[Question #9979] Oral Sex from CSW
27 months ago
|
On May 9th, I received oral sex from a CSM. She put a condom on me with her mouth providing brief stimulation for maybe 10 seconds. Condom was removed and finished with a handjob. A few days later, i noticed symptoms started;. burning inside my penis that waxes and wanes over time. No pain or burning with urination and no discharge. Skin on my genital region feels inflamed and feels uncomfortable at times wearing underwear. My left testicle is also tender, but not painful. Did a chlamydia/gonorrhea test May 16.
Would you have concerns with Gonorrhea here? Or something else?
On Sunday(May 14th), I got pre-ejaculate on my fingers, then fingered my partner. Is there a risk of transmission if infected?
Can you test too early for STIs?
If I test positive and get treatment, would I need a confirmatory test?
![]() |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
|
Welcome to the Forum. Thanks for your questions. I'll be glad to comment. This was a very low risk encounter. Most CSWs do not have STIs, when they do, most encounters do not lead to infection and there is no risk from receipt of masturbation and condom protected sex is safe sex. Your tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia prove that you were not infected: the results were taken at a time when they are reliable and do not need to be repeated.
The penile burning you have experienced does not suggest and STI- the symptoms of STIs do not come and go. Further, if this were herpes (which it is almost certainly not since a condom was used), lesions would have appeared within a few hours of the onset of symptoms- that they did not again indicated that this is not an STI. OTOH, sometimes when persons are looking for signs of infection, from time to time they will tend to notice otherwise normal sensations which might otherwise be overlooked.
Even if you were infected, you could not have transmitted an STI to your partner on your fingers. STIs are not transmitted through transfer of genital secretions on a person's hand or fingers;
Your tests were taken at ta time when they would have detected infection. You did not test too early.
I hope that these comments are helpful. EWH
---
27 months ago
|
Thank you for your quick reply Doctor. Though I do need to clarify, I don't have results from those tests yet. Would that change your perception of this case?
Also, since I have noticed tenderness in my left testicle, let's presume it could be epididymitis. Would this present more aggressively with an STI in terms of pain or discomfort? I have seen in other threads about men 'guarding' their testicles due to how painful it can be. Can epididymitis be 'mild' with an STI? And if it were present, would discharge always occur with epididymitis?
And if I were to develop a burning sensation while urinating, would it obviously uncomfortable? Or could it be mild? I also am aware as you have mentioned in other threads about being 'over focused' on physical symptoms. I don't usually pay attention to how I pee, and now I tend to hyper fixate and am not sure if the sensation I feel is burning or not.
![]() |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
|
I anticipate that your tests will be negative. If the test specimens were collected more than 2 days ago, it may be worthwhile to call and see if results are available. You should not need to go the weekend without test results.
As I mentioned the discomfort of epididymitis should be continuous. It is also typically accompanied by urethral discharge and local testicular swelling and tenderness.
The burning on urination can be mild but don't let your increased focus make you mistake otherwise normal sensations for something abnormal. Similarly, a small amount of (typically unnoticed) clear urethral discharge is normal- please don't feel the need to vigorously self-exam or manipulate yourself. If there is an abnormal discharge, it should be apparent without effort.
AS I said above, finding the results of your tests will, I think, be helpful and reassuring. Since you were tested on the 16th, results should be available by this afternoon. EWH
---
27 months ago
|
Thanks again Doctor for your assistance. For my last follow-up post, I would like to ask a few more general questions, and I don't intend to be confrontational or minimize your professional knowledge and experience.
In your reply, you said that most CSWs don't have STIs, or perhaps oral STIs. One would think that CSWs would be at much higher risk. Can you point me to any peer-reviewed medical literature that backs up this claim?
You also say that STIs are not transferred through genital secretions by hand. However, on Planned Parenthood's website, they state that you can be at risk for STIs by sharing uncleaned sex toys. To me, it would not seem unreasonable to infer that one could spread infection with secretions by hand to another partner. How do you reconcile this? Any evidence for or against it?
Also, whenever I think of myself being sick, I try not to catastrophize my symptoms, but know the adage of 'common things happen commonly' and 'if you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras'. STDs are common, and in my case, the simplest explanation for my symptoms would appear to be an STI due to the nature of the exposure and the timing. Unless you'd have insight into what else could cause my symptoms. Granted, I know you haven't examined me, but other etiologies (NGU, prostatitis, UTI) don't seem likely, unless you have addition insight.
Thank you again for your assistance, I appreciate the work that you do. If I have any follow up questions, I will be happy to purchase another question.
![]() |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
27 months ago
|
While CSWs occupations put them at risk, they are aware of this and take precautions, as well as typically (with the possible exception of the sorts of CSWs one might pick up on a street) seeking regular check ups. STIs are bad for business. There likelihood that such a partner is infected is no greater and likely lower than the risk that a casual "pick up/one night stand) encountered in a bar has an STI.
---
The Planned Parenthood statement refers to sex toys shared during the course of a single encounter and is overly simplistic. OTOH, CDC, WHO, and all of us on the Forum as well as other experts will tell you that transfer of secretions on a persons hands does not lead to infection. The reasons are complex and have to do with basic microbiology including the dilution effect of serial transfer and loss of viability due to environmental exposure. In our combined more than 100 years of STI focused patient care and research we have never seen or heard of transmission through manual transfer.
This is argumentative and possibly anxiety-related. STIs are not as common as you think. In studies of CSWs typically show STI prevalence of 10% or less and as I explained, most single exposures do not result in infection- in pact less than 20% do for gonorrhea and chlamydia and less than 1 in 1000 exposures to untreated, HIV-infected partners lead to transmission. Your tests will tell the story. Current tests for STIs are amongst the most sensitive tests in all of medicine. If they are positive you will have proved me wrong. I don't anticipate that happening and if it did, it would be a first. Believe your tests.
Believe what you need to believe. I remain confident that you do not have an STI acquired from the encounter you have described. There will be no further responses. EWH