Oral Sex

You can’t get a sexually transmitted disease from oral sex

Safe sex is a very good thing. Unfortunately, many people are uncertain how to have safe sex. While a lot of people know that vaginal sex or anal sex can be dangerous, they think that oral sex is safe.

Oral sex is definitely safer in terms of pregnancy. Giving or receiving oral sex has no risk of getting you pregnant. Getting pregnant requires a sperm to come in contact with an egg inside of a woman. Unless you somehow get some semen in contact with the woman’s vagina in the midst of oral sex (Aaron wants to hear how you think that will happen), no one is going to get pregnant.

Getting an infection or a sexually transmitted disease (also called an STD) during oral sex is a possibility, though. You can get an STD from oral sex, whether you are on the giving end or the receiving end, and whether you are male or female. Infections like herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia can all spread through oral sex. Both bacteria and viruses can spread from one person to another through oral sex. The virus that causes genital warts and cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV), can even spread through oral sex. The person whose mouth is in contact with the genitals can get infections or sores in their mouth from performing oral sex on someone with one of these infections. And if the person giving oral sex has an infection in their mouth (this is especially common with oral herpes or cold sores), that infection can be passed to the person receiving the oral sex. These infections can be passed even if your partner does not have any symptoms and you do not know that they are infected. (We know this sucks. Pun intended.)

The good news is that most of these infections do not spread as easily through oral sex as they do through vaginal or anal sex. You are much less likely to get herpes, gonorrhea, or chlamydia from oral sex than from these other forms of sex. While it is considered possible to get HIV from oral sex if the person has cuts or sores, experts say it is very unlikely that you would get HIV from oral sex either. Nonetheless, it is possible. Even though it is a low risk, you can get HIV or gonorrhea or herpes from oral sex, especially if there is a cut or sore or something in the person’s mouth.

Even if the risks from oral sex are not as high as the risks from other types of sex, the smartest thing is to protect yourself. First, talk with your partner about any infections either of you may have. For men, the penis could be covered with a latex condom. For women, the person giving oral sex could use some sort of protection to create a barrier between the mouth and the vagina. Examples of these kinds of barriers are called a dental dam or a latex sheet, or you could use a condom or even plastic wrap that is cut open to make a protective square. These same things can be used to create a barrier between the mouth and the anus for that kind of oral sex.

We know that the idea of having oral sex with these protective barriers in place does not sound like much fun. However, the idea of getting throat infections, sores in your mouth, or even throat cancers sounds like much less fun. Even worse is the possibility that you could be infected with something like HIV. Play safely!