unprotected oral - increased frequency of urination

[abc9912]

received a couple of minutes of unprotected oral sex (ejaculated in her mouth) from unknown female about 10 days ago. a week after the incident, started feeling increased urge to urinate. has been like that for a few days. no other symptoms though (no burning or discharge etc.). am going to get tested in two weeks (earliest appointment open), but in the mean time, what do you feel the chances of me having gonorrhea or ngu is?  do you think it's enough chance that i might have an std for me to stop engaging in unprotected oral or any other sexual activities with my gf and risk her being suspicious?

i also know that anxiety can cause frequent urge to urinate as well and i have been feeling very regretful about this. is it possible that the urge to urinate frequently is completely due to me obsessing about possibly having an STD? i know the probability is really low to get an STD from oral, so i feel that it might be more likely due to anxiety?

also, i developed what appears to be a canker sore (but i'm not sure) today inside my mouth, should i be worried about herpes as well? from what i see though, there are no sores in my genital region nor have i felt any pain.

thanks for your help!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our forum.  It is probably worthwhile for you to get the burning on urination address.  It seems ridiculous that it should take 2 weeks to be seen however for what may be an acute problem that, if your tests are positive, warrants treatment.  Have you tried your local STD clinic?- a two week wait would be most unusual.

As for your symptoms, as you already know, oral sex is an inefficient way to transmit STDs.  Of the bacterial STDs only gonorrhea and nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) are transmitted through oral sex; chlamydia is not and without an obvious sore or lesion on your partner’s mouth, the chances of syphilis and herpes is likewise tiny.   Even if your partner had an STD (any STD and it is likely she did not), most exposures do not lead to infection.  In your case, the symptoms could be compatible with NGU which would be diagnosed by the presence of white blood cells seen under the microscope in a swab specimen taken from your penis or, while not quite as sensitive, microscopic examination of a urine specimen collected at the beginning of urination.  

While you get this sorted out, it would be best not to have unprotected sex with your regular partner.  On the other hand, since you have not had an oral exposure, there is no reason to be concerned about you're having oral sex on her.

Finally, your canker sore is most unlikely to be related to this episode- no exposure.  Just bad luck and an untimely coincidence.  EWH

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, urinary frequency is not a typical sign of an STD.  There is little risk to waiting to get this checked out but I worry that it will weigh on you psychologically.  EWH

[abc9912]

Dear Dr. Hook,

I'm actually not experiencing any burning from urination or discharge. Is it common for cases of NGU or gonorrhea to involve only symptoms of increased frequency/urgency of urination?

Also, it's my local STD clinic (planned parenthood) that is telling me that the earliest availability is in two weeks. If I indeed have NGU or gonorrhea, am I putting myself at risk for something more serious (e.g. urinary tract damage) by waiting 2 weeks to get tested?

Thanks for your help.