Is there a connection between HIV and oral sex? There is a commonly held belief among many lay people that oral sex carries little or no risk. In fact, some consider oral sex a safer sex alternative. But the truth is, like any other sexual activity, oral sex carries a risk of transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The risk is even greater in serodiscordant couples (one partner is HIV positive while the other is negative), people who are not monogamous, or in people who inject drugs and/or share needles and syringes. Truth be told, abstaining from oral, anal, and vaginal sex all together is the only way to completely avoidthe sexual transmission of HIV. But how realistic is that?

The Risks of Oral Sex :

Risk is classified as either being documented (transmission that has actually occurred, been investigated, and documented in the scientific literature) or theoretical (passing an infection from one person to another is possible). While there is documented risk when having oral sex with an HIV infected partner the risk is much less than with anal or vaginal intercourse. This fact makes it very hard to calculate the actual risk with oral sex. Another factor that makes risk determination difficult is the fact that most people who engage in oral sex also engage in other types of sexual practices, namely vaginal and anal intercourse. Still, there have been document cases of HIV transmission strictly from oral sex.

Answered by YourS , an ibibo Specialist, at 8:14 PM on September 12, 2008

Well Aaksh,

The survey of 580 children with a mean age of 14-1/2 found 20 per cent said they had engaged in oral sex, compared to 14 per cent who said they had engaged in sexual intercourse.

In addition, one-third of the multi-ethnic 9th graders surveyed said they intended to have oral sex within the next six months and nearly one-fourth planned to have intercourse during the period. It was more common for boys to have performed oral sex on girls than vice versa, the report said.

Previous studies and numerous campaigns aimed at deterring teenaged sex have focused on intercourse, but as many as half of adolescents experience oral sex first, the report said.

source :http://www.expressindia.com/news/f ullstory.php?newsid=44355

Answered by Priyanka C , an ibibo Master, at 11:10 PM on August 30, 2008

certainly.

Answered by mkarprama , an ibibo Citizen, at 12:13 AM on August 27, 2008

Oral sex refers to sexual activities involving the use of the mouth, and may include use of the tongue, teeth, and throat, to stimulate genitalia. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on a woman while fellatio and irrumatio refer to oral sex performed on a man. Analingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus. Oral stimulation of other parts of the body (as in kissing and licking) is usually not considered oral sex.

People may engage in oral sex as part of foreplay before sexual intercourse, or during or following intercourse. It may also be performed for its own sake.
Risks for HIV: There is some risk involved in having unprotected oral sex with a man or a woman. It is not as risky as unprotected anal or vaginal sex, but it is still possible to get HIV this way. There have been a few documented cases where HIV has been transmitted this way. HIV is found in blood, semen (cum), vaginal fluids, and breast milk. The virus can transmitted through cuts, openings, sores, and mucous membranes (mouth, anus, vagina) on your body.
To avoid risks during oral sex it is important to:
Keep semen and vaginal fluids out of your mouth.
Make sure that your mouth is healthy and that you don't have bleeding gums, cuts, or mouth sores, because the presence of blood will increase your risk.
Oral Sex On a Woman
In order to keep vaginal fluids out of your mouth:
Purchase a dental dam from Peer Health, or
Use a a piece of plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) as a barrier between the mouth and the vagina, or
Cut an unlubricated condom into a latex square (see left)

Oral Sex On a Man
In order to keep cum out of your mouth:
Use an unlubricated, non-spermicidal condom
Flavored condoms are available at Peer Health

Answered by alok , an ibibo Master, at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2008

hello akash no oral sex is not safe 100 % , as if the person having oral sex is having bleeding gums ...and the saliva ....when licked on other parts might carry blood traces mixed in saliva ...which might carry HIV infections if that person has...so easily the person gets in HIV infected ...and also many other sex diseases and viruses might get transfered thru oral sex .....

Answered by sanjay , an ibibo Guru, at 10:47 AM on August 25, 2008

To many people's surprise, there are some risks associated with oral sex. While the risk of HIV transmission is low it does exist as does the risk of sexually transmitted disease infection. With a few simple precautions, those risks can be minimized.

