What are the chances.....

[Harry sach]

...of catching anything from sucking someones cock if it's unprotected? Say if they've had unprotected sex with others?
Just wondered.

 

[SweetErika]

Good question.

This site has a handy chart that lists the possible STDs/STIs one can contract from each sexual activity (e.g. performing oral on a male). If you click on the names of the STDs, you'll learn about the specific risks and other info associated with each.

I couldn't find an answer to the specific question "What are the chances of contracting an STD from giving unprotected oral to a male?" but I'm sure there are some ballpark estimates out there.

The chance of getting HIV is relatively low, but there's still a risk nonetheless. The number of people who are diagnosed with other STDs from giving unprotected oral each year is frightening, in my opinion. When the number who are NOT diagnosed is factored in, I'd say there's a pretty good chance of contracting something, especially if you know a partner has engaged in unprotected sex or other risky behaviors previously.

Condoms may not be the most pleasurable way to go, but there are ways to make them more pleasurable (flavored condoms and lubes, polyurethane condoms instead of latex, etc.), and they're a hell of a lot more fun than getting a disease or infection.

If there's no way you're going to use a condom, but want to reduce your risk somewhat (there IS still a definite risk, though), have your partner ejaculate somewhere other than in your mouth or on your face (you don't want an STD in your eye, either!) that doesn't have any broken skin, then clean it up with hot water and soap immediately. It's not safe, but it's safer than allowing him to come in your mouth or on your face.

 

[Bill3250]

...of catching anything from sucking someones cock if it's unprotected? Say if they've had unprotected sex with others?
Just wondered.

Know your partner very-very well.

I was lucky to have come of age when virtually any STD could be cured with a shot in the ass. Today, I use memories and masturbation, an occasionally get it on with another married guy who does only his wife and me. When I make it with some other guy or gal, we use rubbers. It may be cake without frosting, but it's still good.

 

[MaximumBi]

Don't mean to scare people or inflame an arguement.

The chance of getting HIV is relatively low, but there's still a risk nonetheless.

The sub type HIV virus in the western world is mainly subtype B and is dificult to get from oral sex however there is Subtype E (found in Thailand) that is a big worry as it's been taken out of that country and is starting to spread and it doesn't require a pathway through blood to infect a person...

Taken from another board----

In the beginning of the HIV epidemic there was much said about the massive heterosexual epidemic that would be spread because of prostitution. It never happened. Even today prostitutes and heterosexuals in USA and Western Europe are not in an epidemic. And it is not because we have less or safer sex. So in researching as to why prostitution is not at the epicenter of some hetero epidemic and examining everything we know about OUR HIV(Subtype B) it has been concluded that there are certain statistical transmission probability rates per various risk acts. With Subtype B it needs access to blood, it is a blood borne disease. So two of the highest risk factors are IV Drug use (direct access of virus into bloodstream) and also **** (they censured that before so I will say UP THE BUM) sex as that is more likely to create tears and therefore an access to the bloodstream and finally it creates a vacuum and a sperm deposit gives high viral availability to transmit the virus. Heterosexual spread of Subtype B IS HARD. It means you have to have some kind of cut in most cases though not all. In the absence of access to the blood stream transmission is not likely.

Enter Thailand. Thai epidemic took off like NO OTHER, not even in Africa. Africa took a long time to get where they went, but within a span of 10 years Thailand had one of the highest per capita rates in the world. AND it was driven by their prostitution industry, something that baffled everyone as it initially affected homosexuals much the same as in the West. So again enter research and loads of it. Why did this happen? Well the virus mutated and recombined to form a new subtype, knows as subtype E though that is not its technical name anymore. What made Thai prostitutes and heterosexuals bear the brunt of this outbreak?

Well after research was done, it has been determined that in vitro, subtype E MUCH MUCH more readily affects langerhans cells. Langherhans cells are cells that are part of our immune response and are found all over and their job is to identify invaders and bring them to the lymph glands...this is where the big problem is. Firstly we are not talking about all langerhans but just the ones present in mucosal lining which are more susceptible to HIV Subtype E. The problem is that for one to be infected by HIV the HIV must replicate enough and establish itself in the host (the person getting infected). It does this by bypassing immune responses and sneaking into the lymph glands and once there, you are infected and will soon sero-convert. (become hiv positive by presence of serum antibodies). No keeping in mind that SUBTYPE B is blood borne, even infection with subtype b still gives your body one more chance to identify and fight it off (many people are thought to be able to fight hiv off before sero-converting so that the hiv never establishes itself). BUT what if the route of transmission is a cell that has direct access to the lymph glands? Well that is the case langerhans cells so infection with subtype E via these cells has a better "hit" ratio as well. So firstly, the body is more susceptible because unlike B that needs an in, E has its in already in place in all of us because we all have present langerhans cells on our mucosal body parts, that inlcludes the penis guys! Secondly once E infects those cells it has a quicker route right into its target...so it has a double advantage over the HIV we are taught about!

That said, safe sex still works and one slip up does not mean you are dead. There are many other factors that affect hiv transmission including viral load and point of disease that your partner is in, other std's which increase viral shedding, and many more!!! So I hope I have explained this well enough if you have more questions I will answer them tomorrow as I am knackered!

 

[SweetErika]

I'm not trying to argue either, Maximum, but I do think your post is worth addressing.

I did some checking, and while many of the facts in the post you quoted can be verified with independent, reliable sources, I think it's misleading and I'm having trouble seeing why it's relevant to this discussion.

For example, statements like "In the beginning of the HIV epidemic there was much said about the massive heterosexual epidemic that would be spread because of prostitution. It never happened," and "Heterosexual spread of Subtype B IS HARD," are deceptive and completely open to interpretation. They make it sound like it's very difficult to contract HIV subtype B (the subtype most commonly found in the western world), HIV is a "gay disease" and prostitution (or having sex with a hooker, for that matter) isn't a risky behavior.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa19.htm backs up my assertion that the risk of getting HIV from unprotected oral is relatively low, but there is still a risk. Googling 'hiv from oral sex' gives one a plethora of other sources that are generally considered reliable.

The subtype of HIV that's prevalent in the Western world vs. Asia or Africa isn't particularly relevant to the discussion on how safe unprotected oral is IMO because people can (and often do) have cuts or sores in their mouths and there's no way to know what subtype of HIV a person may have without extensive testing. What if one's partner has one of the subtypes that more easily spreads through vaginal and oral sex because they (or one of their partners) traveled to a country where that subtype was prevalent? Plus, many subtypes besides B have been found in North America and Europe; one may contract it from someone with a non-B type who got it from someone else with a non-B subtype.

My point is that while some subtypes may be easier to contract through certain types of sex (like oral) than others, and those may be more prevalent in other parts of the world, there is no reasonable way to tell which subtype any given partner may have and that means there IS a risk of contracting HIV (not to mention a lot of other STDs/STIs) through unprotected oral sex.

Any way you slice it, the risk is there, I think the person on the Phuket board that you got that quote from is wrong for portraying risky behavior in the western world as low risk, and hope those who read that kind of post are smart enough to do their own research and not act on the assumption that some random person online is putting out accurate information.