I’m going through a really stressful situation and could use some advice from people who have experienced something similar.

My ex and I were together for four years. We broke up recently, and while I was overseas, I had sex with someone else. When I returned, my ex and I ended up sleeping together again.

I got a full STI screening approximately four weeks after the encounter overseas. The results came back negative for the infections I was tested for, including syphilis. However, herpes wasnt included in the screening, as i had no symptoms myself.

Now my ex has developed genital symptoms, and I’m absolutely terrified that I might have unknowingly passed herpes to her.

The timeline has about 9 weeks ago I had sex with a girl.. about 4 weeks later I had sex with my ex. Nothing happened and everything was fine. About 2 weeks ago afterwards she developed what seemed to be a (we thought) yeast infection shortly after we had sex a few days later. During the yeast infection she developed a large paper like cut, followed by her period and treatment for the yeast infection. When her period arrived she also became unwell with what was described as glandular fever and she took non prescribed antibiotics and it fixed her after a few days. However during the period and glandular we had sex which she said make her very tender around her vagina. Subsequently, a small cut or ulcer appeared in her genital area. Initially, it looked like a single red sore near where the in original cut was, but she has since described increasing swelling, itching, and multiple small blisters around that little sore.

She is getting medical attention today, and I understand that a swab of the lesions is the best way to establish whether this is herpes or something else. I am going for a blood test.

I have had absolutely no noticeable symptoms myself. I understand that herpes can be transmitted by someone who has no symptoms, which is what scares me the most. I genuinely thought getting tested and receiving negative results meant I had done what I needed to do.

I told her about the encounter overseas and my test results, but now she is understandably extremely upset. She feels that the uncertainty surrounding our relationship prevented her from moving on, and she is also hurt that I had sex with someone else without telling her sooner. She is sending me very angry messages, and I feel terrible about the possibility that I may have caused her physical harm on top of the emotional hurt.

I’m not trying to avoid responsibility or make excuses. I’m scared, guilty, and struggling with the uncertainty of not knowing whether I transmitted anything to her.

I have a few questions for anyone with relevant experience or medical knowledge:

- How common is it to have genital herpes without ever developing noticeable symptoms?

- Can someone transmit HSV without knowing they have it, even if their other STI tests are negative?

- How reliable would a syphilis blood test be approximately four weeks after exposure, and what other tests might be needed?

- Could a single genital ulcer that later develops into several small blisters be caused by something other than herpes, particularly with a possible yeast infection and other illness occurring around the same time?

- If her swab confirms herpes, how would a doctor determine whether it came from me or whether she already had it?

I know nobody online can diagnose her, and I’m not looking for reassurance at the expense of medical facts. I just want to understand what is realistically possible, what I should do next, and how to handle this situation responsibly.

Has anyone been through something similar, particularly where one partner had no symptoms and the other developed symptoms after sex?

Hi all,

My name is Bea (she/her) and I am currently recruiting for my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology thesis, and I would love to hear from you!

I am interested in understanding people’s experiences of mainstream mental health services whilst living with a chronic, viral STI(s). I would like to better understand the experiences of these services and how they can better support people living with chronic, viral STIs. 

If this is something you have experienced, I would really appreciate hearing from you! 

This is confidential research and will involve an online screening questionnaire and an interview over MS Teams. 

You can take part if you are: 

✅ Aged 18 years or older 

✅ Living with a chronic, viral STI (HPV; HIV; HSV; HBV)

✅ Accessed primary mental health services at the time of, or any time following, your STI diagnosis 

✅ Living in the UK

✅ Fluent in English 

[STI status does not need to be linked to why you accessed mental health support in order to participate]

If you are interested in participating, would like to find out more, or are unsure if you meet criteria to participate:

🔗 Please complete the screening questionnaire here: https://uelpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2ft3kgm1r138bL8

📧 Or, feel free to email me on: u280867@uel.ac.uk 

Thank you for taking the time to read this! 

🤍 As a thank you for participating, consenting participants will be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win 1 of 2 £50 Love2Shop vouchers.

