[Question #8595] Oral sex in sauna

42 months ago

Hello doctors. Unfortunately I got myself in trouble again :(

Yesterday I went out to a party and ended in a gay sauna. There, I met a guy and he performed oral sex on me for a long time until completion. I masturbated him and he ejaculated on my chest. No anal sex of any kind.

I am beside myself with regret anxiety and fear over this. I am _extremely_ scared of having contracted some disease, and I am beating myself, how can I be such as a stupid idiot. How are things looking for me? Does this warrant testing?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

42 months ago

Welcome back, but in all honesty, it seems unnecessary. You may have set the forum record for number of questions -- this is your 13th! Scanning them, at least half ask essentially the same questions, about STI risks for exposures other than vaginal or anal sex, including exactly the same sort of event you describe here. You've been told more than once -- I think several times -- that oral sex is quite safe for the insertive (penile) partner, with low risk for all STIs and essentially zero risk for some, including HIV. That's the case now. For example, there has never been a scientifically confirmed case of HIV transmission mouth to penis.

The main risks for this exposure are gonorrhea, herpes due to HSV1, syphilis, and nongonococcal urethritis. The last is believed to often result from entirely normal oral bacteria and is thought to be harmless. If you get gonorrhea, you will know it on account of symptoms (pus dripping from the penis, painful urination) within 5 days. Most cases of herpes also would cause obvious symptoms. Syphilis also would typically cause an obvious sore (chancre), but onset is longer -- typically 10 days to 3 weeks.

So there really is no point in testing for anything -- best to just wait to see if symptoms develop. If you would like the reassurance of negative testing, you could have a urine test for gonorrhea any time more than 2-3 days after the event, and a syphilis blood test after 6 weeks (assuming no chancre develops in the meantime). (Gonorrhea testing almost always includes chlamydia as well, but chlamydia rarely infects the oral cavity and therefore is very rare after oral sex.)

Repeated questions on the same topic are discouraged. It really shouldn't be necessary to spend the money to hear replies you have heard several times before and are never going to change. OK? However, I hope this information is helpful and reassuring. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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42 months ago

Thank you for the answer. Will do as recommended and keep an eye on the onset of any of these symptoms.

And sorry for the repeated questions. In my mind there is really something new in each situation.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

42 months ago

Thanks for the thanks. But there's no need to apologize -- we just try to discourage people from spending money when unnecessary. And I don't really see how this situation has changed, except it's a different partner and situation (the sauna). The key issue is the type of exposure you describe, oral sex by a partner of unknown HIV status, which you have previously asked about. Right?---

42 months ago

You are of course right and I appreciate it. Somehow the more “sordid“ a situation seems to be, the more risky it feels and the bigger the regret and anxiety afterwards. I understand that may be irrelevant medically speaking, but it is easy to lose a rational and objective perspective.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

42 months ago

Yes, context can have major impact on the sense of risk or urgency. Still, by far the dominant issue in judging your risk is the nature of the exposure itself.

That concludes this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful. Best wishes and stay safe.

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