hiv & oral sex

[verysilly123]

Would a test be warranted for unprotected oral sex on a male with ejaculation? I am not in any high risk groups (white, heterosexual female) but 3 months after the incident I had terrible diarrhea for about 3 days (no other symptoms) although my rational self puts this down to a weekend of excessive drinking until 6am over 3 nights, and a friend having a similar bug at the same time (it was winter). I live in the UK.

[jorgelopez1]

Hi, i understand your concern; however i don't think people in this site would be playing with something as serious as hiv. Of course it's a stance, every doctor makes a stance about different issues. As jack kevorkian said, doctors play to be god. They do that by making decisions regarding their patients health, but doctors' decisions are based on scientific research. All specialists i have read about on the internet say pretty much the same as the people and doctors on this forum. I advise you not to be worried at all. Just take an hiv antibody test at 12 weeks for peace of mind, and if you feel in risk regarding to unprotected oral sex, never do it again. I hope this helps.

[verysilly123]

ahhh so it's a stance. well thanks for your opinion but i'm still not entirely convinced, i'll just man up and get tested. thanks.

[Teak]

Read this and move on.

by Emily_MHModerator,
And to clarify, it is this site's stance, based on studies and our own MedHelp experts (all of whom are world-renowned for their work in this field), that oral sex carries no risk for HIV.  
Emily

[verysilly123]

yes, that's the literature i've been reading. none state zero risk so i'm asking how you came to your conclusion.

[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.

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 believe 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

"HIV is not spread by masturbation, through oral sex, through kissing or other casual contact." Dr. Hook

"The observation on thousands and thousands of observations is that HIV is not spread by oral sex (of any sort)." DR HOOK
"I would not say your risk ,if he had HIV is "slim to none"- that's too high.  I would say they are effectively zero.  How much of his ejaculate or other genital  secretions you may have swallowed makes no difference.  EWH "

[verysilly123]

i've been reading some of the literature that you posted on other threads about oral sex... some of them, although their findings from their personal experimentations result as zero seroconversions, state that giving oral sex is an extremely low risk, but that isn't saying that the risk is zero. they say that with the right circumstances (alcohol impeding anti-hiv properties in saliva and abrasions in the mouth after brushing teeth for example) a transmission through cells COULD happen. why do you use these sources to prove your 'oral sex has no risk' theory? how did you come to that conclusion when so many other websites believe differently?

[NickOne7]

CORRECT!!

[verysilly123]

so similarly, a scratch on the surface of the skin, if that came into contact with an hiv infected fluid would not result in infection?

[NickOne7]

Still NO RISK of infection

[verysilly123]

so even if semen can have a direct route into the blood stream (i.e through a scratch or ulcer) there is still no risk of transmission?

[Teak]

No, oral sex is not an HIV concern.