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Fever 2 days after contact - STD?
Hello, and thanks in advance for any input.
I am a 23 y.o. healthy male who had drunken unprotected sex with a girl who is known to get around on Friday night. I remember we had oral sex, it is possible we may have had intercourse too but my memory is too fuzzy. Sunday night (~48 hours later) I suddenly start having a mild fever (~100.7) and achy body similar to the flu. I have no urethral pain, no discharge, nothing else so far just the fever. Is it possible that this is an STD, or did I just coincidentally catch a flu/cold? I have an old Z-Pak I never used from being sick last winter that I started taking today ( I know I shouldn't play doctor)... but would It make sense to take it now? If it is an STD, would azithromycin in this dosage regimen help?
As a possibly related question, I drank a big gulp of coffee that was too hot on Sunday (yesterday) and burned my esophagus and have had a sore throat since then. Is it possible that this caused the fever, if the burn became infected?
I am a 23 y.o. healthy male who had drunken unprotected sex with a girl who is known to get around on Friday night. I remember we had oral sex, it is possible we may have had intercourse too but my memory is too fuzzy. Sunday night (~48 hours later) I suddenly start having a mild fever (~100.7) and achy body similar to the flu. I have no urethral pain, no discharge, nothing else so far just the fever. Is it possible that this is an STD, or did I just coincidentally catch a flu/cold? I have an old Z-Pak I never used from being sick last winter that I started taking today ( I know I shouldn't play doctor)... but would It make sense to take it now? If it is an STD, would azithromycin in this dosage regimen help?
As a possibly related question, I drank a big gulp of coffee that was too hot on Sunday (yesterday) and burned my esophagus and have had a sore throat since then. Is it possible that this caused the fever, if the burn became infected?
Thank you very much doctor, you have eased my mind quite a bit.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome the the forum.
No STD can cause these symptoms only 2 days after exposure, and no STD causes such symptoms at any time. You caught a respiratory virus, perhaps influenza, perhaps H1N1 ("swine") flu. If not flu, probably it's just a more severe than average cold virus. It is possible you caught it from your sex partner, but it usually takes 3-5 days for flu or cold symptoms to start. The hot coffee is a coincidence; it did not cause any of this.
Influenza and colds are due to viruses and they do not respond to antibiotics. Do not take the azithromycin; it will not help at all. If your symptoms get more severe or if you want more definitive diagnosis, see a health care provider, then follow his or her advice about treatment. You can expect that s/he will agree there is no need for any antibiotic in this situation. (Indeed, one of the reasons why resistant bacteria are so common these days -- like MRSA staph you have read about, and also resistance in some STD bacteria -- is because too many people are given antibiotics when they are not needed.)
In any case, no STD is the cause of your symptoms. That part is clear.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
No STD can cause these symptoms only 2 days after exposure, and no STD causes such symptoms at any time. You caught a respiratory virus, perhaps influenza, perhaps H1N1 ("swine") flu. If not flu, probably it's just a more severe than average cold virus. It is possible you caught it from your sex partner, but it usually takes 3-5 days for flu or cold symptoms to start. The hot coffee is a coincidence; it did not cause any of this.
Influenza and colds are due to viruses and they do not respond to antibiotics. Do not take the azithromycin; it will not help at all. If your symptoms get more severe or if you want more definitive diagnosis, see a health care provider, then follow his or her advice about treatment. You can expect that s/he will agree there is no need for any antibiotic in this situation. (Indeed, one of the reasons why resistant bacteria are so common these days -- like MRSA staph you have read about, and also resistance in some STD bacteria -- is because too many people are given antibiotics when they are not needed.)
In any case, no STD is the cause of your symptoms. That part is clear.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