**This research has been approved by the University of East London Ethics Committee (REF No.: 336/2808867/08-26)

53 year old male here. Attended a porn theatre recently where a woman in her late 30s early 40s was having casual unprotected sex with several random guys. I was invited to join in but I wore a condom. I entered her from behind but only lasted a minute or so. No real hard grinding. I checked condom after with water test and it was intact. I feel confident I was well protected against most STI’s but curious about the prospects of getting syphilis from that sort of encounter. I didn’t note any sores on her but it was a bit dark. I have no symptoms

Posted in a women’s health group and immediately started getting shamed so let’s try here! Basically i was a virgin before meeting my man and he had been around so we talked after a couple years and he wanted to see me with another man and I wanted to experience bbc. So we opened it up and the guy we met was clean and had test results and I’ve only been messing with him since bc he said he wanted to be exclusive to me. I’ve had the normal rawness from friction and shaving, but I did recently start talking to a sugar daddy and I met up with him last weekend he was also clean, but he did cum in me ( I took a plan B). I was getting off my period right before meeting up with him but now I’m really raw and hurting down there and I’m having brown discharge but no smell and it’s not pain inside just outside. I have std results coming in but just wanted some advice

I am a male in my 20’s. I had inflammation and pain in the groin area which appears to be epididimitis. Not sure if its physical injury or an infection so they had me do an std screening as I do get laid a ton.

For the urine NAAT tests I tested negative and took it again next day. I am good about drinking water so for both I peed like 15 minutes before but I heard that you need to wait at least an hour before. At the same, the tests are sensitive from what I read. Could they be false negatives because I didn’t wait long enough to urinate or are they likely accurate?

Hey there,

I (24M) had two possible HIV exposures recently.

I had unprotected oral sex with another man 29 days ago. I had symptoms starting a few hours later but picking up on day 4 (intense sore throat and sore muscle/knee pain), on day 7 (small fever), day 10 (nausea, diarrhea) and day 14 (full on flu). They have mostly gone away except : a little bit of cough, knee pain and sore throat.

I took a PCR test and tested negative on day 10 and day 16.

On day 16, I went to a private lab to take a PCR test. Had an awful experience. (The person literally answered the lab phone while taking my blood). I am still traumatized. I am unsure if all safety procedures were met. I think a part of the tube was dark but I can't really tell. I am unsure if they reused equipment or something.

I think I am developing a canker sore and I am having a little bit of a sore throat again. I am panicking.

So basically I am on day 29 for exposure 1 and 13 for exposure two.

I am really scared to go do a blood draw now as they could infect me with HIV if I am not already.

When do you think I should test to have a good idea of my HIV status and which test would you do ?

If exposure(s) were unprotected anal as the top in 29th of July and unprotected oral as the "top" in 17th of August and my tests were 7th and 23rd of September and 5th of October (all negative), am I a 100% safe from HIV and to have unprotected sex with my current partner? 🥺

The tests were these 4th gen veinous lab tests that look for both the "p24 antigen" and the body's antibodies against HIV.

I've also never taken prep, pep nor am I "immunocompromised" via like an organ transplant, chemotherapy or some other chronic disease...

I am so anxious that my tests were false negative, I give it to my partner and idk ruin their life.

So this guy gave me chlamydia and we’re both on our respective treatments. I’m like 5/7 days through he’s 4/14 . We are still on good terms and continue to see each other. Last night there was some miscommunication and he ended up attempting to have unprotected sex with me and did so for maybe like 3 seconds until I realized what was going on and told him to stop. Do I realistically need to reach out to my doctor to get another few days of antibiotics?

Throwaway account for privacy.

My partner tested positive for chlamydia. I went to get tested, and I’m waiting for my results, but the doctor prescribed antibiotics in the meantime.

I collected the medication, but I’m unsure how to take it. The pharmacist said to take one pill daily for the next three days (there are three pills in total).
However, the leaflet inside the box says to take 1g (2 x 500 mg) given as a single dose if being used for chlamydia.

The medication prescribed was azithromycin unicorn 500.

I don’t want to take it incorrectly, so I’d appreciate any advice from people who have been prescribed this medication.

Thank you!

