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STD sore throat
Hi, I recently went on a trip to central america. I met a woman & had unprotected oral sex..I only performed on her...she did not on me. We did have intercourse too, but used a condom. A couple of days later I started to get a sore thoat. It's now been 4 days later, and the soreness has gotten worse. Also believe my lympnods are swollen. Am I just starting to get a cold or the flu?? Or did I possibly catch an STD from the oral sex?? I don't know if STD symptoms would show up that fast or not. I have no other symptoms....ie no sores, rashes, urinary problems of any kind. I'm a little nervous right now, What is the likelyhood I caught something from her??
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Almost certainly you just have a garden variety respiratory infection, unrelated to the sexual exposure. It's certainly possible you caught it from your partner, especially if there was kissing in addition to the oral sex -- but still no significant chance of an STD as the cause. If you develop fever, headache, muscle aches etc, you could indeed have influenza -- in which case you should contact your doctor to decide if you would benefit from Tamiflu or one of the other anti-influenza drugs.
Thanks Doc,
I still have a really bad sore throat, can't decide if I'm coming down with cold/flu or not. Thanks for your answer, hopefully things will improve soon.
I still have a really bad sore throat, can't decide if I'm coming down with cold/flu or not. Thanks for your answer, hopefully things will improve soon.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.
With rare exceptions, STDs do not cause sore throat. In addition, genital to oral transmission of STDs by cunnilingus is uncommon. There is a small chance you have acquired gonorrhea, or conceivably oral herpes if your partner had a genital herpes infection -- but I doubt it. In general, transmission of STDs from female genitals to the oral cavity by cunnilingus is very rare.
A long time ago (30-40 years) a couple of research studies found that sore throat appeared to be somewhat more common in people within 2-3 days of performing oral sex on their partners. Mostly this involve fellatio (oral-penile contact) and not cunnilingus -- but perhaps the same issue is involved. Those studies found no STDs to explain the symptoms. The sore throat usually cleared up in a couple of days. At this time, we still don't know if this is explained by irritation of the throat, a psychological effect, or some other explanation.
If your sore throat persists, then you and your partner might both consider visiting an STD clinic or other doctor/clinic for examination and testing. But if the symptoms clear up, I would just let it go and not worry about it.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
With rare exceptions, STDs do not cause sore throat. In addition, genital to oral transmission of STDs by cunnilingus is uncommon. There is a small chance you have acquired gonorrhea, or conceivably oral herpes if your partner had a genital herpes infection -- but I doubt it. In general, transmission of STDs from female genitals to the oral cavity by cunnilingus is very rare.
A long time ago (30-40 years) a couple of research studies found that sore throat appeared to be somewhat more common in people within 2-3 days of performing oral sex on their partners. Mostly this involve fellatio (oral-penile contact) and not cunnilingus -- but perhaps the same issue is involved. Those studies found no STDs to explain the symptoms. The sore throat usually cleared up in a couple of days. At this time, we still don't know if this is explained by irritation of the throat, a psychological effect, or some other explanation.
If your sore throat persists, then you and your partner might both consider visiting an STD clinic or other doctor/clinic for examination and testing. But if the symptoms clear up, I would just let it go and not worry about it.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
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.
