STD via oral sex: type of STD you can
get and chance of contracting it

Any contact of the mouth, lips and tongue to stimulate vagina(cunnilingus), penis(fellatio), anus(anilingus) of sexual partner is considered an oral sex. As well as the oral stimulation of the broader skin area around the vagina, penis, and rectum, so called peri genital and perianal areas.

Oral sex is considered safer (in terms of chance of transmission) than genital sex but is it the true? Where is the misconception coming from? Let's look together at what is known!

1.  People that have oral sex have genital sex at the same time and it is difficult to differentiate how the person get the STD.

2.  Not a lot of studies done to look for the chance of getting and passing different STDs orally

3.  Most likely the main misconception comes from studies showing a lower chance of getting HIV by giving and getting oral sex on the penis. But what is true for HIV might not be true for other conditions.

4.  Some STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea if contracted stays at the point of contact. It means the testing of one area (vagina or penis) is not excluding the presence of bacteria in another area (mouth or rectum). Mouth swabs are not as commonly done, especially on heterosexual people.

5.  Oral STDs not as symptomatic and can be missed for a long time.

• How chlamydia is passed from one person to another
• After contracting chlamydia, when will a person become infectious
• Who is at higher risk for chlamydia (so you will know that you're at higher risk of contracting chlamydia if you have oral sex with them)
• How giving versus receiving oral sex affects your risk

Chlamydia is transmitted sexually, via bodily fluids. It can be passed through vaginal, penile, and anal contact, and it can be passed through oral sex as well though that's less risky. It can also be transmitted using sex toys.

Conditions necessary for transmission

Why chlamydia infection is more common in certain body parts

• Chlamydia can be transmitted by an infected person immediately after they become infected.
• Chlamydia infection can be passed regardless of whether the infected person has symptoms.
• The infected person will continue to be contagious until seven days after they finish treatment (when they'll be cured)-it doesn't matter whether they have any signs or symptoms of the disease.

Who is at higher risk of having chlamydia infection in general? It is important to know the general statistics on chlamydia prevalence based on age, gender, sexual orientation, and region (where the live) to know the likelihood of getting it. The higher the chance of having chlamydia in general the higher the chance of passing and getting it orally.
This list tells us the highest chance of chlamydia in different categories of people:

The chance of being diagnosed with oral chlamydia during routine STD screening for heterosexual people:

The chance of getting diagnosed with oral chlamydia for homosexual male during the routine STD screening is 2.3%

Here we are mentioning the chance of people having oral chlamydia while being positive for it genitally.

This is the percentage of people that have chlamydia in both places and spreading it both ways. It is important of mentioning that chlamydia, when contracted, stays at the point of contact and testing of one area without testing the other area not helpful with ruling out chlamydia. All point of contacts (oral, rectal, genital) needs to be tested.

The reason oral chlamydia testing is not routinely performed on everybody because the chance of having it orally without having it anywhere else (rectally and genitally) only 0.8%.

The likelihood of getting and passing infection via mouth-to-penis oral sex with one time contact differ significantly depending on the part infected at the time of the contact: mouth or penis

The likelihood of getting and passing infection via mouth-to-vagina oral sex with one time contact differ significantly depending on the parts that is infected at the time of the contact: mouth or vagina

The likelihood of getting and passing infection via mouth-to-rectum oral sex with one time contact differ significantly depending on the part infected at the time of the contact: mouth or rectum

• How gonorrhea infection is passed
• What groups of people are more likely to have gonorrhea (so you'll understand when you are at higher risk of contracting gonorrhea)
• When is transmission of the infection more likely
• How the type of oral sex (receiving it or giving it) affects risk

One thing that's very important to know: sexual intercourse (with penetration) is not required for gonorrhea to be transmitted. Contact with semen, vaginal fluid, or saliva that contains gonorrhea bacteria is all that's necessary.

Gonorrhea is the gram-negative bacteria that live mainly on the mucosal columnar epithelial of the affected organ both inside and outside of cells (fluids). Transmission happens during sexual contact. Upon arrival to a new host, gonorrhea forms small colonies at the area of the contact and starts invading the mucosal cells. This generally takes one or two hours after contraction of the infection.

• Someone whose mouth is exposed often to fluids from the vagina or penis is more likely to contract gonorrhea. This is even more true if the fluids are swallowed.
• Someone who has more than five sexual partners in their lifetime is more likely to get gonorrhea. Clearly, the number of different partners matters.
• Gonorrhea can be transmitted immediately-as soon as a person becomes infected with it.
• It doesn't matter if the infected person has symptoms of gonorrhea-they're still contagious.
• An infected person can transmit the infection as long as they have it; i.e., until they're cured, which is seven days after they finish treatment. Again, it doesn't matter if they have signs or symptoms of the infection.

