Oral sex is when a man has his penis stimulated by another person’s mouth, lips or tongue, often to the point where he ejaculates.
It’s very low risk for HIV transmission but sometimes the virus is passed on this way. There are no exact figures on how risky it is but HIV doesn’t find it easy to enter the bloodstream through the relatively tough lining of the mouth or throat. Unprotected anal and vaginal sex leads to far more HIV infections than are caused by oral sex.
Receiving oral sex from someone with HIV
There have been no reliable reports of someone getting HIV by having oral sex performed on them. This would really only be possible if someone with HIV was giving them oral sex when their mouth was bleeding.
Performing oral sex on a man with HIV
There is a very small risk if an HIV negative person performs oral sex on a man with HIV. This risk increases if his infected pre-cum or semen gets into the other person’s mouth. Avoid semen in the mouth; whether you spit it out or swallow, the important thing is to have it in your mouth for as short a time as possible.
The low risk from oral sex increases if a person with HIV has a high viral load (i.e, a lot of HIV in their body fluids) when someone performs oral sex on them. This risk is also higher with any cuts, sores or inflammation on the penis. Someone with ‘undetectable viral load’ is extremely unlikely to pass on HIV during oral sex.
Oral sex advice for people who don’t have HIV
The risk from oral sex increases if you have:
- a throat infection (including an STI in the throat)
- damage to the lining of the mouth or throat
- had recent dental work or your gums bleed a lot.
Avoid performing oral sex while you have any of the above. Don’t floss or brush teeth before oral sex (use gum or rub tooth paste on your teeth). Regular check-ups for STIs will pick up infections in your throat.
A condom removes the small risk from oral sex with a man; flavoured ones taste better.
By cutting down on oral sex partners, you make the very small HIV risk even lower.