Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Recent Information On STD Risk From Oral Sex

I am searching for more recent information (newer than the ten year old posts that are available here) regarding the risk level of contracting an STD after receiving unprotected fellatio from a female and also providing cunnilingus on a female.  I am a heterosexual male and based on the information I found here from 10-15 year old posts, this seems to be a very low risk of contracting an STD.  The CDC and other groups seem to show more concern regarding oral sex and STD transmission but perhaps they are being overly cautious.  I would appreciate knowing if it has become more common in recent years to contract an STD from oral sex or if this is more of a scare tactic than actual fact.
1 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
The CDC is indeed overly cautious, and lists anything that might be theoretically possible.

So receiving unprotected oral sex puts you at risk for syphilis, genital herpes type 1, chlamydia, gonorrhea and NGU. You are not at risk for HIV from receiving (or giving) oral sex.

I’ll explain all the risks for everything, but most experts don't think a single act of oral sex warrants testing. If you have a regular partner you're concerned about infecting, you might want to test, but you probably don't need to test unless you get symptoms.

Syphilis isn't that common, and your partner would have had to have a sore in their mouth to transmit it. You wouldn't see symptoms of this for 10-90 days, but the average is 21 days, and you'd get a sore called a chancre. This doesn't cause burning, pain, discharge, etc. You can test for this at 6 weeks. If you get symptoms, but test negative at 6 weeks, test again at 90 days, and get to the doctor as soon as you see symptoms.

If you don't already have herpes type 1 (think oral sores, like cold sores but not canker sores), then you could get genital herpes type 1 from receiving oral sex. This can happen even if the person performing oral doesn't have a sore, but it's more likely if they do. The time from infection to symptoms is usually 2-12 days, but the average is 4 days. You can test for this now, and then again at 4 months to make sure you don't have it. If you test positive now, it's a pre-existing infection that you had before this encounter. About half the adult population has this, and 90% don’t know it. Ask for a type specific IgG blood test.

You'd see symptoms of gonorrhea at about 2-5 days, and this would usually be a discharge, burning, etc. Some people don't get symptoms. You can test for this as early as 3 days, but 5 days is better. You can have a urine test or a swab test.

Oral chlamydia isn't common at all, so getting chlamydia from receiving oral isn't likely, but has happened, so I mention it. The symptoms and time frame are similar to gonorrhea.

NGU (nongonococcal urethritis urethritis, sometimes called NSU, for non-specific) is an infection in the urethra that is caused by anything other than gonorrhea . This can be caused by normal mouth bacteria entering the urethra, and the symptoms and testing times are the same as gonorrhea.

Giving oral sex to someone with a vagina oral chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. Syphilis isn't that common, and your partner would have had to have a sore that your mouth came into contact with to transmit it. You would get a sore in your mouth anywhere from 10-90 days, with 21 days being the average. You can test for this at 6 weeks.

Oral gonorrhea doesn't usually have symptoms, but if you got them, it would be a sore, red throat, maybe a fever, maybe swollen glands. If you get symptoms, they usually appear within 7-21 days. You can get a throat swab for this at about 5 days.

Oral chlamydia is thought to be rare, and usually doesn't present with symptoms. The time frame for testing is the same as gonorrhea.

Giving oral to someone with a vagina is not that risky. Because nothing is physically in your throat like a penis would be, chances of getting gonorrhea or chlamydia are far less likely.
Helpful - 1
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the STDs / STIs Community

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.