Oral Worries

Hey all.
Thanks for all your insights, you have been tremendously helpfull.  My question is basically this.  i have seen many websites and even talked to the CDC.  It seems there are a lot of conflicting reports on Giving oral sex.  the good MD here says there is very limited risk.  Have you all found this to be true.  I got tested on thursday and I am waiting until Tues for the results.  But am freaked now.  Over the last 5 years, I have been with several prositutes.  I know I know...bad idea.  And it has all stopped as I amm having a baby and have decided that the risks are too great.  Anyhow, I have never had unprotected sex other than oral sex.  3 times with a female and 4 times with a transgendered person.  None of wholm ejaculated but I am not sure about pre-***.  So you can see my concerns.  Also, the last time was about a month ago.  As I am waiting for the results, I am trying to ease my mind.  Any wors of wisdom.  I am also aware of the many symptoms of stress and anxiety and they seem to coincide with the symptoms of many STD.  mainly HIV.  So I can;t tell if this is in my mind or not.  I am tired and stiff.  And having trouble concentrating..all of which could be the stress.  Anyway, thatnks to anyone who has some words for me.
Good Luck All

[Brian123]

Oral sex (receiving) carries no significant risk for transmission of HIV.
The biggest concerns I would be worried for are gonnorea and HSV (herpes).
Oral sex is not even on the radar for HIV.  If it were....MORE people would have it.

BTW,
MD HHH is a reknowed individual for his knowledge of STD's.
He has been in the field for over 20 years...and is all too famliar with risks.
Why not just test for piece-of-mind?
If you were having unprotected anal/vaginal sex...my answer would be different.

Good Luck.

B.

[scar21]

Brian,
Thanks.  What about giving?  I was tested on thursday..Waiting for the results.

[Brian123]

Giving oral sex is still VERY low.
Though it is higher than receiving...giving or receiving oral sex is still low and not even considered a "real" risk.
Thank God we have an enzyme in our saliva that does not help HIV be very transmissible to our bodies.
Now, consider the following:
(1) the other person would have to have HIV
(2) saliva helps breakdown the HIV virus
(3) the mouth is not a hospitable environment for HIV
(4) you would have to have/had an open cut/sore in your mouth
(5) the HIV virus would not only have to have the following 4 criteria above, but there needs to be sufficent virus present...and THEN...go into your bloodstream.

Never have I ever heard of anyone contracting HIV through oral sex...and I am gay!
If they claim they did, it wasn't through oral sex, but through some other mechanism (unprotected ana/vaginal sex or IV drug use).

Hope that makes you feel better.  :)
BTW, I always recommend protection for ANY kind of sex, latex barrier, female condom, etc.
The CDC is a conservative-ran government program that STILL, after all (25 years) years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic go by "traditional" rules.  I would not advise them as a reliable source for HIV concerns for persons who are "worried":..........but that is MY opinion.

If you decide to get tested....get tested @ least 8 weeks from the last exposure you in regards to any of the circumstances you are concerned.


B.

[scar21]

Thanks so much Brian.  I appreciate your time for answering.  I am waiting for the first test and then in the next month or so i will have another test to verify for the window.  Any suggestions on the type of test?  I have seen there are a couple of different ones.

Thanks again.

[Brian123]

For your peace-of-mind.....go in for an 8 week anitbody test (Rapid Test).
They ***** your finger, you wait for 20 minutes, and you get the test results right there. (That is, if your area Health Dept. offers this service.) I would call the HD and see if they offer this. This test is also anonymous. So no results are recorded...just a number for identifying yourself. Some HD require an appt....so call a week ahead...just in case.

For more "reliable" information, go to "the body"  www.thebody.com

This website is ran by an HIV+ MD who also very kind in answering questions of this nature as well.  You might also want to check the "Archives" of this site as well as "the body".

If you need to call and speak to someone, the people @ GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) in NYC also take phone calls.  I really believe you are and will be ok. And you do NOT need to be gay to call them.  LOL!! (see their website as well)

GMHC (1-212-367-1100) Their hours are I believe from 9am-6pm Mon-Fri.

B.

[Xhost]

Seems Brian has given you good information and excellent advice. I will only add this, which may comfort you: the doc on this site (you may want to read through the forums at what he has said in the past) has said that there has never been a reliably documented case of anyone contracting HIV with oral sex as the sole mechanism of transmission.

