[Question #2326] Dr. HH: Gonorrhea treatment was reversed, effectiveness and contagiousness.
96 months ago
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
96 months ago
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Welcome to the Forum. As you probably know clients on this site are not permitted to request who responds to their questions. All questions regarding herpes go to Ms. Warren and Dr. Handsfield and I split all other questions. As it happened, today I happened to pick up your question. As an FYI, having worked closely for more than 35 years, Dr. Handsfield and I never disagree on the content of our replies although our verbal styles vary. I will be addressing this question.
Your story disappoints me in that it indicates that the health care professionals who cared from you provided such conflicting and confusing answers. I'll provide comments and facts in the order that I read about them:
1. It is hard to know of your risk for STI from this single encounter but it is, statistically speaking, rather low. Most people do not have STIs and even when they do, a single episode of unprotected vaginal sex usually does not result in infection (and oral sex is even less likely to transmit STI). Further and importantly, the onset of your symptoms a day after sex is in no way suggestive of any STI as it typically takes at least 3 and usually more days for STIs to cause symptoms.
2. I'm perplexed that someone would give you doxycycline when yeast was present. This would tend to make yeast worse, not better. On the other hand, doxycycline would treat about 90% of gonorrhea and virtually all chlamydia which is even more common than gonorrhea.
3. The shot of ceftriaxone (rocephin) you received is the global standard for gonorrhea therapy with over 99% effectiveness. There is no realistic chance that you infected your regular partner by having sex 50 hours after the ceftriaxone and completion of doxycycline. His transient symptoms are not suggestive of an STI. I would not worry at all about re-infecting yourself.
4. Your providers' comments about tests were not too clear. The fact is that after successful treatment of STIs, currently used tests which detect the DNA or RNA of the organisms being tested for can detect DNA or RNA from dead bacteria for about two (VERY rarely up to three) weeks after the bacteria are killed by successful treatment. Thus tests can remain positive after successful therapy for up to three weeks although this is rare and tests taken two weeks after therapy are usually quite reliable. I'm not completely clear on precisely how long it has been since your encounter in Hong Kong but if it has been more than 2 weeks testing will not provide reliable information as to whether or not you were infected. Having said that, odds are that you were not infected.
I hope this information is helpful to you. EWH
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96 months ago
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![]() |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
96 months ago
|
96 months ago
|
![]() |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
96 months ago
|