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Cunnlingus STD risks

Dear Doctor,

I went with couple of friends to a high class Bordello in Austria, where the prostitution is legal and regulated by a strict law. I hired a sex worker, and right after we both took a shower I gave her a short cunnilingus and then we had protected sex from the beginning to the end. I was assured by the girl, that they must be checked for all of the STD once per week besides other vaginal tests and that they must use the condom with all of the clients. Now, I am though a little worried. I know for sure that she was very cleaned, no blood at all, no smell, and to be honest, she was barely wet (I do not if this is the right way to say). By my side I have 3 chronicle infections on the apex of the root canal, but no cuts or blood coming out from my gums.  After about three weeks from the exposure I had soar throat for 4/5 days, runny nose and dry cough with a light pain on my lungs, no fever at all.
I got for 2 days Theraflu and since I still had soar throat, I got just 1 pill of antibiotic (penicillin) and after a day I just had left the runny nose.
I do not know if I could associate these symptoms to a STD (HIV?), but what I do know it is that I am very worried and reading the articles on line makes me more confused and worry than anything else.
Do you think that I should get tested? Why some website states that there is a real risk of STD by cunnilingus and some other doesn’t? But most of all…which one is right?
Thanks for your understanding and I apologize if my English is not that clear, but I am not English mother thong.
Thanks a lot
V

3 Responses
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You need all 3 doses.  You probably have a high degree of immunity now, but without the third dose, it will fade over the next year or two.  The third dose confers lifelong protection.

You don't need HIV testing on account of this exposure.  Your next routine test is fine.
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Avatar universal
Thanks so much for your response. I assume also that I should not even be worried about HIV and I can wait for next year for my usual HIV test. I have another quick question. I got two of the three vaccines for the hepatitis and I need to take the last one next august. Am I safe against that or to be wholly immune I have to complete the vaccination?  
Thanks again
Helpful - 0
239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
STDs generally don't cause cold symptoms -- sometimes sore throat, but not runny nose or cough.  You can be sure you just caught a cold.  If you're close enough to someone to have sex, you're certainly plenty close to catch a cold.  So maybe you got ir from the sex worker, since the timing is about right.  But probably not from performing oral sex on her.

As far as STDs are concerned, they are rarely transmitted by cunnilingus, in either direction.  The most common exception probably is transmission of oral herpes, due to HSV-1, from the oral partner to the genital partner.  In my 30+ years in the STD business, I don't recall ever seeing a case of oral/throat STD acquired by cunnilingus.  There are theoretical risks for gonorrhea and for oral infection with HSV-2, but too low to worry about.

Why do some websites disagree with this?  Mostly it's probably because of a protective attitude, especially for government-run information services:  better safe than sorry, i.e. better to say there is risk when there isn't, rather than take the opposite risk.  Some make assumptions without clear knowledge. (Health educators, who often design such websites, aren't usually trained experts.  The same health educator might be responsible for messages about HIV, STDs, smoking, asthma, injury prevention, and routine immunizations, without being a knowledge expert in any of those areas.)  Sometimes there are political or social biases -- someone whose religious style is against oral sex might inflate the risks.  Finally, for some things, even we experts don't have solid data -- just our experience.  There are few research studies on STD transmission by oral sex, so nobody can be dogmatic.

Bottom line:  If you're nervous, visit a health care provider or STD clinic.  But I really don't think it's necessary.

I hope this helps.  Best wishes.  (Your English is fine, by the way.)  HHH, MD
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