[Question #2139] (Not) worrying about gonorrhea in the throat
89 months ago
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Hello
there. I am a fan of your help from a previous forum. My question
here is about gonorrhea. I have read that gonorrhea of the throat often
has very mild symptoms, if any. I've also read in a forum by one of you,
I believe, that gonorrhea if undetected tends to resolve on its own after an unknown number
of weeks. Which leads to the possibility that we have gonorrhea of the
throat more often than we realize, and that it goes away on its own.
I
am a gay man and at times give unprotected oral sex. There are times when
I have more than one partner in the same month. Sometimes after having a
sexual encounter with someone, within a few days I'll have throat symptoms,
such as a lump in my throat, throat tenderness, etc. If I have the splotchy
white "strep"-looking symptoms, I go to the doctor to be seen.
In more subtle cases, though, I'm not sure on a moral level what to do.
My
question is, how concerned should I be about such mild post-oral-sex throat
symptoms? I am a conscientious person and would like to not risk passing
along infections to others. But it seems confusing, because it seems
impossible to distinguish non-gonorreal throat infections (viral or bacterial),
easily acquired from hooking up with someone (even just from the kissing),
from subtle symptoms of gonorrhea – without getting a throat test. Is the
solution to get tested with a throat swab every time I have throat discomfort
after oral sex? That seems time-consuming and also potentially
expensive.
Would be great to hear your opinion on this. Is it ethical to simply
be optimistic and not worry about it being gonorrhea, and go ahead and have
another partner shortly after, should the situation come up? Or should I
make a policy of always getting it checked out?
Thanks in advance for your help.
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
89 months ago
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89 months ago
|
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
89 months ago
|
89 months ago
|
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
89 months ago
|