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communicability of gonorrhea during incubation period
Approximately 8 days ago I had unprotected sex with a woman I met at a bar. Because I was nervous about her I checked my penis virtually every day after exposure. I squeezed the base of my penis and attempted to milk discharge. For 7 days there was no discharge. On the 8th day there was a greenis yellowish discharge accompanied by a slight irritation. No burning however. I went to the doctor and she saw the same and opined that I had Gonorrhea. I was then given a shot. I am awaiting test results. Based on everything I have read and the doctors opinion my question presumes I have gonorrhea.
On day 5 after my exposure I had unprotected sex with my girlfriend. I did not ejaculate. My question is given the lack of discharge during the incubation period what is the likelihood that I passsed this disease to my girlfriend. Incidentally I have already told her and she is seeking treatment. But for my own peace of mind I'm hoping there is a general answer to this. I realize your answer cannot be definitive.
On day 5 after my exposure I had unprotected sex with my girlfriend. I did not ejaculate. My question is given the lack of discharge during the incubation period what is the likelihood that I passsed this disease to my girlfriend. Incidentally I have already told her and she is seeking treatment. But for my own peace of mind I'm hoping there is a general answer to this. I realize your answer cannot be definitive.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for this important question, and congratulations on your responsible attitude toward protecting yoru partner. You definitely put your girlfriend at risk for your infection and were wise to tell her about it. There is no getting around it: she must be examined and treated.
Either chlamydia or gonorrhea is a good bet for your symptoms; nonchlamydial nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) also is possible. Gonorrhea symptoms usually start within 2-5 days, so the onset was a little bit late, but 7 days is typical for chlamydia or NGU. Your doctor's suspicion of gonorrhea is to be taken seriously, and a more purulent (pus-like) discharge tends to favor gonorrhea. But any of those infections are possible, and probably you were tested for chlamydia as well as gonorrhea.
But in terms of your question, the exact diagnosis almost doesn't matter. All these infections -- gonorrhea, chlamydia, NGU -- are transmissible to new partners almost immediately after catching them, before symptoms start.
If your doctor treated you appropriately, you were given drugs for both gonorrhea and chlamydia. Your girlfriend needs to receive the same kind of treatment, without waiting for her own test results. Ideally, she should see a health care provider for diagnosis and treatment. But if that isn't practical within a couple of days, you should ask your doctor for antibiotics to give her. (This is called patient delivered partner treatment and is recommended by CDC when personal evaluation by a provider cannot be done reliably and promptly.) Also, you need to try to contact your bar partner and make sure she is aware of her infection and seeks treatment.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Either chlamydia or gonorrhea is a good bet for your symptoms; nonchlamydial nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) also is possible. Gonorrhea symptoms usually start within 2-5 days, so the onset was a little bit late, but 7 days is typical for chlamydia or NGU. Your doctor's suspicion of gonorrhea is to be taken seriously, and a more purulent (pus-like) discharge tends to favor gonorrhea. But any of those infections are possible, and probably you were tested for chlamydia as well as gonorrhea.
But in terms of your question, the exact diagnosis almost doesn't matter. All these infections -- gonorrhea, chlamydia, NGU -- are transmissible to new partners almost immediately after catching them, before symptoms start.
If your doctor treated you appropriately, you were given drugs for both gonorrhea and chlamydia. Your girlfriend needs to receive the same kind of treatment, without waiting for her own test results. Ideally, she should see a health care provider for diagnosis and treatment. But if that isn't practical within a couple of days, you should ask your doctor for antibiotics to give her. (This is called patient delivered partner treatment and is recommended by CDC when personal evaluation by a provider cannot be done reliably and promptly.) Also, you need to try to contact your bar partner and make sure she is aware of her infection and seeks treatment.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
A related discussion, can respiratory bacteria mimic gonorrhea was started.
A related discussion, Timeframe was started.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
In your new thread (deleted), you added "5 days ago, I went to the doctor with minor itching in my urethra and greenish yellow discharge coming out of my penus. She took one look at me and gave me 1000mg shot of Rocephin? Also swabbed my urethra/discharge and I gave urine sample. Discharge didnt go away. Today I get test results showing negative for gonorrhea and chlamydia but the swab was positive for Haemophilus Parinfluenza. The Doctor was surprized and indicated that she had never seen this infection associated with the penus. My question is given your vast experience in this are, Have you ever heard of something like this? The discharge looked exactly like gonorrhea only I didn't experience pain during urination. Also, the discharge was considerable, especially in the morning. Should I be on medical incredible?"
This is an interesting situation. It is difficult to know whether the H. parainfluenzae was the cause of your urethritis, but it is possible. That's a bacteria that is common in the respiratory tract, and some respiratory bacteria can mimic gonorrhea or NGU. And respiratory bacteria sometimes can infect the genital tract. For example, some cases of pelvic inflammatory disease (Fallopian tube infection) are due to Haemophilis influenzae -- which as the name suggests, is similar to what you have. Also, the meningococcus -- the common cause of bacterial meningitis in adults -- is the actual cause of a few percent of apparent cases of gonorrhea. (It's harder to tell meningococcal urethritis from gonorrhea, partly because those two bacteria look identical under the microscope, and even share some biochemical features.)
You're probably never going to know for sure whether the H. parainfluenzae was the actual cause of your infection, or was simply a contaminant. My guess is that it was the direct cause, but there is no way to be certain. To be safest, your doctor should prescribe you an antibiotic to treat that particular organism. S/He should be able to tell from the lab report, which probably includes assessment of the most active antibiotics against that particular bacteria.
Although this is not a typical situation, it isn't all that unusual. Most important, treatment should be completely successful once the right antibiotic is administered.
HHH, MD
This is an interesting situation. It is difficult to know whether the H. parainfluenzae was the cause of your urethritis, but it is possible. That's a bacteria that is common in the respiratory tract, and some respiratory bacteria can mimic gonorrhea or NGU. And respiratory bacteria sometimes can infect the genital tract. For example, some cases of pelvic inflammatory disease (Fallopian tube infection) are due to Haemophilis influenzae -- which as the name suggests, is similar to what you have. Also, the meningococcus -- the common cause of bacterial meningitis in adults -- is the actual cause of a few percent of apparent cases of gonorrhea. (It's harder to tell meningococcal urethritis from gonorrhea, partly because those two bacteria look identical under the microscope, and even share some biochemical features.)
You're probably never going to know for sure whether the H. parainfluenzae was the actual cause of your infection, or was simply a contaminant. My guess is that it was the direct cause, but there is no way to be certain. To be safest, your doctor should prescribe you an antibiotic to treat that particular organism. S/He should be able to tell from the lab report, which probably includes assessment of the most active antibiotics against that particular bacteria.
Although this is not a typical situation, it isn't all that unusual. Most important, treatment should be completely successful once the right antibiotic is administered.
HHH, MD
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