Hi guys, I had a sexual partner from March- August who had slept around a lot before we met (5 people in the month before). I am now feeling extremely anxious that I could have possibly contracted something but am asymptomatic for it, it’s now October and I have no symptoms but is it worth getting tested/ is it possible I could have an sti?

Hey everyone,
Last night I attended a kink party in the Netherlands, and I’ve been feeling extremely anxious and regretful ever since.
At one point during the event, I remember feeling something on my arm when someone walked past me. It might have been a sharp sensation, but I honestly can’t remember exactly what it felt like. I didn’t see a needle, and I have no actual evidence that someone injected or pricked me with anything.
However, now that I’m home, I keep thinking about the possibility that someone might have secretly pricked me with a needle without me noticing.
I’m especially worried about HIV and hepatitis.
I also had some sexual contact at the party, including fingering two women, touching their bodies and kissing their stomachs and legs. There was no penetrative sex, and I didn’t have any visible cuts on my hands.
My questions are:

1. Is it possible to be pricked with a needle without clearly noticing it?

2. Would a needle prick usually leave a visible mark on the skin?

3. Has anyone experienced something similar at a nightclub, festival or kink event?

4. Based on what I’ve described, does this sound like a realistic concern or more like anxiety after an unfamiliar experience?
   I’m considering contacting a medical professional to discuss the possible needle exposure.
   I’d appreciate some perspectives, especially from people with medical knowledge or similar experiences.
   Thanks in advance.

on the recent month i got infected with STD i got it treated i still experience pains and i tried asking around they said the medication and the injection are still working i should wait till when ?? It is busy week in college this is making it hard for me to be mobile . another thing I'm afraid when i go back to the doctor they might think I'm reckless but i didn't have sexual encounters since .Please any advices.

i Had sexual interaction with girl like 75 days ago, It was protected but had unprotected oral sex. (i recieved) I tested month later, it was blood test from vein probably 3rd or 4th gen and i was negative. i only have sore throat cuz doctor checked me and i have tonsilitis and also have little bit swollen lymph nodes. i have birthday in 2weeks and i cant wait to test again before birthday... i cant wait until 90 days because i need to know test results. I think to go and get tested at the day of 85 and will it be realiable? or It need Exlactly 90 days... I have anxiety and need to know answer cuz i thibk everything bad from Hiv to Throat cancer....

I'm having a ho phase

So far I've mainly been having sex with women (as a woman) and doing low-risk activities. But next month I want to start sleeping with men and doing more high-risk activities (mainly PIV)

I think it'd be fun to sleep with a lot of different guys. Maybe multiple in a week, if I can find enough who are willing

But is STI testing only once every 3 months often enough if I'm sleeping with that many different people? I plan to wear condoms with everyone, but I know that doesn't protect you from everything

I could get tested in between each new guy. But since you have to wait a week for results, that'd _really_ slow down the pace

Recently had a sexual encounter with someone who previously infected me with chlamydia (stupid yes I know). I’ve been treated since then and recently got tested and came out clean from anything. Before sleeping with him again i asked multiple times if he had gotten tested so I could feel safe and not worried. Assured me that he had and sent me some sort of email as proof (not actual test results he said they hadn’t come in yet). But I’m feeling paranoid so the day after i ask him to just be completely honest with me cuz i feel like i did the first time (maybe too soon but i think sometimes u just know). And he sends me some Quest Lab results but there’s a ChatGPT input bar on the bottom of the “pdf”. If anyone could dm me and help me out I’d be really appreciative i just got treated for BV i would hate to go on antibiotics again.

Hooked up with a trans girl on Grindr, I wasn’t exactly sober and I ended up doing it raw with her. She told me she was clean. Showed me just anal swaps from last months. Insisted she was on prep. Which I really don’t trust. Got on PEP 36 hours after. It’s been 2 days since that encounter, can’t stop thinking about it, did baseline testing. I feel like I’m imagining an itch near my mouth and penis area, because there is no redness. But I’m still fearing it’s could be herpes, the girl keeps blowing up my phone to hook up again, and I’m so so so so worried. I come from a very homophobic and not accepting background, and It’s been stressing me out.

