As a partial follow-up to yesterday’s post, here is some information on STD transmission during oral sex. First, it is very rare that HIV is transmitted through oral sex – there have been no studies on whether the risk is increased when ejaculate is swallowed. Next, here are the risks associated with giving and recieving oral sex for both men and women:

  • Performing oral sex on a man
    • Known risks
      • Chlamydia
      • Gonorrhea
      • Hepatitis A (rare)
      • Herpes (rare)
      • HPV (genital warts)
      • Shigella (rare)
      • Syphillis
    • Possible/unknown risks
      • Hepatitis B
      • Hepatitis C
      • HIV
  • Performing oral sex on a woman
    • Known risks
      • Herpes (rare)
    • Possible/unknown risks
      • HPV (genital warts)
  • Receiving oral sex – man
    • Known risks
      • Chlamydia
      • Gonorrhea
      • NGU
      • Herpes
      • Syphillis
    • Possible/unknown risks
      • HPV (genital warts)
  • Receiving oral sex – woman
    • Known risks
      • Herpes
    • Possible/Unknown Risks
      • HPV (genital warts)

The take-away message for me, ladies and gentlemen, is that oral sex is safer among women. All of this information comes from the City of San Fransisco Department of Public Health Free Clinic website. It’s a great resource.

(Thanks for the question, Ruth!)