how risky is oral sex
- Thread starter DELETDrileydaniels
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Thanks for the article.
I remember reading the original news report, where the researchers made the comment that young people may "be placing themselves at risk of STIs or HIV before they are ever at risk of pregnancy," and being rather shocked to see HIV included in the quote.
It was interesting to see the statistic that a receiver of oral sex from someone who is HIV positive is 0.04 per cent. Since most of the population isn't HIV positive, the overall calculation of risk is significantly less than that.
There has been some debate about whether anyone has ever contracted HIV from oral sex, although I'm not up on the current research. Certainly if it has happened, it is extremely rare.
Other STDs are a different matter.
I remember reading the original news report, where the researchers made the comment that young people may "be placing themselves at risk of STIs or HIV before they are ever at risk of pregnancy," and being rather shocked to see HIV included in the quote.
It was interesting to see the statistic that a receiver of oral sex from someone who is HIV positive is 0.04 per cent. Since most of the population isn't HIV positive, the overall calculation of risk is significantly less than that.
There has been some debate about whether anyone has ever contracted HIV from oral sex, although I'm not up on the current research. Certainly if it has happened, it is extremely rare.
Other STDs are a different matter.
if a girl has herpes, you have a 1 in 5 chance each time she blows you of getting it. Thats even if there are no visible signs like a cold sore. 1 in 5. Then you can also get chlamydia or syphillis. Check the back of their throat for white little bumps. or avoid asking for deep throat.
(for ease of reference)
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SATURDAY, AUG 18, 2012 09:00 PM EDT
How risky is oral sex?
A CDC report reminds that it can be dangerous -- but the risks are more complicated than we think
BY TRACY CLARK-FLORY
Oral sex with a condom or dental dam: It’s one of those things things that sexual health educators preach but which people rarely practice. A reminder of that came earlier this week with the release of a CDC report noting that “adolescents perceive fewer health-related risks for oral sex compared with vaginal intercourse” and, as a result, young people may “be placing themselves at risk of STIs or HIV before they are ever at risk of pregnancy.”
My immediate reaction to that was: Well, but there are fewer health-related risks, right? Then I came across this remark in HealthDay from Christopher Hurt, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: “I would say that the risk of STD transmission through oral sex is underappreciated and underestimated. As part of sex education programs, kids need to be made aware of that fact that oral sex is not a completely risk-free activity.” But, I wondered, just how dangerous is it?
It turns out that putting a solid figure on the danger is difficult. Nikki Mayes of the CDC’s media office says, “As far as I’m aware, no studies have quantified the exact risk for all STIs [through oral sex],” and the CDC doesn’t gather data on STIs contracted through oral sex. It’s difficult to attribute infections to any single sex act — most people who contract STIs engage in a variety of potentially risky sexual practices.
But we can look at what we know about the transmission risks of particular STIs, starting first with the one that scares people the most: HIV. The greatest danger when it comes to oral sex is believed to be with fellatio for the “receptive partner.” (Now here’s a mind fuck: In clinical lingo, “receptive oral sex” refers to performing oral sex on someone — or “giving head,” as the kids say — not to “receiving it.” You can think of it this way: The receptive partner is receiving the penis or vagina in their mouth.) The website of AVERT, an international HIV and AIDS charity, explains that transmission can occur when “sexual fluid (semen or vaginal fluid) or blood (from menstruation or a wound somewhere in the genital or anal region) [gets] into a cut, sore, ulcer or area of inflammation somewhere in their mouth or throat.”
A University of California, San Francisco, study put the per-contact risk of transmission through “receptive” fellatio with an HIV positive partner at 0.04 percent. (For perspective, consider that the same study found a much higher per-contact risk of 0.82 percent for unprotected receptive anal sex.) The researchers calculated the rate of HIV transmission to be 4 out of 10,000 acts of fellatio. Without ejaculation in the mouth, though, some experts have called HIV transmission via performing fellatio “extremely low risk.”
As for the danger of having someone perform unprotected oral sex on you: “The only risk in this scenario would be from bleeding wounds or gums in the HIV positive person’s mouth or on their lips, which may transfer blood onto the mucous membranes of the other person’s genitals or anus, or into any cuts or sores they may have,” according to AVERT.
(I hope that all makes sense — my brain still hurts from trying to understand the concept of “receptive oral sex.”)
