[Question #6537] DGI question for Dr. Handsfield if available

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67 months ago
Dear Doktor,

End of july I performed an anulingus for 15 min. to a women unknow status.

December I started to have big pain in the tendon in the armpit. It also goes from the armpit to the schoulder and to the Hand.
It also feels swollen.

I have no fiver and no rash. I just feel malaise.

1) Could this be a DGI symptom ? What is your opinion.
1) a)If yes, what test can I do now ?

2) If someone get DGI from an pharyngeal infection, can this also spread to the urinnary tract ?

3) Is DGI transmissible if no infection in the pharynx and no genital infection ?

Many thanks for your Help
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
67 months ago
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your confidence in our services. FYI, it is by chance that I am responding. Users do not select the moderators who respond. In any case, Dr. Hook's and my expertise is pretty much identical and he knows about DGI as well as I do. 

Analingus (oral-anal contact) is low risk for gonorrhea, so it is unlikely you were infected. More to the point, your symptoms do not suggest DGI, which would not cause the sort of pain you describe and rarely affects the shoulder and arm. Typical onset is multiple joints, most prominently the peripheral joints (wrists, hands, knees, ankles, feet). When only one or two joints are involved, the shoulder is involved rarely if ever. And as you seem to understand, absence of skin lesions and fever also argues against DGI. On top of all this, if you had acquired oral gonorrhea more than 6 months ago, it woudl be long gone by now. Untreated gonorrhea is cleared by the immune system within a few weeks or months; and pharyngeal gonorrehe is gone within 6-10 weeks. To your specific questions:

1) Not DGI; see above. In addition, DGI always has onset within a few weeks of acquiring localized gonorrhea. 6 months is far too long.

2) Testing? If you remain concerned, you could have a throat swab to check for oral gonorrhea. If you do so, I would expect a negative result. Even if you had it, your immune system would have cleared it by now.

3) Yes, pharyngeal gonorrhea can lead to DGI. But not to genital infection.

4) DGI only follows localized gonorrhea. The genitals, rectum, or pharynx must be infected first.

I'm confident your symptoms are not due to DGI or any other infection from the exposure. See a doctor if the symptoms continue or you otherwise remain concerned.

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

HHH, MD
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67 months ago
Dear Doktor,

Thank you for your answers.

The  pharyngeal  swab was negativ, but in august i took 3 weeks of ciprofloxacine because of a prostatitis.

I have pain in the tendon of my 2 schoulders and pain in the ankle of the 2 feets.

No fiver and CRP is normal low.

1) Do you think i'm still ok with DGI ?
2) Can DGI be transmitted if NO more primary infection in the pharynx or genital present ?

Thank you and have a nice day


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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
67 months ago
1) It is impossible you have DGI.

2) No, gonorrhea cannot be transmitted if there is no genital, anal or pharyngeal infeciston. You can't transmit an infection you don't have?

DGI doesn't cause ongoing joint pain. And the joints you describe are not the right ones: DGI causes transient arthritis mostly in the hands, feet, wrists, ankles, elbows and knees. And If you had DGI, it would clear up on its own within 2-4 weeks, without treatment. Also, even among the most sexually active people at risk for STI, there are at least 50 conditions that cause joint pain and are more common than DGI. Don't assume very body ache, twitch or tingle in the future has anything to do with the sexual encounter that apparently is causing you so much guilt. You have no infection from that event.  Believe it and move on.
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67 months ago
Dear Doktor,

Ok I will move on.  I'm happy that I dont have DGI.

I still have 1 question concerning chlamydia.

1) Am I concerned from my risk.

2) A person who develops SARA Reyter (prostatitis,conjuctivitis and arthtitis) 6 days after performing a rimming, could this be from an oral Chlamydia ?

3) Can I completely forget chlamydia If I thook 1g azithromycine in August ? Is 1g enough for oral infection ?

***So thank you for all your answers. Time to move on… bye bye***
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
67 months ago
Oral sex is low risk for chlamydia, which uncommonly infects the throat. Reactive arthritis can be triggered by several intestinal or genital infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea. But it is rare; most common in certain ethnic groups and nationalities (e.g., Scandinavian); and onset typically is 2-3 months after infection. Azithromycin is effective against oral chlamydia and there is virtually no chance you have it.

Thanks for the thanks. I'm glad to have helped.

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