oral sex

[wildstar]

Just wanna ask if you can get hiv in oral sex??
i am bisexual,i only had 3 experience with a guy, we didint engage in anal sex. purely oral sex and i didnt swallow the ejaculation material. can i still get hiv from that?

[LIZZIE LOU]

there has never been a documented case of hiv being passed this way.

[Sadandregretful]

Your concern is the same I´ve had over the last week (see my "Did I behave foolishly?" post from yesterday). All the comments I received indicated that oral sex does not create a risk for HIV and that I shouldn´t even bother to do the testing, if that sole oral experience with a man was my only concern about unprotected sex.

However, on April 14th, "siteheld" posted a message, in response to a post titled "I think I screwed up", according to which the CDC says 8% of all cases of HIV in the world derive from oral. Could this be true? If it is, then I think that would be a high percentage.

There are days when I feel like I screwed up, others when I think I´m overreacting and dramatizing.  

[lookin4answers80]

I really have to disagree with you on that. According to the CDC, there have been documented cases of HIV being passed by oral sex. There have also been innumerable studies done that show varying transmission risks for oral sex, but always much lower than for vaginal or anal sex. (I'm talking about giving oral sex, i.e., sucking a guy, not receiving it, i.e., being sucked.) There was a famous (and much-criticized) study in San Francisco around 2000, co-sponsored by the University of California and the CDC, that found that 8 out of 102 gay men who contracted HIV over a 12-month period had done so through giving oral sex.

Here's a link to the CDC's page or HIV through oral transmission.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa19.htm

And here's their page on that particular study.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/oralsexqa.htm

I'm not saying that it's common or that it's something that people who post here need to worry about. But I think it's unadvisable to make absolute statements like "HIV can't be transmitted through oral sex" when it's been proven over and over and over again that it most certainly can be.

[lookin4answers80]

Just to clarify - and summarize - my previous post.

Can HIV be transmitted through oral sex? Yes.

Does one episode of oral sex, with a man or woman, constitute a high enough level of risk to warrant getting an HIV test? No.

[Sadandregretful]

It was good of you to post the clarification, as yesterday you were one of those who suggested I didn´t need to test for HIV, after my sole experience.

The CDC site also says there has been at least one documented case of  HIV from rimming.

I do wish I could test today and get done with it. Having to wait nearly 3 more months is just hell.

[Sadandregretful]

I would recommend to you the site of the San Francisco CIty Clinic. It´s quite informative. They also have a table on the likely risks for each activity. According to them, oral is very low risk. But, obviously, very low risk is not "no risk".

[lookin4answers80]

My personal opinion is still that you don't need to get tested from one oral sex episode with a guy. I have had oral sex with a lot - a whole lot - more men than you. Enough to where I won't even hazard a guess at a number. I have never used a condom for oral sex. And my routine tests keep right on coming back negative.

[Sadandregretful]

That´s a relief. There´s always the possibility, of course, that "wilstar" or me will be the exception (LOL).

But, in a more serious vein, if you believe there are risks involved (your first post above indicates you do), why do you do it without protection? Don´t you blame yourself, afterwards? I was totally unaware of the risk and learning about it after the fact came as a shock to me. It´s been difficult just getting up from bed.

But, naturally, there are other issues at stake in my case (first time; "how could I?";  what would my friends - all exclusively straight - think if they knew; "why did I do it if it´s not my scene" etc...), which provoke a strong sense of guilt.  

[lookin4answers80]

In my own case, it's like with any behavior. It's an issue of weighing probability vs. reward, I guess. Every time I get in my car, I know I could have an accident and die. But driving is faster than walking, and the bus takes too long, so I drive. But I take appropriate safety measures. I wear a seat belt, drive at a reasonable rate of speed, use my turn signals and mirrors, etc. Every time I play a sport or work out, I could get injured. But I enjoy playing and want to get into better shape, so I feel the benefit outweighs the risk. But I still take necessary precautions. With oral sex, it's the same thing. Sure, I could contract HIV from oral sex, although the odds are probably less than my dying in a car accident this year or injuring myself seriously lifting weights. But I personally don't like the taste of latex, even flavored latex, and I doubt that it's as enjoyable receiving oral sex