A service provided by the BC Centre for Disease Control
In the years since SmartSexResource launched, we have developed a library of questions asked by you, and answered by our expert sexual health nurses.
Our answered questions library cover a broad range of sexual health topics and common questions we hear at our clinics.
Hi, and thanks for your question.
You are right that chlamydia and gonorrhea are not present in saliva or blood and are therefore not passed this way. However, it is possible for gonorrhea and less commonly chlamydia to grow in a person’s throat. If an individual gives oral sex to a person with a penis which happens to have either gonorrhea or chlamydia, that infection can be passed via the semen into the throat and start growing there. If the person who now has an infection in the throat then gives oral sex on a penis which does NOT have an infection, that infection can be passed to the person receiving oral sex.
It really requires a direct transfer of the bacteria to a person’s throat through seminal fluid and then direct contact of a person’s genitals with the bacteria in a person’s throat for the infection to be passed this way. While it is theoretically possible, this is why we do not commonly see these infections passed through kissing on the mouth or even shallower kissing on the genital area.
It sounds like you’re already familiar with our STIs at a Glance chart! If you’re interested in seeing which STIs are commonly passed through various types of sex, check out our Know Your Chances charts found here: https://smartsexresource.com/about-stis/know-your-chances-0
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thank you for your question
When we talk about infections being “sexually transmitted” we mean that these infections are typically passed from one person to another during some form of sexual contact. This means that these infections are not generally passed through casual human contact such as shaking hands or hugging. However, each infection does have its mode of transmission, or how it is passed from person to person.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea can be present in semen, vaginal fluid, and rectal fluid so can be passed through oral, anal and vaginal sex. These infections are not passed by contact with blood and are typically not passed through skin to skin touching.
HIV is present in both blood and body fluids such as semen, vaginal fluid, rectal fluid and breastmilk. So it can be passed through anal and vaginal sex as well as through exposure to blood on an open sore or mucous membrane.
Syphilis can be passed quite easily by skin to skin contact with the fluid from a syphilis lesion (blister).
Other STIs such as herpes and human papillomavirus, or HPV (the virus that causes genital warts and some types of genital cancers) are very easily passed from person to person through skin to skin contact.
For more information on how STIs are passed have a look at our STIs at a Glance chart found here: https://smartsexresource.com/sites/default/files/Smartsex_SUPERCHART_2014_v2.pdf
These Know Your Chances charts are also great for understanding which infections are commonly passed through different types of sexual contact: https://smartsexresource.com/about-stis/know-your-chances-0
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi and thank you for your question.
Using condoms for vaginal and anal sex are a great way to lower your chances of getting a STD. The trick with condoms is that they have to be used from start to finish of the sexual encounter, and they have to be put on correctly. Also, condoms only protect the parts that are covered. That means, infections that are transmitted skin to skin are still possible even if using condoms – like herpes or genital warts.
Ideally, you would also use some kind of barrier or condom when having oral sex, as some STDs can be passed orally – for example gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis.
Though uncommon, some STDs can be passed through deep kissing. Herpes is one example.
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
Chances with Oral Sex: https://smartsexresource.com/sites/default/files/Oral-Sex-Table-v3.png
Chances with Anal or Vaginal Sex: https://smartsexresource.com/sites/default/files/Anal-Vaginal-Sex-Table-v3.png
Chances with Other Kinds of Sex: https://smartsexresource.com/sites/default/files/Other-Sex-Table-v3.png
Assessing Risk: https://www.srhweek.ca/caring-for-yourself/sexually-transmissible-and-blood-borne-infections-stbbis/assessing-risk/
If you are sexually active, and have new or different partners, or your partners have new or different partners, it’s always a good idea to get tested regularly. Ideally this would happen any time you experience symptoms, or if you don’t have symptoms, test a couple of months after a new partner or risk – this would cover off any window periods (the time from infection to the time it can be picked up on a test).
Hope this helps.
Health Nurse
Using a condom during sex is a great way to protect yourself from STIs.
You are right however that with skin to skin contact there is always a risk of getting infections that are transmitted this way.
Getting genital herpes or syphilis is often more complicated than just having direct skin to skin contact as it involves many different factors like at what stage of the infection the person is at who has the infection (do they even have an infection or are they currently having an outbreak or sores), the immunity of the person who may get the infection (are they already immune, are they healthy, are they immunocompromised), the time, timing and nature of the contact… to name some examples.
If you are sexually active, it’s always a good idea to get tested. If you have symptoms you should get tested right away, and if you do not have symptoms you should get tested routinely at least every 3-4 months or so if you have new or different partners.
More information about “my chances” can be found here: https://smartsexresource.com/about-stis/my-chances
HealthNurse
Thank you for your question.
Using a condom is definitely a great way to protect yourself from getting an STI; especially if it was used for both oral and vaginal sex.
If you are sexually active, it’s a really great idea to go and get tested regularly for STIs as most people who have an STI have no symptoms.
If you are writing from within Canada, testing for STIs is free of charge. Depending on where you go and get tested, you can use your real name, or a pseudonym (not real name).
This webpage (SmartSexResource) has a list of clinics that offer testing. It can be found here: https://smartsexresource.com/get-tested/clinic-finder
There is also this online testing service that may also work for you: Get Checked Online https://getcheckedonline.com/Pages/default.aspx It can sometimes offer that extra layer of anonymity for people.