Now, I am not a researcher, nor a doctor. But, when I was in your position (sweating out an HIV test), it made me feel better to read that. Especially given the Doctor's standing in the field.

Also, you touched on a pet peeve of mine: the CDC. I called them as well when I was searching for information, and I found the few people that I talked to there to be next to useless. I was given outdated information on the window period, and, what I believe now to be inaccurate information on my risks of having contracted HIV from oral sex. That is not to say that the whole organization is completely screwed up, it's not - they perform a vital function. It did leave me wishing, though, that they were a bit better in terms of dispensing accurate information about HIV. Of course, that was my own experience, others may think better of them based on their own experiences.

In any event, good luck to you, though I doubt you will need luck. Take care of yourself, and congratulations on becoming a father.

[cyndi63]

While it may be considered very low risk.. I have a friend who contracted HIV giving oral sex.  He was under the delusion that he "couldnt" get HIV and  it wasnt a worry because he never bottoms....  so lower risk yes, no risk. absolutely not!

[WorriedUS]

Cyndi63,

May I ask if you know some of the approximate particulars regarding your friend's HIV transmission?

I mean like, number one, did he know his partner on whom he was performing oral sex on to be positive?

If so, did he ingest any ejaculatory semen?  

Was his partner aware of his own status?  And if so, was his partner also one who took medication to counter his CD4 levels?

What about any possible cuts on his partners (the Positive person) on penis due to maybe a penis ring, or his circumcision status?

Oral sex DEFINITELY has risk, but there are factors that enhance that risk such as the answers to the questions above.

I mean to say, that not to allay anyone's fear or oral sex nor to say that oral sex definitely is a risk, but rather, people should know about risk reducing strategies when it comes to ANY type of sex, including oral sex.

But I find it very interesting that you do mention that your friend is gay/bi, as HIV is more prevalent in the gay community.  I mention this because your risk becomes amplified if number one, you are in that community, and don't know the status of your partner (i.e., you don't ask).

I'm sure the Doc would agree that being in that community AND not asking your partner's status is definitely a risk enhancer, not to say that your partner didn't do that, but nonetheless, I don't believe EVERYONE's risk for receiving or performing oral sex is truly 1 in 10,000 (performing) oral sex.  That number, HOWEVER low, is an statistical average and some people's risk I would believe, is surely higher depending on the factors I mentioned above.

But it would DEFINITELY be interesting to know some of the answers to your friend's circumstances for HIV transmission from his partner, assuming of course that his partner did give him HIV through oral only.

Regards,

-WorriedUS

[Brian123]

I have to agree with Worried.
You ironically mentioned that he never "bottoms".
Being a gay male, most gay men do not want to assertively say that they do indeed "bottom".  More than likely his HIV status was due to more than oral sex infection.
Otherwise why would he have a need to get tested?..unless he decided to get routinley tested.  Even the MD at thebody.com answered a question about this.
He stated that you could perform oral sex for years and rarely have the risk for HIV infection.  Of course, there is that 1 in a 10,000 chance he was infected. So be it.
Otherwise, to be honest.....I do not believe in his risk assessment from contracting HIV through oral sex.

B.

[Pat0407]

Brian  

Hey i was just kinda worried as far as me receiving oral sex frm another women im not sure if she had HIV or not but i never had any sex with her nor even kissed her all she gave me was oral sex. I already had an anti-body hiv test,herpes,gonorrhea and full std test and it was alll negative but you know how it is..you're always worried so what i did on monday was take an HIV DNA test which detects it 48-72 hours of exposure. Im reading here that you say risk is very low..thats a better relief..what ya think?

[WorriedUS]

pat0407,

copy this link into a new browser page.

http://ww2.aegis.org/pubs/mmwr/2005/r402a1t1.gif

your risk of attaining HIV from anyone who IS positive is 0.5/10,000 = .005%.  which is a chance of 1 in 5,000 occurrences.

btw, the following would have to occur:

1) your partner has to have HIV
2) your partner has to have sufficient levels fo the Virus
3) you would have to have open lesions on penis
4) there would have to be blood (a lot of blood) in her mouth
5) it would have to be RUBBED into the lesions.

and btw, your chances for acquiring from receiving fellatio are still not certain.

This is not what I say, but what the DOC said in a different thread as a response to possibly attaining HIV from receiving oral sex.

Good luck!!

-WorriedUS