I used to think I was careful. I never had unprotected sex, I always used condoms, and I got tested regularly. But I made one big mistake—I assumed oral sex was low-risk.
I don’t even remember when it started. Maybe a few weeks before my test, maybe months earlier. But at some point, I noticed a scratchy throat that wouldn’t go away. I thought it was allergies or maybe just the result of talking too much at work. No fever, no major pain—nothing that really screamed something’s wrong.
When my test results came back, I expected the usual—everything negative. Instead, my doctor said, "You tested positive for oral gonorrhea."
Wait. What?
I remember just staring at the screen, rereading it like it was some kind of typo. How? I hadn’t had unprotected sex. I hadn’t done anything risky. I was careful.
But here’s the thing—I wasn’t as careful as I thought. I had never considered that Can You Get an STD from Oral Sex? wasn’t just a theoretical question. I always thought of STDs as something you got from intercourse—not something that could live in your throat without any real symptoms.
My doctor told me I wasn’t alone. Oral gonorrhea is extremely underdiagnosed because:
✔ Most people don’t have symptoms, so they don’t think to get tested.
✔ Regular STD tests don’t include throat swabs unless you ask for them.
✔ People assume oral sex is safer—so they don’t protect themselves the same way they would during intercourse.
And that’s exactly what happened to me.
The worst part? Having to tell my partner.
We had been together for a few months, casually dating, nothing super serious. And now, suddenly, I had to tell them they might have an STD.
Their reaction? Confusion. Disbelief. A little bit of defensiveness.
"Wait, how is that even possible? We used condoms every time."