiotics to clear it from my throat? Are they potential complications for not treating it in the throat? Or is this unnecessary?
2) Is there a risk that this could be passed to a female partner? And could it cause them any issue? I assume not from what I’ve read but just wanted to reclarify given what the doctor told me. And obviously I don’t want to be putting anyone at risk.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 hours ago
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Welcome back to the Forum. Thanks for your questions. I'll be glad to comment. We wish that labs did not offer "comprehensive test panels" which include non-STI normal bacteria such as Mycoplasma hominis. M. hominis is a part of the bacteria normally found in the genital tract and occasionally colonizes the oropharynx as well. This is normal and in the absence of symptoms need not be treated, Misunderstanding is widespread and fueled by research from over 40 years ago which unfortunately persist in the face of solid evidence that for most people mycoplasma hominis is not a pathogen and does not require treatment (it can cause symptomatic infection in persons with severe immunodeficiency). There is little to be gained by treating Mycoplasma- when mycoplasma colonization is treated, the organism often reappears, sometimes immediately, sometimes after a time lapse. In your situation, I would not treat the positive test.
In response to your specific questions:
1. See above. I see no need for treatment.
2. This is a normal part of the genital bacterial flora. Partners may normally be colonized and there is little consequence of co-colonization for partners.
I think your doctor may be reacting to our of date information. I would not worry. EWH
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