Persistant sore throat

Hello, I'd like to thank you ahead of time for your help. Here is my problem:

Early January I had a stupid, random unprotected vaginal and oral sexual encounter. About a week later I experienced itching (could possibly be attributed to not shaving for a while, which seemed to cure it) and increased vaginal discharge (seemed thinner).  Also, I aquired a sore throat that began with increased pain and difficulty swallowing, climaxed with about a day of fever during which i was sick in bed, and then persisted for about two weeks as mostly a night-time cough. About two weeks after the encounter, I freaked out and went to my OBGYN and had a blood and culture test. Everything came back negative, and rhe discharge has returned back to normal.

However, I have been in a monogamous long-distance relationship for 3 years now, and after my boyfriend gave me oral sex, he developed a cough as well. Now it is starting to feel like my cough has returned after I went to visit him. He also mentioned having a bit of painful urination, but that's not bothering him anymore.

My question is-- What can this be? Should I go back for another test? Do you have any advice or ideas on the matter as to what I should do for diagnosis or treatment? Will it clear up by itself?
Thank you.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

STDs don't cause cough and rarely cause sore throat.  Your and your partner's symptoms are much more likely due to a garden variety respiratory virus, probably caught in the usual way--kissing, sharing drinking glasses, etc.  Certainly it is possible you were originally infected during your casual sexual encounter, but not by sex per se.

However, there is a group of viruses called adenovirus.  Most strains are just garden variety cold viruses.  But some strains infect the genitals and can be passed by oral sex, causing simultaneous genital and cold symptoms.  Adenovirus ususally shows up as a cough, and conjunctivitis (pink-eye) often is present as well.  Adenovirus from oral sex explains 2-5% of cases of nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) in men, so this is pretty uncommon.  It probably can affect female genitals as well, but this has never been studied or documented.  So conceivably you and your partners are sharing an adenovirus infection.  But even if you are, it could just as well have been passed by kissing, and you could have infected your boyfriend by oral sex--but you could do that with an adenovirus you caught as a cold.

Bottom line:  Sit tight, and expect everybody's symptoms to clear up on their own.  If they don't, see a health care provider.  But most likely none of this has much to do with your January sexual exposure.

Good luck--  HHH, MD