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risk assessment
Dr. HHH/Hook I would like to know the chances of me being exposed to stds from receiving unprotected oral from high risk partners. My primary concerns are syphlis, herpes, hep b/c. I have read that HIV is not transmitted orally to the perosn getting sucked, does this change if there is presence of blood/bleeding gums?
I am very concerned about hep B as I have read on the net it may be transmitted orally. I may have been vacinnated for it years ago in school but do not recall. Do you recommend testing. I tested last in february and was clear of all stds and since then only risks are a few episodes of unprotected oral. Although I was not tested for any strain of hep by the medical clinic in february.
I greatly appreciate your response.
I am very concerned about hep B as I have read on the net it may be transmitted orally. I may have been vacinnated for it years ago in school but do not recall. Do you recommend testing. I tested last in february and was clear of all stds and since then only risks are a few episodes of unprotected oral. Although I was not tested for any strain of hep by the medical clinic in february.
I greatly appreciate your response.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.
Oral sex can usually be considered safe sex. There is a low risk for all STDs and virtually zero risk for some of them. This has been discussed previously; please read the questions and replies in the threads linked below.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/Oral-sex-risk---unprotected/show/1700243
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV---Prevention/Still-scared-of-a-possible-HIV-transmission/show/1415872
In theory, the possibility of HIV transmission might be elevated if blood were present, but the transmission risk is so low that a slightly higher risk makes no important difference.
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the STDs rarely transmitted by oral sex. Anyway, if you indeed were vaccinated, you can consider yourself immune. It should be possible to dig out your immunization records -- e.g. by contacting your childhood pediatrician's office. If not, a blood test can tell whether you have had the vaccine and/or have had a past HBV infection.
Syphilis is common in gay men and once in a while is transmitted by oral sex, but is very rare in heterosexual women and oral sex with female partners would carry almost no risk. There are risks for gonorrhea and nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), and little or no risk for chlamydia.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Oral sex can usually be considered safe sex. There is a low risk for all STDs and virtually zero risk for some of them. This has been discussed previously; please read the questions and replies in the threads linked below.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/Oral-sex-risk---unprotected/show/1700243
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV---Prevention/Still-scared-of-a-possible-HIV-transmission/show/1415872
In theory, the possibility of HIV transmission might be elevated if blood were present, but the transmission risk is so low that a slightly higher risk makes no important difference.
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the STDs rarely transmitted by oral sex. Anyway, if you indeed were vaccinated, you can consider yourself immune. It should be possible to dig out your immunization records -- e.g. by contacting your childhood pediatrician's office. If not, a blood test can tell whether you have had the vaccine and/or have had a past HBV infection.
Syphilis is common in gay men and once in a while is transmitted by oral sex, but is very rare in heterosexual women and oral sex with female partners would carry almost no risk. There are risks for gonorrhea and nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), and little or no risk for chlamydia.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
also for the sake of the question, lets assume the partners had stds.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I forgot to mention herpes. Oral to genital transmission of HSV-1 is always a potential risk, but isn't actually all that frequent. And when it happens, genital herpes due to HSV-1 typically has few recurrent outbreaks and a low potential for sexual transmission to other partners, so for the most part it's not a big deal and shouldn't be a major concern.
thanks for the reply sir. Quick followup and this will be my last question. First would you recommend testing primarily based off a couple of oral exposure that i believe were from high risk partners?
Furthermore, would any typical std screen that tests for hep b indicate if I have been vaccinated? I do know last October i had a full screen that indicated that I had 0 stds including hep A/B/C or herpes. Although I may already have HSV-1 but have never had symptoms nor do i know when i got it.
My last exposure was about 5 days ago and I have had no symptoms and prior to that I have never tested postive for any std nor had symptoms.
Thanks and this is my final response your advice is appreciated.
Furthermore, would any typical std screen that tests for hep b indicate if I have been vaccinated? I do know last October i had a full screen that indicated that I had 0 stds including hep A/B/C or herpes. Although I may already have HSV-1 but have never had symptoms nor do i know when i got it.
My last exposure was about 5 days ago and I have had no symptoms and prior to that I have never tested postive for any std nor had symptoms.
Thanks and this is my final response your advice is appreciated.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
"would you recommend testing primarily based off a couple of oral exposure that i believe were from high risk partners?" No. Regardless of how "high risk" your partners may seem, the risk of any STD from any single oral sex exposure is too low to require testing -- except if your partner has a known STD infection, in which case you should be both tested and treated, without waiting for your test result. I would advise someone with this sort of exposure history to more or less ignore individual exposures and just have regular testing from time to time, like once a year.
"would any typical std screen that tests for hep b indicate if I have been vaccinated?" Yes; I already said that in my initial reply. Contact the clinic or lab where your last STD testing was done. They should be able to give details on the HBV result. If the "hep B surface antibody" test (HBsAb) is positive, it likely results from past immunization.
Since you are obviously worried about hepatitis B, if you cannot confirm that you were vaccinated in the past, or if your HBsAb test is negative, then I recommend you be immunized now. Then you can cease all worry about it.
"would any typical std screen that tests for hep b indicate if I have been vaccinated?" Yes; I already said that in my initial reply. Contact the clinic or lab where your last STD testing was done. They should be able to give details on the HBV result. If the "hep B surface antibody" test (HBsAb) is positive, it likely results from past immunization.
Since you are obviously worried about hepatitis B, if you cannot confirm that you were vaccinated in the past, or if your HBsAb test is negative, then I recommend you be immunized now. Then you can cease all worry about it.
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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.
