[Question #9919] STI risk on eyes

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27 months ago
Hello Doc. I am sorry that I have to come back with a new question. This is a little bit different. I was with my usual masseuse yesterday and she did the massage. I was also hugging her. I think in between I felt some irritation in my eyes, so immediately I rubbed by hands on my right eye for a few seconds. I don't remember whether I touched her vagina or some other parts. The next day , that is today , I woke up with a slight irritation in my eyes. Afternoon I can see some light discharge or pus coming outside from both eyes. Sometimes I have irritation, but eyes are not deeply reddened. I have some mild irritation and seems like slight blurred vision. Does this seems like an sti ( an chance of gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphillis ). I am now worried or it is just a regular conjunctivitis. Can an STI symptom on eye happen so quickly ?Looking forward for your answer.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
Welcome back to the forum.  STIs are not effectively transferred from person to person through transfer of infectious material on a person's hands.  In addition, STIs typically do not cause inflammation and irritation in 24 hours or less- more typically the onset of symptoms is 3-4 days.  I doubt that this is related to the encounter you describe other than for the fact that you have been rubbing your eye, something that can cause local irritation.  EWH



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27 months ago
Hello Doc, thanks for the information. I wish to state that prior to this I had a couple of exposures with my girlfriend. I know her for almost 6 months and we had some instances of unprotected oral sex  ( 6 to 7) and protected vaginal sex and one instance of very brief unprotected vaginal sex ( may be for 15 seconds) .The unprotected vaginal sex happened almost 14 days before the start of conjunctivitis. So my questions are
1) I went to urgent clinic and explained this to Doc on first day of start of red eyes. He gave 1g of azthromycin single dose (500mg X 2 pills for 1 day ) and eye drops Tobramycin for 6 days. I took single dose of 1g azthromycin and now using eye drops. My eyes are ok now, no redness or discharge. My question is does sti like gonorrhea/ chlamydia or sphyllis can affect eyes and cause  redness and discharge without genital fluids getting into eyes , but by direct sex? Do you think I have an sti on eyes. What I thought was the main symptom will always be painful urination or discharge or blisters  from penis. Is it possible to get eye infection with out any urinary symptoms. I also  had a sore throat which lasted 4 days and mild cough at night.
2) Now if rarely if  it was an sti which I mentioned above,  would it have been cleared fully by 1g of azythromicin. Do I need to take any other antibiotics.
3) What are the test should i take to conclude that this is not an sti infection and after how many days or testing is required?
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27 months ago
Due to shortage of space I was unable to add- I heard that recent strains of Covid-19 also causes conjunctivitis in US. I had sore throat along with red eyes, discharge and mild cough at night. Thanks
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
I am not sure what your sexual encounters with your girlfriend have to do with your no risk encounter with your girlfriend.  As for your follow-up questions:

1) I went to urgent clinic and explained this to Doc on first day of start of red eyes. He gave 1g of azthromycin single dose (500mg X 2 pills for 1 day ) and eye drops Tobramycin for 6 days. I took single dose of 1g azthromycin and now using eye drops. My eyes are ok now, no redness or discharge. My question is does sti like gonorrhea/ chlamydia or sphyllis can affect eyes and cause  redness and discharge without genital fluids getting into eyes , but by direct sex? Do you think I have an sti on eyes. What I thought was the main symptom will always be painful urination or discharge or blisters  from penis. Is it possible to get eye infection with out any urinary symptoms. I also  had a sore throat which lasted 4 days and mild cough at night.
Your encounter with the masseuse was a virtually no risk event.  Gonorrhea and other STIs are spread through DIRECT contact.  You are not at risk for syphilis.

2) Now if rarely if  it was an sti which I mentioned above,  would it have been cleared fully by 1g of azythromicin. Do I need to take any other antibiotics.
You do not need antibiotics.  Azithromycin which you did not need does cure chlamydia and some gonorrhea however.  You do not need additional antibiotics

3) What are the test should i take to conclude that this is not an sti infection and after how many days or testing is required?
No testing is necessary.  If you feel you must, a swab specimen from your eye, tested for gonorrhea or chlamydia is the only test you need

Many community acquired viruses, including adenovirus and COVID can cause sort throat and conjunctivitis and are a far more likely cause of your conjunctivitis than any STI.  

EWH
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27 months ago
Thanks Doc for the reply. My question was that before meeting the masseuse, I also had some encounters with my girl friend. This included 5 unprotected oral and one unprotected brief sex. Since we know each other only for a couple of months, my question was that incase if I had exposure to  any sti like chlamydia or gonorrhea due to brief unprotected sex  , will it affect my eyes and cause conjunctivitis, instead of normal symptoms such as penile discharge or painful urination/blisters..

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Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
Thanks for the clarification. Reading between the lines it sounds as though you have questions about STI risk from your girlfriend. Have you ask her whether she has been checked for STI‘s in the past? Irrespective, no, STI you would’ve acquired through the activities you describe would go on to affect your eyes. This is simply not a realistic concern. EWH. ---
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27 months ago
Thanks Doc for your clarification. Yes I asked her couple of times and she said she is clean. I don't know much. However my concern was that due to brief unprotected sex, I had no idea whether I acquired an sti on my eyes. That was my concern. Usually I have read from  the forum, the first symptom will  always will be painful urination or discharge from the penis. So I believe the conjunctivitis is not from the brief unprotected sex or oral . Thanks 
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
As you know, we provide up to three responses to each clients questions. I am allowing a fourth response in this thread, due to confusion over exactly what is going on. 

To summarize all that I have said above, I think that the possibility that your conjunctivitis is in any way related to sexual activity is Simply unrealistic and not a concern. If you have concerns about your girlfriend and her status, I would suggest that you suggest to her that, for the purpose of being confident in each others status, you go together and get tested. This is not an accusation, but a way to move forward in a relationship in a way that is unencumbered by doubts or concerns about problems such as STI‘s. 

With this response, I will close the thread and wish you the best. Please do not in anyway be concerned that your recent conjunctivitis was in related to sexual activity of any sort. Take care. EWH. 
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