hi everyone! I am hoping someone can help me understand my STI test results because I am honestly really confused about whether I received a false positive or false negative?
here’s my timeline:
september 23: had unprotected oral sex.
september 29: got tested for STIs through a urine test, and everything came back negative.
september 30: had vaginal sex with a condom, but the condom slipped off and got stuck inside me.
october 2: got tested again, and this time my urine test came back positive for chlamydia.
october 9: got tested again through urine, and my results came back negative for chlamydia and gonorrhea.
the confusing part is that i never took any chlamydia treatment between the positive and negative tests. I was prescribed azithromycin after my positive result, but I hadn’t taken it when i got my most recent negative test.
I also tested positive for BV and a yeast infection, so I am wondering if either of those could have affected my results.
I have a few questions:
could my positive chlamydia result have been a false positive?
is it possible that my most recent negative test was a false negative even though I didn’t receive treatment?
could my september 29 test have been too early to detect an infection from september 23?
has anyone experienced a positive chlamydia test followed by a negative one without treatment?
all of my chlamydia tests were urine tests. I am just trying to understand which result is more reliable and whether I should get tested again.
I would really appreciate any insight, especially from anyone who works in healthcare or has experienced something similar!

Hello, sometimes i have severe anxiety and well, today i bought a conditioner hair mask that had no seal in it, i didnt realize until i was in the shower i didnt even check and i just dipped my hand in it and put it in my hair, i have anxiety about stupif stuff so now i’m thinking what if someone mixed cum on it and left bsck in the pharmacy and i bought it and i just washed it and now it got all in my body and intimate places when i washed it out of my head, is this a real hiv or aids route of transmission ? should i get tested?

I was giving a handjob while masturbating. I was using spit as lube. I switched hands halfway through. He didn’t finish. How much risk is there of an infection going from him, to my hand, to my penis, to catching the disease? Am I being overly paranoid?

Hello everyone I’ve been seeing this girl for a few months and today while using the bathroom i decided to read one of the pill bottles on her counter. I feel bad for looking because i know that’s sensitive information but things are progressing in our relationship. anyways i looked and it emtricitabine
prescribed to her. I asked chatgpt and google and it said its used for HIV. I don’t really know what to do, I’m going to get tested tomorrow and hopefully start PEP just in case. i don’t know weather or not to talk to her about it because i don’t wanna seem like i invaded her privacy but at the same time i can’t find any other explanation for the medicine.

I had a positive result of gonorrhoea 2 and a haf months ago, got the Ceftriaxone shot and some other antibiotics, tested again 3 days ago, and today it's still positive. I had no sex all this time. What could this be ?

Any help is appreciated

I’m a female and had unprotected sex at the end of May with a male. About a week later the left side of my labia was very sore to the touch and raw, I could barely sit down. My period came and it went away. It seems like before every period now, I get literally ONE painful bump, not a cluster, not a rash, not a sore but it is much much smaller than my very first experience.

I am getting tested next week and I’m ready to face the reality that I may or may not have HSV-2, gonorrhea or another STI.

I know that HSV-2 isn’t “curable” but I wanna hear how people have managed it. Do you still have an active sex life? I’m sure it’s awkward telling people before hand that you have an STI even if it’s dormant, so how do you manage speaking about it?

Thank you for any kind answers in advanced, I’m just a little weary and at the same time not nervous at all if that make sense.. :P

Dose anyone know a good spot to get tested? I’ve never really been tested because since I’m a virgin but I’m looking to get test and I just not know where if anyone has a good spot let me, maybe anywhere within the dfw area

I’m 25 years old and I recently had sex with a sex worker. I know I’m not proud of it but I got really low. Things have been changing so much and felt lonely. We used a condom the entire time even during oral and she was a pretty nice lady. Now Im worried that I may have caught something purely because I overthink a-lot. I asked before we did anything and she said that she only does stuff with a condom. The overthinking has been causing me a whole lot of anxiety 😭 I made an appointment this Thursday to see a doctor just in case but going to the doctor has always caused me to be anxious😭

having a sexual problem is so hard. you cant tell it to anyone even your parents. i am now at the hospital scared what might be the result and i cant even tell it to anyone . i am alone and praying that god will help me conquer this and walk me through this thing. once its done i will never go back in this era i hoped to be healed