If you know the groups of people who are more likely to have gonorrhea, you'll know whether you're at higher risk of contracting it. Obviously, if you have oral sex (or other types of sex) with someone in these groups, you're at greater risk.

The likelihood of a heterosexual male being diagnosed with oral gonorrhea during a routine STD screening is 3%-7%. For heterosexual females, it's 2%-10%.

The likelihood of a homosexual male being diagnosed with oral gonorrhea during a routine STD screening is up to 5.5%.

One study has shown that if a person only receives oral penile sex (from male or female) without having any other sex types (genital or rectal), the chance of being diagnosed with oral gonorrhea during a routine screening is from 3.1 % (female giving oral penile sex) to 4.1% (male giving oral penile sex). This data allows us to suggest that oral gonorrhea infection may serve as a reservoir and source of urethral infection and that oral sex may be contributing to the ongoing transmission of gonorrhea. Moreover. It is more difficult to treat and eradicate oral gonorrhea infection than genital infection.

According to a study of homosexual males in Melbourne, Australia, it's much more likely for a throat that's infected with gonorrhea to transmit gonorrhea to the penis of another person than the other way around. For a one-time contact, here are the statistics:

Similarly, it's much more likely for a throat that's infected with gonorrhea to transmit gonorrhea to the vagina of another person than the other way around. For a one-time contact, here are the statistics:

And it's much more likely for a throat that's infected with gonorrhea to transmit gonorrhea to the rectum of another person than the other way around. For a one-time contact, here are the statistics:

The chance of getting oral gonorrhea after contacting with infected throat (deep kissing) is 23.2%

• How HIV transmission happens
• Which group of people at higher risk (and if you came in to contact with that type of person the chance is higher)
• What make transmission easier to occur
• Type of oral sex: receiving or giving

It is very important to understand how HIV transmission happens. It helps to understand what the necessary factors are and how soon you become infectious to other people.

The bodily fluid (semen, pre cum, blood, vaginal fluid, and rectal fluid) of an HIV-positive person must come into contact with the mucosa (found in the mouth, vagina, rectum, and penis) or damaged tissue (cut or abrasion) for the transmission to occur.

The following are the groups of people at higher risk of contracting HIV:

• Timing-an HIV-positive person who has recently been diagnosed and who has symptoms is more likely to transmit HIV
• The viral load of the HIV-positive person (the greater the amount of virus in a person with HIV, the more infectious they are)
• The susceptibility of the uninfected person (genital sores, vaginal discharge, genital irritation, and warts make contracting HIV more likely)

Getting HIV through oral sex is very unlikely. The chance is close to zero, whether you're giving or receiving oral sex. This is because mouth tissues rarely develop microscopic abrasions during sex, even if blood or sperm enters the mouth. However, it is difficult to scientifically determine the risk of oral sex alone because people having oral sex usually also have other types of sex (vaginal or anal) during the same sexual episode.

Factors that make transmission of oral HIV likelier

Someone with sores in their mouth or bleeding gums is at greater risk of contracting HIV when their mouth is exposed to vaginal fluids or ejaculate.

Giving oral sex is a bit riskier

The risk of getting oral HIV is slightly higher if you are giving oral sex (your mouth is on your partner's genitals) than if you are receiving it (your partner's mouth is on your genitals). The reason for this is that you may have microscopic abrasions in your mouth that you're not aware of and your mouth and throat can come into contact with infected bodily fluids.

Mouth-to-penis vs. mouth-to-vagina vs. mouth-to-anus

Oral sex that involves the mouth and penis is slightly riskier than oral sex that involves the mouth and vagina. Oral sex that involves the mouth and anus is very unlikely to result in HIV (but it may cause a bacterial infection).

The risk of getting HIV through oral sex alone, whether giving or receiving it, is believed to be very low. However, no reliable studies exist because people having oral sex are likely to be having other types of sex during the same sexual encounters.

Giving oral sex is thought to be riskier than receiving it, and oral sex involving the mouth and penis is thought to be riskier than oral sex involving the mouth and vagina.

Here we will discuss the chance of getting HIV through giving oral sex to an HIV-positive person.

Giving oral sex with mouth-to-penis contact (giving a blow job) to an HIV-positive person

The likelihood of getting HIV through giving a single blow job to an HIV-positive person is no more than 1 in 2,500 acts (0%-0.04%).