Now that we’ve addressed people’s worst fear, let’s turn to the most realistic worry: herpes. It presents the biggest threat of transmission through oral sex, and barrier methods don’t always prevent it. Most risky is the transmission of HSV-1, which typically shows up as sores around the mouth but which can be transmitted from the mouth to the genitals. One study found that women who received oral sex but didn’t have vaginal intercourse were more than nine times as likely to contract the virus than sexually inactive women. (That’s compared to women who only had vaginal intercourse, which were at a lesser risk.) HSV-2 can also be transmitted from genitals to mouth, although it’s rarer.
The other leading risk through oral sex is gonorrhea, says Hurt. STD clinics have reported that 5 to 10 percent of patients have gonorrhea of the throat. Scarier still: Cases of antibiotic-resistant oral gonorrhea are on the rise (meaning these cases are harder to treat but not incurable).
Chlamydia and syphilis are in the second tier of risk through oral sex. A Chicago study found that 13.7 percent of syphilis cases were attributed to oral sex. Generally, though, it’s believed to be uncommon. As for syphilis, that seemingly antiquated infection, it’s “easily transmitted” during oral sex — “if a person’s mouth comes into contact with an open sore or a skin rash caused by the infection,” according to AVERT.
As for HPV, Hurt says, “We really don’t know what the risk is … but it clearly can infect in and around the mouth, as well as in the genital tract.” One study described the risk as “small.” You’ve probably seen the scary headlines about oral sex causing cancer, but as I reported in the past, oral cancers linked to HPV are very rare: Approximately five per 100,000 people. (And most oral cancers are tied to HPV 16, and we have a vaccine for that now).
Further down the list of risk are Hepatitis A, gastrointestinal infections, and parasites, among others — fun times, y’all!
One takeaway is that — sorry, fellatio fans — blow jobs tends to be riskier than cunnilingus. “Across all STIs and all sex acts, generally the receptive partner is the one at greater risk for STI and HIV acquisition, the idea being that wherever ejaculate winds up, that’s also where the greatest burden of infectious material will also wind up,” says Hurt. But that hardly means that cunnilinguists are in the clear: He also says that the risk of contracting syphilis, herpes or HPV by performing oral sex on a woman is “arguably just as high” as with fellatio “since these infections can occur both inside the vagina and on the skin surface.”
There’s a yawning gap between sexual health experts’ recommendations and people’s actual behaviors: A 2004 survey of U.S. adults found that 82 percent of sexually active participants never used a condom or dental dam during oral sex. A U.K. survey of 16 to 18 year olds found that only 2 percent of those who had experienced fellatio consistently used condoms. “It’s pretty uncommon for people to actually use condoms or dental dams when performing oral sex,” says Hurt. Flavored condoms and dental dams help to encourage the practice, but “they can only go so far towards making [oral sex] through latex or polyurethane a pleasurable experience for either partner.”
So, you see, it’s hard to nail down the exact risk of unprotected oral sex, but Hurt says, “The most important point is that it’s all relative, and oral sex isn’t risk-free.”
Im glad to see that no one is arguing this point... I was shocked to see on the public health board that people were basically arguing that it is harmless.... It kills me that so many people think it's ok, just because they likely won't catch HIV and just because what they can get is curable doesnt mean it's okay.
You couldn't catch me giving a bj without a cover, you don't get that until were in a serious relationship.
The fact that so many people believe this makes me never want to do it without one! lol
I read about all these people doing it and swallowing cum... And i don't get it. Why would you do it?! why would you let someone do it when they'll do it for anyone that asks. I always thought that was reserved for junkies and porn stars.... Just sayin. To each their own... But when your choices get passed down the line to people who really don't deserve it. That what kills me. I knew a girl who dated a friend of mine, sweet girl. She ended up being with my friend who obviously had herpes among other things. My friend was a huge slut and slept with any woman who would let her. It finally caught up to her in the form of a huuuuge sore on her lip. I never told the girl she was dating but she likely has it now too. They did a lot of high risk things together... But these weren't sp... They were regular people. I can only imagine how far my friends infection alone has spread.
As a young teenager I also came across a sw covered in sores around her mouth. She obviously had herpes, but was still working. I can only imagine how many people she's giving the gift that keeps on giving. She was obviously doing alright by the looks of her... And again. I don't get it. I didn't even want to stand to close to the woman incase I could catch something from her.... If I had a penis, I definitely would not want a blowjob from her.... Not even a handy. I'd be too worried that she had been picking her face.
