Received fairly brief oral MSM

[MKINB]

Hi. 7 Days ago I received brief (maybe 20-30 seconds) from a man I hooked up with on Grindr. He was clean, smart and friendly (I know this means nothing). He had no obvious sores or bumps on his mouth. I woke up in a panic the morning after convincing myself that I have caught something. I have been in touch with him and he has been very open saying that he and his partner (male) were both fully tested, including throat swab, 2 months ago and that he has never had an oral STI. I have had absolutely no symptoms, but looking online has created a Little anxiety. I contacted a nurse at the local STI clinic and described the encounter and other details as above and she said there was no obvious risk and that she see's no reason to test. I have also looked at forums where Drs. Hook and Handsfield have said the same thing. Does this community agree with that?

[MKINB]

Just as a follow up and hopefully to help others in my situation, my tests all came back negative. Don't do as I did and let your anxiety get the better of you.

[ianthurstan]

Are you planning to perform another test on the 6 week mark ?

[MKINB]

I appreciate the time taken to give me feedback, but unfortunately my anxiety got the better of me and I have focused on the "what ifs". I have decided to test and will receive my results on Tuesday.

[GuitarRox]

That's  your option.  Always an option. Collect your negative results and move on from the fear.  Anxiety is a B to deal with and if you have to try to deal with it regularly, talk to a doctor about anxiety.  

[MKINB]

I hear you and I really have tried to let it go, but no amount of "low risk", "rare", "not commonly passed" or even "gonorrhea is asymptomatic in less than 1% of men" comments from experts in the field helped. It just made it worse as I focused on the "less than 1%." and my chances of being one of them. I know it's in my head, I really do. In fact since I took the test I have got a "symptom" for the first time in 8 days (and yes, I know this is anxiety) and now just have 3 more days of hell (unless my test comes back positive, of course), then I can put this behind me and move on. I will never do anything stupid like this again. The anxiety just isn't worth it.

[auntiejessi]

Anxiety is real and it's awful. It's good that you recognize that you are a person who can't handle a casual hook up. Not everyone can, and that's okay. It's good to know that about yourself. :)

Let us know when you get your results.

[MKINB]

So, I can continue  sex as normal or shall I wait a few days longer to be certain?

[auntiejessi]

For such a brief encounter, I wouldn't worry, and I'd resume my sex life as normal. If you are going to be hooking up with casual encounters, condoms are a good idea, even for oral, since it obviously causes you great stress (and prevents or reduces transmission).

Best to you.

[MKINB]

Ok. Thanks. Not planning on doing it again.  Too much unnecessary anxiety on my part.

[GuitarRox]

Drs. Hook and Handsfield started on MedHelp and we follow their advice and guidance here. I will say that those who have std's can be anyone so you are right, being clean, smart and friendly really doesn't mean anything. But oral poses minimal risk but not zero risk.  In the absence of any symptoms though and a one time experience, no need to test.  However, if you frequent hook ups through an online site, you might consider routinely testing for std's because that in and of itself is taking risks and increases your chances.  The internet has a lot of anecdotal stories that can be frightening, true.  I wouldn't be worried but protect yourself by using condoms and dental dams.

[MKINB]

Thanks for the reply. It won't be using the app again. I'll skip the testing this time and I'll try to get on with my life.

[GuitarRox]

Sounds like a reasonable plan.  

[MKINB]

So, I can continue  sex as normal or shall I wait a few days longer to be certain?