STD Concern

[Concerned63]

Hello Doc, I recently received a massage at an establishment.  We massaged each other with oil and lotion.  I massaged the outside of her vagina with my right hand as she was aroused.  She also masturbated me to completion (she used her spit and lubricant too and rubbed her vagina once through the encounter and then touched my penis).  I had a one inch cut (i took off the top 5 or six layers of skin on a metal bedframe) on my right hand.  The injury occurred one week earlier.  I had a bandaid on the wound, it was still fairly deep and not completely scabbed.  14 days later, I started to experience abdominal pain (shooting pain and dull).  The pain would radiate throughout my upper and low abdomen.  The pain would also occur near my bladder and I would have to frequently urinate - no burning(mostly clear urine as if I drank a lot of water - but I actually drank more coffee than water that day).  My body was a little sore that evening as I did not sleep well.  The next morning the pain was less frequent, yet I went to the restroom more than usual.  Again there would be pain near my bladder if I pushed.  I read some posts on Gonorrhea and became a little concerned, because of the possible transmission of vaginal fluid to a cut.  My cut is fairly large and when I removed the bandaid to wash my hand with bacterial soap 10 minutes later there was oil and lotion under the bandaid.  Today (16 days after) I still have some pain near the bladder, but no burning at urination.  Urine was clear mostly, but sometimes yellow.  My testicles are a little sore today too.  Questions:
1)  Do I have any std's to worry about? I was more focused on Gonorrhea, HIV, etc.  After reading posts, I would not have been worried until the symptoms I experienced.
2)  If I was infected from this encounter, would I pass it to my partner if I had unprotected sex with her seven days after this encounter?
3)  Is there a one time antibiotic that would get ride of any possible STD encountered?
Thank you!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Your anxiety is getting the best of you.  You had a no risk exposure, have negative tests and despite all of this, your Dr. treated you, probably because he thought it would put your mind to rest, not because there was any medical indication to do so.  It is now (past) time for you to realize that you do not have and STD.  As for your wife’s symptoms, I do not know what they are - probably as she has suggested, normal changes for her which you are paying particular attention to because of your paranoia.  You need to stop worrying.  You do not have an STD.  As for your questions:

1.  The tests are very good.  Even a brief specimen will be accurate.
2.  See above.
3.  Probably what we call "normal flora", that is the bacteria that are normally present in the urethra..
4.  You are worrying too much

This is not an STD.  EWH

[Concerned63]

Hello Dr Hook, I went to a clinic on March 2 for my symptoms.  The doctor conducted a urine test for a possible UTI.  The results came back negative, but there was quite a bit of bacteria in the urine, so he decided to test for Gonorrhea/Chlyamidia by doing a Urethra swab.  He also gave me a shot and medicine.  The results returned negative and I was greatly relieved.  However, on Thursday my wife started complaining of cramping and pain near her bladder and lower abdomen.  Thought maybe she was starting her period early (no bleeding though) or possibly had a UTI.  She said it does not burn when she urinates, but there is pain in the bladder prior to urinating (that was my symptoms I felt one week earlier to the day - We had sex one week prior to my symptoms so this was two week post sex).

She is not urinating frequently, but complains of sharp pain and cramping (again the same symptoms I felt).  As for discharges, this is hard, because we have been together for 16 years with 3 kids and she has always had intermittent discharges (usually white in color - again for years), so it is hard to tell if there is a change there the last few days.  No bleeding.  We did have sex last night, not pain during sex.  Questions/concerns:
1)  Is the swab test accurate...My concern is when the doctor inserted the swab into my urethra, I quickly backed away from the swab at the first hint of pain (I was standing probably only inserted for one second).
2) Is it possible there was not a good enough swab sample because of my action?  Would the results come back not enough specimen to sample if this was the case, or would there be a false negative.  In other words how accurate would the negative result be given my described action.
3)  What else could the bacteria in my urine be?  Would it be from another std or from a garden variety bug?
4)  My wife has the same pain I experienced, which has raised my anxiety again and made me question the results (I did not tell her I was in pain when I was experiencing my pain one week ago, nor does she know anything about this entire episode).  Are her symptoms indicative of an STD or am I worrying too much??? I encouraged her to see a doctor, but she was going to wait for her next PAP scheduled in two months.
5)  What other ailment could this be?    

Thanks for your help and advice!  I paid for a new thread, but was advised to post these questions on the original thread.  

[Edward W Hook, MD]

1. Your stomach cramps are more likely to be a manifestation of anxiety than STD.  On the other hand, STDs can cause urinary symptoms however STD transmission require penetration and none occurred.  You symptoms are unlikely to be related to the events you describe.  
2.  The scenario dominates. No testing is required.
3.  If you feel you must get checked, you can do so now.  Some other, un-related process may be discovered.  Please be aware however that, sadly, some health care providers might be willing to "treat" you even in the absence of objective finidngs just to "move things along".  i would  hope you would not accept this.

EWH

[Concerned63]

Dr. Hook, thank you for your guidance on this issue.  I was concerned when I read other sites on the many ways to contact Gonorrhea (cuts were included in many) , but none of these sites had seasoned doctors who are experts in this field.  I would not originally have posted until I started experiencing these symptoms (again many sites have very generic information that raised my concerns).  You have certainly put my mind at ease.  I just have a couple of follow-up questions:
1)  Given my symptoms of minor pain cramping in stomach and bladder area.  Frequent urination (good volume though - ranging from hourly to every three hours or so).  Minor pain in testicles and gland area that comes and goes.  Are these symptoms indicative of an STD?
2)  Would you recommend testing given the symptoms or does the contact scenario overshadow the symptoms.
3)  These symptoms have only been present since Thursday.  How long would you suggest to wait before going in to check out the problem?
Thank you again for your time  :)

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Dr. Handsfield and I share the forum.  You got me.  FYI, the reason we share the forum is because we have worked together for nearly 30 years and while our verbiage styles vary, we have never disagreed on management strategies or advice to clients.

This was a no risk encounter and the symptoms you are experiencing are most likely due to some other cause.  We get many questions about hand to genital transmission so your concerns are by no means unique.  STD organisms, including gonorrhea are not very tough and die quickly when exposed to air and room temperature.  In addition the movement of a person's hand from their genitals to a partners genitals does not transfer enough secretion to cause infection.  

In your case you also ask about the possible contribution of the cut you had on your hand.  When a person gets a cut of any sort on their hands, the healing process starts almost immediately.  Thus the major and for all practical purposes, only risk associated with cuts, scrapes, etc is at the time of the wound when something could be directly introduced into the body or blood.  After that the healing process prevents further risk.  Even though your scrape was large, it would not increase your risk for infection while masturbating your partner.  If you had gotten an infection in the wound, it would be a regular bacterial infection, not an STD, due to the normal bacteria present in the vagina (they are much, much more common that the STD bacteria, even when they are present).

I urge you not to worry and can assure you that your regular partner is not at risk from the encounter you describe.   EWH

[Concerned63]

Sorry Doc, one more thing to describe the abdominal pain would be cramping in the abdomen area.

Thanks in advance your your help!
Concerned 63