You couldn't catch me giving a bj without a cover, you don't get that until were in a serious relationship.
The fact that so many people believe this makes me never want to do it without one! lol
I read about all these people doing it and swallowing cum... And i don't get it. Why would you do it?! why would you let someone do it when they'll do it for anyone that asks. I always thought that was reserved for junkies and porn stars.... Just sayin. To each their own... But when your choices get passed down the line to people who really don't deserve it. That what kills me. I knew a girl who dated a friend of mine, sweet girl. She ended up being with my friend who obviously had herpes among other things. My friend was a huge slut and slept with any woman who would let her. It finally caught up to her in the form of a huuuuge sore on her lip. I never told the girl she was dating but she likely has it now too. They did a lot of high risk things together... But these weren't sp... They were regular people. I can only imagine how far my friends infection alone has spread.
As a young teenager I also came across a sw covered in sores around her mouth. She obviously had herpes, but was still working. I can only imagine how many people she's giving the gift that keeps on giving. She was obviously doing alright by the looks of her... And again. I don't get it. I didn't even want to stand to close to the woman incase I could catch something from her.... If I had a penis, I definitely would not want a blowjob from her.... Not even a handy. I'd be too worried that she had been picking her face.
oral sex is basically safe sex unless there is blood or a cut in the persons mouth. there is basically no proof of anyone ever catching HIV from receiving oral as well as giving. the odds are around 1 in 10000 which is a fraction of 1% if the giver is infected. HIV is pretty hard to transmit, there have been cases of couples where one unknowingly has HIV have had unprotected sex over 100 times yet the one non infected partner has remained clean. with oral, the risk to the man is gonorrhea or NGU. chlamydia cannot be transmitted. MEDHELP is the best online resource for STD's its no nonsense. even if there is a cut in the persons mouth the odds are still extremely low
thats right, says the infectious disease experts (doctors) on MEDHELP who have dedicated their lives to research and are up to date with the latest research studies. world renowned physicians. the conventional wisdom says you can get it from oral, there are many sites with doctors that claim this, but the research and facts discredit their claims
Can you direct me to any articles on "Medhelp" that support your claim that chlamydia
cannot be transmitted via oral sex?
According to the Health Nurse chart giving or recieving a BBBJ is high risk for chlamydia:
http://healthnurse.wordpress.com/faq-about-sexual-health/sti-risks-chart/
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?165018-is-it-possible-that-an-sti&highlight=chlamydia
http://smartsexresource.com/topics/chlamydia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlamydia_infection#Transmission
One in five, who told you that?
What is the chance if you don't get "deep throat"? One in a trillion?
How many girls have herpes?
You, starting today. Add that fleshlight, er, flashlight, to the pooner equipment bag.
http://m.cdc.gov/en/HealthSafetyTopics/DiseasesConditions/STDs/chlamydiaFS
"Since chlamydia can be transmitted by oral or anal sex, men who have sex with men are also at risk for chlamydial infection"
http://www.medhelp.org/tags/health_page/1659/Chlamydia/Chlamydia-FAQs?hp_id=604
"How do people get chlamydia?
Chlamydia can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex."
I have no idea how someone would come to believe that that oral sex is not a vector. It easily would even be happy to enter a new host through the nasal cavity, if you somehow decided to pump sperm in there.
In the general U.S. population, 17% of adults aged 14-49 years have HSV-2 antibodies. (CDC)
If a woman has had fewer than 5 sex partners in her life the odds of her having HSV-2 is under 19%. Once she hits 10 sex partners the risk is over 37% ( National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey study performed between 2005 and 2008)
Seroprevalence estimates for HSV-1 and HSV-2 in Canada (1999) 57% + 13%
FYI HSV = Human Simplex Virus = Herpes.
Although not documented in detail, I guess it would be safe to say that in Toronto every second person you meet who has had over 10 sex partners has herpes of one kind or another.
Don't you hate facts?
it actually grosses me the fuck out with these prostitutes do bbbj. i only deal with the safe ones that are condom only.
I have trouble imagining what a man is thinking of as he DFKs one who offers bbbj. Even with BFs over the years, the cover never came off for BJs unless we had taken recent blood tests. BBFS and bb-anal never happened until I found a man who I trusted, and after 2 sets of tests.
I have no idea how I would react if my SO brought an STD home. I suspect I would be destroyed.
