Are you sure you know about HIV

[justwonderingiftrue]

Hi there.

I was just thinking about posting a question, about my risk of being infected after performing oral sex on another man with no ejaculation however, after reading other posts i have another.

I see that people are being advised that oral sex is no risk for hiv transmission. is that true ?

And

Are you absolutely sure that this is the right thing to send out ? If that is true, then why all the safe sex campaigns ??

Thanks in advance

[justwonderingiftrue]

Okay okay...you know.... :)

Thanks for the reference to the articles. Although it does not state risk free I get the message...
and this is really great.

Safer to perform oral sex than driving down the street in your car....
it seems...

Thanks for that...very professional...

[Teak]

There is no debate (among experts) about the HIV risks associated with oral sex.  The risk is so low that almost nobody who cares for HIV infected patients has ever had a patient believed to have been infected that way.  Among experts, it's a semantic issue about using terms like "no risk" and "very low risk".  There is no difference between my or Dr. Hook's use of "low risk" and other experts' "no risk".
DR. HANSFIELD

"And oral sex is basically safe sex -- completely safe with respect to HIV and although not zero risk for other STDs, the chance of infection is far lower than for unprotected vaginal or anal sex.  Please educate yourself about the real risks.  If you stick with oral sex and condom-protected vaginal or anal sex, you have no HIV worries and very little worry about other STDs. "   DR HANSFIELD

"I am sure you can find lots of people who belive that HIV is transmitted by oral sex, but you will not find scientific data to support this unrealistic concern..."   DR HOOK
"HIV is not spread by touching, masturbation, oral sex or condom protected sex."- DR. HOOK

in the public HIV Prevention forum of MedHelp, TEAK and the other moderators maintain that oral sex in all forms is a zero risk activity. Would you agree with this assessment?  
I TOTALLY AGREE / DR GARCIA

"The observation on thousand and thousand of observations is that HIV is not spread by oral sex (of any sort)."  DR HOOK

[Teak]

No incident HIV infections among MSM who practice exclusively oral sex.
Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. WePpC2072)??Balls JE, Evans JL, Dilley J, Osmond D, Shiboski S, Shiboski C, Klausner J, McFarland W, Greenspan D, Page-Shafer K?University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

Oral transmission of HIV, reality or fiction? An update
J Campo1, MA Perea1, J del Romero2, J Cano1, V Hernando2, A Bascones1
Oral Diseases (2006) 12, 219–228

AIDS:  Volume 16(17)  22 November 2002  pp 2350-2352
Risk of HIV infection attributable to oral sex among men who have sex with men and in the population of men who have sex with men

Page-Shafer, Kimberlya,b; Shiboski, Caroline Hb; Osmond, Dennis Hc; Dilley, Jamesd; McFarland, Willie; Shiboski, Steve Cc; Klausner, Jeffrey De; Balls, Joycea; Greenspan, Deborahb; Greenspan
Page-Shafer K, Veugelers PJ, Moss AR, Strathdee S, Kaldor JM, van Griensven GJ. Sexual risk behavior and risk factors for HIV-1 seroconversion in homosexual men participating in the Tricontinental Seroconverter Study, 1982-1994 [published erratum appears in Am J Epidemiol 1997 15 Dec; 146(12):1076]. Am J Epidemiol 1997, 146:531-542.

Studies which show the fallacy of relying on anecdotal evidence as opposed to carefully controlled study insofar as HIV transmission risk is concerned:

Jenicek M. "Clinical Case Reporting" in Evidence-Based Medicine. Oxford: Butterworth–Heinemann; 1999:117

Saltzman SP, Stoddard AM, McCusker J, Moon MW, Mayer KH. Reliability of self-reported sexual behavior risk factors for HIV infection in homosexual men. Public Health Rep. 1987 102(6):692–697.Nov–Dec;

Catania JA, Gibson DR, Chitwood DD, Coates TJ. Methodological problems in AIDS behavioral research: influences on measurement error and participation bias in studies of sexual behavior. Psychol Bull. 1990 Nov;108(3):339–362.

[justwonderingiftrue]

Can you just point out one link, to an official article that says that oral sex is no risk ?

I know that risk is considered lower than anal sex, but it worries me that "risk free" is said by so many anonymous people, not supported by a scientific reference at least ??

[justwonderingiftrue]

Hello Teak,

I would be grateful if you could post a link to these studies.

Thanks in advance

[tomMulligan]

This is what he wrote - Are there cases or experiments that proves oral sex to be risk free then ?

I guess it should be difficult to test that.

So I can conclude then, that based on your experience, oral (cum or precum) carries little, or even no risk ??

Would that opinion be shared by most professionals and/or moderators on these forums ?

And this is what I wrote - It's just that some people cannot accept and believe the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that they cannot have HIV from their oral sex incident.

[tomMulligan]

I've copied all the sentences he wrote and gave him just one answer which you may found it below.

"It's just that some people cannot accept and believe the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that they cannot have HIV from their oral sex incident."

[Teak]

There have been several studies of serodiscordant couples that concluded HIV is not transmitted by oral sex.

[tomMulligan]

Are there cases or experiments that proves oral sex to be risk free then ?

I guess it should be difficult to test that.

So I can conclude then, that based on your experience, oral (cum or precum) carries little, or even no risk ??

Would that opinion be shared by most professionals and/or moderators on these forums ?

It's just that some people cannot accept and believe the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that they cannot have HIV from their oral sex incident.

[LIZZIE LOU]

ORAL SEX DOES NOT TRANSMIT HIV...PERIOD !

[justwonderingiftrue]

I see....so not safe in regards to minor std but safe to hiv ?

[justwonderingiftrue]

I see. Are there cases or experiments that proves oral sex to be risk free then ?

I guess it should be difficult to test that.

So I can conclude then, that based on your experience, oral (cum or precum) carries little, or even no risk ??

Would that opinion be shared by most professionals and/or moderators on these forums ?

Thanks in advance.

[tomMulligan]

I'm certainly telling you that there's no single case reported and proven a transmission from oral sex. It's just that some people cannot accept and believe the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that they cannot have HIV from their oral sex incident.

[justwonderingiftrue]

Hi there,

Thanks for that.

Yes I would like help to judge the risk of above question, but also to to have reassurance that it is based on a reliable opinion. Please dont get me wrong.

[Teak]

If you believe you have been exposed to HIV and want help to judge your risk, would like advice about HIV testing, or have questions about the effectiveness of condoms or risks associated with specific sexual practices, this is the site for you.