Giving oral sex to an HIV-positive person with mouth-to-vagina contact (cunnilingus)

There is no likelihood of getting HIV by engaging in cunnilingus, as no cases of this occurring have been documented and reported in reliable sources.

Giving oral sex to an HIV-positive person with mouth-to-anus contact (anilingus or rimming)

There is very little likelihood of getting HIV by engaging in oral sex involving contact of the mouth and anus; the chance is negligible. In fact, the lifetime risk of transmitting HIV this way is less than 1%.

Here we will discuss the chance of getting HIV through receiving oral sex from an HIV-positive person.

Receiving oral sex with mouth-to-penis contact (receiving a blow job)

The likelihood of getting HIV from being given a blow job is very low. HIV transmission this way is unlikely because enzymes in saliva neutralize many viral particles, even if the saliva contains blood.

Receiving oral sex with mouth-to-vagina contact

There is no likelihood of getting HIV when an infected person's mouth comes in contact with your vagina, as no cases of this occurring have been documented and reported in reliable sources.

Receiving oral sex with mouth-to-anus contact

The risk of contracting HIV through one act of an HIV-positive person's mouth coming in contact with your anus is negligible.

• How Herpes transmission happens
• Chance of herpes transmission with symptomatic vs asymptomatic partner; protected vs unprotected oral sex
• HSV 1 vs HSV-2 difference and chance of having it orally

Direct skin-to-skin contact is necessary for herpes to be passed. When a herpes blister on the skin of the infected person makes contact with their partner's skin, it can rupture. The fluids in it contain a high concentration of herpes virus. The risk of transmission during the infected person's first outbreak is greater because that is when the virus is most highly concentrated in the blisters.

Since herpes transmission is through the direct skin-to-skin contact the oral to genital acquisition as well as genital to oral transmission follow the same general rule for herpes transmission

There are no statistics available on the probability of herpes transmission via oral sex (at least, we couldn't find any).

Transmission of oral herpes when symptomatic versus when not symptomatic

Transmission of oral herpes with protection versus without protection

Herpes shedding in patients positive for oral (HSV-1) and genital (HSV-2) herpes who have no symptoms

Most herpes-positive people want to protect their partners from getting the infection, but this is not always possible. This is because the infected person can pass herpes even when they have no symptoms.

Asymptomatic herpes transmission has been studied, but results to date leave many open questions. Physicians must make many educated assumptions.

How asymptomatic herpes virus shedding occurs

It is believed that silent (asymptomatic) herpes transmission occurs when active herpes virus from a local nerve ganglion migrates to the surface of the skin. Skin-to-skin contact where the virus is active is required for transmission. Still unknown is what concentration of virus on the skin is required for transmission.

When silent transmission occurs

It is believed that factors that cause herpes to flare up, such as stress, exhaustion, and other disease, make silent transmission of herpes likelier, but this hasn't been proven. A strong immune system probably suppresses the virus quickly enough to prevent a visible skin flare-up, though transmission can still occur. This too hasn't been proven.

When silent transmission is likeliest

"Oral herpes" and "genital herpes" are not medical terms. Doctors usually don't use them.

The general public uses these terms because the two types of herpes tend to primarily affect one or the other parts of the body.

However, both herpes types can affect either the oral area or the genital area. Therefore, physicians refer to them as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Here are a couple of additional facts:

Receiving oral sex from someone with a herpes infection in the throat can cause genital herpes:

How HSV-1 and HSV-2 are different

Body parts affected

Prevalence

Rate of transmission

When the virus is acquired

Outbreak frequency

• How syphilis transmission happens?
• What factors affect the oral syphilis transmission rate?
• Chance of contracting syphilis after contacting with symptomatic vs asymptomatic person

The syphilis transmission happens via skin-to-skin contact. Normal skin should come into contact with one of the syphilis lesions depending on the syphilis stage:

Same factors that affect the transmission of syphilis in other body parts applied to transmission of syphilis via oral sex:

Oral(both giving and receiving) syphilis transmission rate with symptomatic partner is about the same. Moreover the syphilis transmission rate for different syphilis stages-chancre (first syphilis stage lesion) vs skin rash(secondary syphilis lesions)- is the same as well:

Oral (both giving and receiving) syphilis transmission rate with asymptomatic partner is about the same.

The likelihood of contracting syphilis through one sexual encounter (using protection) with a syphilis-positive person is 0%-26.7%. This range is broad because the risk varies based on the sore's location and whether the condom completely covers it.

How much protection a condom provides varies widely depending on where the infected person's syphilis sore is and whether the condom completely covers it. This is because syphilis is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact that includes the sore.