about AIDS

HIV Infection and Oral Sex One of the primary ways of acquiring HIV is through unprotected sexual intercourse (no condom), thus permitting partners to exchange blood, semen, or vaginal secretions. However, there are different degrees of risk for different types of intercourse, with oral sex by far the least risky.

It's not that oral sex doesn't have any risk at all; it does. A small number of infections definitely can be documented as acquired through performing oral sex on a man (fellatio). Documenting transmission through oral sex on a woman (cunnilingus) is more difficult, but the possibility must always be acknowledged.

It is always the person performing the oral act (the "do-er") who is at risk. After all, the only body fluid that the person being performed upon (the "do-ee") is having contact with is saliva, and saliva is not a vector for transmission with HIV.

The bottom line of oral sex is this: Don't take a man's ejaculate into the mouth (don't let him cum in your mouth). By taking that one precaution, the bulk of the risk will be reduced. It's not that there won't be any risk at all, but at least a relatively low level of risk will have been reduced even further.

Research is still inconclusive about pre-ejaculatory fluids (pre-cum). HIV can sometimes be found in pre-ejaculate, but not typically at levels capable of achieving infection. Semen is of greater concern.

Of course, to be completely safe in oral sex, a condom always should be used for fellatio and a dental dam for cunnilingus. There are even flavored condoms available for that purpose.

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Sandy Bartlett
ASA Community Education