Giving Oral Sex....Not a Risk?

[nydave]

I see and still cannot believe it.
I am a gay male and for the most part perform oral sex.
Are you/anyone telling me that performing oral sex is not a risk factor for HIV?
Please clarify as I am confused.

Thanks

[LIZZIE LOU]

HERE'S YOUR SIMPLE "NO" :)

[nydave]

ok ok.....now I am lost.

was performing oral sex a significant risk or not? something to test for?

a simple yes or no would do.  

[LIZZIE LOU]

exactly...lol

[jvrg1974]

You might have slightly misunderstood what I wrote. Doesn't matter. I think we are essentially saying the same thing:

In controlled studies HIV infection through oral sex can't be replicated. Therefore all these 'claims' must be people too embarrassed to admit they did something other than oral sex.

Thanks for the clarification.

[LIZZIE LOU]

as snippets stated...in the spain studies...couples were used where one was positive and one was negative.  vaginal/anal intercourse was always done using protection...only oral sex was unprotected.  how much more controlled can it get???

[jvrg1974]

" it "appears" that alot of straight ppl who might experiment a little...feel that "just" having oral sex is not quite as bad as having intercourse.  all the recent studies prove that hiv is not being transmitted through oral sex."

Just to clarify, what you are saying above is that all these claims are possibly people that had a high risk exposure such as anal sex but say they only had oral due to shame? Which would explain why oral transmission can't be replicated in controlled studies.

[nydave]

Thanks....both of you.

[snippets69]

There is a possible risk, but whether it's one you should be concerned about is another story entirely.  In the paste above there is mention of a spanish study done (google it if you want to know more) over a 10 year period with serodiscordant couples (one had HIV, the other didn't) - the only unprotected sex was oral.  

They estimated over 19,000 acts of oral with not one single transmission.  

[LIZZIE LOU]

HERE IS A COPY AND PASTE...

Questions about oral sex are probably the most common ones we get. In terms of HIV, oral sex both ways is very safe. The University of California San Francisco and the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health just completed a study of men in San Francisco who have only had oral sex and found zero new HIV infections. A very recent study from Spain confirmed earlier studies that oral sex is safe sex in terms of HIV. However, there are case reports and individual experiences that support that HIV can be transmitted through oral sex, although rarely. As far as whether oral sex is riskier if you swallow, truthfully no one really knows.

Dr. K is Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH, a board certified internist and infectious disease specialist. He attended Cornell University Medical College, completed his residency at NYU-Bellevue Hospital Center, earned a Master's in Public Health at Harvard University and worked as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

***THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CLAIMS OF DEVELOPING HIV FROM ORAL SEX...just as the above post states...but it cannot be proved.  it "appears" that alot of straight ppl who might experiment a little...feel that "just" having oral sex is not quite as bad as having intercourse.  all the recent studies prove that hiv is not being transmitted through oral sex.

[jvrg1974]

You know I was thinking of posting a question along these lines.

Not to long ago, Teak would answer this question along the lines of "With good oral health, no risk". Lately he has been giving a more direct "no" without the "oral health " qualifier. Perhaps he has lately felt more confidence in saying this due to all the evidence that points to it no being a risk.

The doctors will still say very low risk. But there may be liability issues there. Also, scientists don't like to speak in absolutes because I think you can't really prove something can't happen.

I look forward to Teak or Lizzie's response.