You really needn't be worried:  clearly you have no STIs from the event a little over a year ago. (HPV is an exception but really doesn't matter -- more comments below.) First, even among the most sexually active persons, at any point in time most do not have transmissible STIs. Second, all STIs are transmitted inefficiently -- that is, most exposures to infected people do not result in transmission. Third, absence of symptoms is a good indicator for many infections, especially those that matter most like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and herpes. This is by no means perfect, but your lack of symptoms does reduce the chance you were infected.

For those reasons, even before you were tested, you could have expected negative test results. But perhaps most important in reassuring you, those tests all were highly reliable, especially since you were tested twice. You can be entirely sure you have none of the infections listed for your STI test panels. (This assumes the gonorrhea/chlamydia tests were not done on blood, but on either urine or urethral swabs.)

As for your symptoms, your description and the responses to treatment indeed support balanitis. Probably you are uncircumcised, right? In any case, balanitis is not caused by any STI and is not related to sexual exposure. "Low grade" urethral burning also goes along with balanitis, or perhaps mild residual inflammation.

Mycoplasma genitalium:  Testing for it is not recommended in absence of overt urethritis. You can expect a negative result on that test.

You don't mention HIV, which seems a bit surprising. I'm guessing it was included in your STI test panel, or that you had a separate test for it. Several specific blood tests are available, but all are 100% conclusive within 3 months of the last exposure -- and if it was an antigen-antibody test (AgAb, "combo", "4th generation" blood test), it was conclusive if done at least 6 weeks after the events of last August 2020.

Finally, HPV as mentioned above:  Almost everybody gets it (at least 90% of sexually active people), often several times, and you can assume you and your regular (or about to resume) partner have been infected and could still have an active transmissible infection. It is so common that no single exposure significantly elevates the already substantial background risk. And in the event you or your partner ever has an HPV related problem (such as an abnormal Pap smear in your partner, or genital warts in either of you), there will be no reason to believe or assume it came from the exposure over a year ago. HPV is just a part of life and it's almost never possible to know when or from whom any particular infection was acquired.

So the bottom line is what I started with:  you have no STI and there is absolutely no reason to not resume sex with your partner. I wish you a successful and mutually rewarding resumption of your relationship!

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

HHH, MD

I only have one other concern; I am slightly concerned about a couple of freckles on my penis. I really am not sure if they are new, but I noticed them around a month ago. There are two which are on the shaft (foreskin) of my penis, and I'm worried they might be genital warts?

They resemble freckles in every way. They are NOT raised, the skin is not rough (same smoothness as normal skin), very light brown in colour, around 5mm in diameter. They aren't near each other; one is near the base of my penis, the other is higher up. Is it possible for warts to look like that? I know you can't officially diagnose with looking, but is it possible for this to be warts by the description?

Thankyou again!