HealthNurse
Hi there,
Thanks for writing.
Gonorrhea is curable with antibiotics. Did you get treatment for it? You should have been given treatment from the place where you got your gonorrhea test. If you have not returned to pick-up the medication since getting your results, then I would recommend going to get the treatment.
The antibiotics are very easy to take, and the infection will be gone in seven days following treatment.
We do not generally hear about people having symptoms such as sore throat which gonorrhea. Even when we find gonorrhea in the throat through a swab test, it is almost always asymptomatic.
If you’ve been treated for gonorrhea, and continue to have symptoms of a sore throat, then I would recommend going to see another healthcare provider in-person. Many common infections can create a sore throat, for example strep throat and staph infections.
Lastly, we would not expect gonorrhea to live for year in the throat. The tissues in the throat are not the preferred tissues for gonorrhea, and it tends to be quite transient in that part of the body. I wouldn’t assume you’ve had it for a year.
Hope this helps!
Please feel free to submit another question as needed.
Health Nurse
Hi,
Thanks for your question.
Were you tested for herpes at the time you tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea? Because they should have done a swab on your genital sores, and if they had a positive result from the swab they would have told you. It’s very likely that it wasn’t herpes.
As far as your past symptoms of the sores… we don’t usually think of sores associated with chlamydia and gonorrhea, however those infections can cause increased discharge, and that discharge can irritate the genital tissues and cause skin breakdown. Skin breakdown can feel like small cuts or tears in the skin, which can be painful and sting. Any painful sore will be suspected to be herpes, which is likely why the nurse said that.
The fact that you haven’t had any repeat sores show up, makes it even less likely that it was herpes.
Since you weren’t given an official herpes diagnosis based on your testing, I would assume it was not herpes.
Herpes can be scary to think about, but I hope you can feel better about this now.
Please let us know if you have any additional questions, or need more information.
Health Nurse
Hi,
This website is based in Canada, and we cannot comment on the tests you had done in Uganda. I don’t know if they are the same tests we use in Canada, or if the tests are different.
In Canada, the 4th generation HIV test (AG/AB) is not a rapid test, but a blood tube we send to the lab. This test is 75% accurate at 3 weeks, and 100% after 3 months.
We also have the rapid test (called an Insiti test) which is a 3rd generation HVI test (AB only). This test is 90% after 4 weeks, and 100% after 3 months.
If you used our test, we would say that you don’t have HIV given a negative test from Oct 27th, which is more than 3 months past the date of potential exposure.
I would just ask the people who did your testing for the window period of the test they used. I would be surprised if it is very different than the 4th generation test we use.
Lastly, regarding your flu-like symptoms, those symptoms can be caused by mange things, including stress, seasonal cold/flu, etc. We would not suspect HIV just based on your symptoms.
Hope this helps!
Please feel free to submit another question if needed
Health Nurse
Hi,
The short answer is no.
To be on the safe side we recommend that you do not have sex until:
While condoms reduce the chance of passing chlamydia and gonorrhea, there is still a possibility of passing them even when a condom is used.
Even after you start taking treatment for chlamydia and/or gonorrhea, you can still pass them in the first 7 days. It takes 7 days for the medication to treat these infections. Only after 7 days is the chance of passing these infections gone.
Even if your partner is taking treatment at the same time as you, we still say do not have sex until after 7 days. The treatment won’t work if someone is re-exposed to chlamydia or gonorrhea in those 7 days.
If you can’t avoid having sex for 7 days, then using a condom will help lower the chance of passing the STI to your partners, but there is no guarantee.
In addition to passing the infection to your partner(s) (or back to yourself), it’s important to avoid sex when you have chlamydia or gonorrhea because the STI can increase your risk of getting HIV. Once the chlamydia or gonorrhea is gone, the HIV risk is normal again.
If you did have sex during the 7 days, then we recommend that you talk to the doctor or clinic where you got the treatment. In some situations, they will recommend that you and your partner(s) get re-treated, or they may suggest that you come back for a follow-up test in 4 weeks.
Have a look at our web page on chlamydia for additional information.
Health Nurse
For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.
Hi,
Thanks for writing.
The short answer is: No, you shouldn’t worry. From the encounter you describe it sounds unlikely you would have passed herpes to your partner.
The longer answer is: Genital herpes is not generally transmitted to hands. Herpes prefers the tissues around the mouth and genitals, and we do not see herpes on transferred to people’s hands.
If your partner touched their genitals to your genitals, or their mouth to you genitals, then herpes can be passed that way. We call that direct skin-to-skin contact. Herpes is not passed through in-direct contact (ie. hands, towels, etc.)
It’s very possible that the touching you received from your partner triggered the vesicles to appear. However, this doesn’t mean that you passed herpes to your partner.
Lastly, I wanted to acknowledge that it can be difficult for many people to navigate sexual consent. It’s great to hear you were communicating with your partner about your sexual needs, and not wanting to have sex. I’m sorry to hear that there was pressure on you to do more. You are entitled to your own body and your own boundaries. Sometimes pressure to have sex is called “coercive sex”. If you want any more information about these issues, check out these links:
Hope this helps. Please let us know if this answers your question, or if you need any more information.
Health Nurse
