Syphilis worry

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Hi Doctors.
I'm a 37 year old man living in the UK.
21 days ago I received brief (less than a minute) unprotected oral sex from another man, first and last time.
I have a partner and am full of guilt and grief.

I'm now driving myself crazy thinking I have Syphilis, to say that I have anxiety is an understatement.
I have a small (1-2mm) area of pinkness on the left side of the penis glans, and have had this for about 2 weeks which strangely enough coincides with as long as I've been looking at it. I'm looking constantly and really can't leave it alone.

I suffer with spots and oily skin so it's fair to say that I've never really had a clean complexion but have never really scrutinized the glans of my penis until now.

What are your thoughts on this? Thanks for your time.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I'll be pleased to comment on your question.  Syphilis now occurs primarily among men who have sex with men however even among MSM transmission of syphilis through oral sex is extraordinarily uncommon.  Further the lesion you describe does not fit typical descriptions of syphilis lesions which tend to be larger and, importantly typically ulcerated within a day or two of appearing.  That your lesion has not changed in appearance in nearly two weeks makes syphilis most doubtful.  That said, given the variability of syphilis lesions, the best way to be 100% sure that this is not syphilis is to have a syphilis bold test.  Were this lesion syphilis, your syphilis blood test would certainly be positive at this time.

Personally, I am confident that the lesion you describe is not syphilis but should you want to be sure, get a blood test.  I suspect this is not an STI at all but rather something that you may have noticed as you began to scrutinize your genitalia more closely.

I hope this comment is helpful.  EWH

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Thank you Dr Hook.
That puts my mind at ease regarding the close examination of the glans.
Have a good day.