After a casual encounter with a woman he had met in the local tavern about a week earlier, Darryl became worried when he began having burning with urination and a discharge from the opening of his penis. Both Darryl and his partner had been drinking, and they didn’t use a condom for either oral or genital sex. The next day, Darryl realized that he had put himself at risk, and he was not surprised when a few days later he began to have these symptoms. He had had gonorrhea in the past and was sure he had it again. He went to his internist, who listened intently to his story and then asked for a urine sample. His doctor would call him with the results in a few days.
Darryl went home a little worried about the outcome of this visit to his doctor because he remembered that, the last time he had been diagnosed with gonorrhea, he had had a swab inserted into the urine opening in the penis and he was able to receive treatment for the infection right away. His symptoms worsened, and he was therefore surprised when a few days later his doctor called to inform him that his urinalysis was normal and there was no infection present.
Still worried, Darryl decided to go to the local STD clinic, where a swab of the discharge revealed gonorrhea. He was given a shot and pills to take over the next week. He was also counseled about safe sex practices, and it was recommended that he seek help for his alcohol use, since it had increased over the last few years and often contributed to poor decisions about sexual partners. He also had tests performed for other STDs and scheduled a follow-up visit in a few months for additional tests.
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