Sexually Transmitted Diseases are highly infectious diseases that can lead to severe long-term health complications if not addressed in the earliest stages. Oral STDs are the same infections that can be seen on and around the oral cavity. Generally, symptoms like sore throat, white spots on the tough and inner mouth, and sores around the lips are common signs of sexually transmitted diseases. Not all types of STDs can be orally transmitted but there are a few that has a high probability of acquiring through sex, especially oral intimacy.
What are STDs?
STDs are a special type of contagious infectious that gets transmitted primarily through sex, including oral, anal, and even genital touching with the infected person. According to Healthline, there are more than a dozen types of STDs that infected every other sexually active person around the world.
Another statistic shows that there are nearly 1 million new STD cases getting recorded every single day around the world. However, the fatality rates have gone down since the early years of the current century. HIV which was predominant in contributing to the death rates from STDs has tanked substantially due to technical advancements in medical diagnostic procedures and STD awareness campaigns.
Types of STD
As we mentioned before, there are more than a dozen types of STDs, but not all of them are widespread, either within the US or around the world. However, there are a few types of STDs that are highly contagious. Following are the most commonly seen STDs in the US –
The following are some more, but they are neither very common nor rarely seen –
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis C
- Mononucleosis
- HPV
Oral STDs
There’s a misconception about STDs, that they cannot or are not transmissible via oral sex. This is a complete myth. STD causing agents like viruses and parasites can be transferred from one person to another orally and to take things further, some types of STDs do not even need physical contact, but just exchange of underclothing used by an infected person, using a used razor and accepting blood donations from unscreened donors are high chances of being an STD carrier.
People who engage in oral sex often get infected around the mouth and start to see symptoms like oral sores, sore throat, and white spots on their mouth. If you are sexually active and see any of these symptoms, then get tested for STDs instead of waiting for more symptoms to appear or the oral symptoms to disappear on their own.
What STDs Cause Sore Throat?
Oral STDs are highly contagious and they can cause severe symptoms that can be intolerable in the oral cavity, such as a sore throat. Following are the STDs that cause sore throat symptoms –
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhea
- Syphilis
- Oral Herpes
- HIV
- HPV
- Mononucleosis
Oral STD symptoms can take many forms and may vary from person to person. Some may also experience the following symptoms along with their sore throat –
- Trouble while swallowing
- Painless sores inside the mouth
- Sores on your tongue
White Patches in Throat: Oral STD Symptoms
Some people can see white patches inside their oral cavity and on their tongues after having oral sex. This indicates that you have been infected with an STD. The infection-causing viruses and bacteria start to manipulate and then spreads to other areas like sores around the mouth and then into your inner mouth infection tonsils and causing a sore throat.
STDs like syphilis and HIV have white spots as their common symptms.
Fever and Cough: Oral STD Symptoms
Almost all of the above STDs can cause fever and cough symptoms along with the sore throat sign. Fever and cough are general thumb rules for your body to indicate something’s not in place. And if you are sexually active, that is having more than one sex partner, then it is a signal that you may want to get tested for STDs.
STDs, like Herpes and Chlamydia, can cause blisters in your mouth which can be grey or pink in color along with sore throat and feverish symptoms.
Since STDs do not exhibit other symptoms in the initial phase, but fever and cough can be seen as a first stage. However, fever and cough alone are not sufficient for an individual to figure out whether they have an STD. This is one of the reasons people delay thinking they have a flu-like disease and nothing much serious, resulting in the spreading the diseases to other sex partners without their knowledge.
Treatment for Sore Throat STD
STDs are types of diseases that can be cured in the initial stages, but when delayed they can result in other health complications and often take a long time to cure. When you experience the sore throat symptoms and get positive results from your diagnosis testing, your doctor will prescribe you medication according to your infected STDs and the stage you are in. Sore throat and other symptoms are likely to go away in a matter of days since you have started taking the medications. However, one thing to keep in mind is, even though you don’t see the symptoms, it is highly recommended to continue your full medication course so that the disease will be completely gotten rid of.
Can Sore Throat Caused by STD be Cured?
Sore throat-causing STDs can be cured, but it depends on the type of STD you are infected with. Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Mononucleosis are all bacteria causing STDs which can be terminated with the help of antibiotics and prescription medicines. On the other hand, severe pathogens like viruses causing STDs are often hard to cure and even harder to detect in the first place, where no symptoms are revealed in the early stages, often leading to end-stage conditions like AIDS, and other health issues.
However, even the bacteria causing STDs then can also lead to severe health complications like infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in women and much more in the long run if left untreated.