Avoid Risks of Oral Sex

* keep semen and vaginal fluids out of your mouth

* make sure your mouth is healthy, free of cuts or sores, and without bleeding gums.

Oral Sex on a Woman
Keep vaginal fluids out of your mouth by:

* use a commercially available dental dam

* create a latex square from an unlubricated condom

Make Your Own Dental Dam

* use a section of plastic food wrap as a barrier between the mouth and vagina

Oral Sex on a Man
Keep semen ("cum") out of your mouth by:

* use unlubricated condoms which do not contain spermicide

* use commercially available flavored condoms

And for more information visit the source site:
http://aids.about.com/o d/tipsforsafersex/qt/safeoral. htm

Answered by Dinesh , an ibibo Master, at 7:11 AM on August 25, 2008

well aakash
Is there a connection between HIV and oral sex? There is a commonly held belief among many lay people that oral sex carries little or no risk. In fact, some consider oral sex a safer sex alternative. But the truth is, like any other sexual activity, oral sex carries a risk of transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The risk is even greater in serodiscordant couples (one partner is HIV positive while the other is negative), people who are not monogamous, or in people who inject drugs and/or share needles and syringes. Truth be told, abstaining from oral, anal, and vaginal sex all together is the only way to completely avoid the sexual transmission of HIV.

Answered by pankaj , an ibibo Advisor, at 1:54 PM on August 24, 2008

well, I think it is important to provide everyone with accurate information on the relative risks of different practices. If you don't, then they will inevitably see the contradictions in what you say and will have good reason to reject everything else you say as part of the paternalistic sex phobia which pervades our society. People need to make their own decisions regarding sex. Legislating abstinence-only education only leads to silence and risk taking out of ignorance.

There are HIV risks involved with oral sex, but these are minimal compared to the risk of intercourse without a condom. Oral sex has other advantages. For example:
transparent gif grey bullet You can't get pregnant from oral sex.
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet You won't lose your "virginity" (at least in terms of breaking the hymen) from oral sex.
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet You can reduce the risk of oral sex by simply pulling out before he cums.
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet Because a woman can keep her hand on the base of the penis she is more in control than during vaginal sex.
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet Men can be coerced into pulling out in time.
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet you can keep most of your clothes on (for example if your parents are upstairs)
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet You can get a good look at the penis (for sores and discharge) before sucking on it.
transparent gif
transparent gif grey bullet Many women get more stimulation from having oral sex performed on them than from intercourse.
transparent gif

As for your symptoms, as a rule having sex is not hygenic. With any exchange of body fluids people pass on bacteria, cold and flu viruses. You can transmit gonorrhea from the penis to the throat or vice versa. Many people get mild allergic responses to semen, or the microbes contained in it. This is a normal part of sex, but with so much fear of HIV, the slightest sniffle can take on ominous proportions.

If this was your only risk of exposure to HIV, I would recommend testing just to ease your concerns, and not so much because you are at risk for HIV. Get tested six months after the last time you had oral sex.

Answered by Satya ~ , an ibibo Master, at 9:28 AM on August 24, 2008

DEAR AKAASH!
IT IS SAFE IF BOTH PARTNERS MAINTAIN GOOD GENITAL HYGEINE.

Answered by Cuty * , an ibibo Specialist, at 8:46 AM on August 24, 2008

It's been known as the "safer sex". But how safe is oral sex? Research indicates it may not be as safe as you think.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to classify it as high-risk behavior, saying that HIV, the suspected AIDS virus, can be passed that way.An article in the Journal of the American Dental Association (Vol. 118, June 1989) concludes that "saliva from healthy men, women, and children contained a factor that inhibits HIV-1 infection of lymphocytes [white blood cells]. This finding is consistent with the documented low risk of oral transmission of this virus and the infrequent isolation of HIV-1 from human oral fluids."

Answered by Tushar Rath , an ibibo Advisor, at 12:28 AM on August 24, 2008