[Question #9696] Unprotected oral encounter
30 months ago
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First I want to start by saying thank you for your time and experience. Now as for my scenario, I received unprotected oral sex 6 days ago.
My questions are
1. How long can I get a conclusive test for chlamydia and gonorrhea?
2. In my line of work i do a lot of traveling and very rarely have time to stop so the easiest way for me to get tested is by a rapid std test and was curious on your opinion of those type of tests and if the testing window varies because of the type?
I understand that oral sex presents a low risk for transmission but as chlamydia and Gon can be asymptomatic. I don’t want to test my luck. Please by all means guide me on what you would do in my shoes.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
30 months ago
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Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question. I think I can help.
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I'm glad to hear you understand that oral sex is low risk for transmission. That's especially true for chlamydia, but it is easy to gain the opposite impression from various uninformed online sources. The fact is that few if any urethral (penile) chlamydial infections have ever been documented to occur. That doesn't mean it's zero risk, but there are biological reasons why it is rare and extremely low risk. Chlamydia does not readily infect the oral cavity; when present, it is there in small numbers (and often only as RNA, not as living bacteria) therefore not transmissible; and it is rapidly cleared by the immune system.
Gonorrhea is different. It is quite common in the oral cavity and readily transmitted by oral sex. Not as frequently as by vaginal or anal sex, but not rarely either. But here too there is a silver lining in your case: gonorrhea almost always causes prominent symptoms you would not miss: pus dripping from the penis and painful urination. ("Pissing razor blades" as it was described by a character in the WWII miniseries Band of Brothers.)
It follows that there is almost no chance you have either infection from your oral sex event a few days ago. Essentially no realistic chance you caught chlamydia, and absence of symptoms by now nearly 100% proof against gonorrhea.
"What would you do in my shoes?" Nothing. And I would continue unprotected sex with my wife with no worry about infecting her.
That said, if you really feel you need testing anyway, you needn't wait. Enough time has passed for a conclusive urine test, but there are no useful rapid gonorrhea/chlamydia tests. The only reliable test method is a lab-based nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). However, given the inconvenience for you plus nearly no chance you have either infection, you can safely continue your travels. If you still feel a need for testing once you have access to a lab or clinic, and the time, you can do it then. But as for me, I would just go on about my life as if this event had not happened.
I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.
HHH, MD
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30 months ago
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Thank you so much for opening my eyes on this! My anxiety was about to wear me down. Crazy all the misinformation there is on the internet! Again, thank you for this info and hope you have a blessed day!
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
30 months ago
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Thanks for the thanks. I'm glad to have helped!---