Is it possible to catch AIDS through a blow job? Getting infected with HIV through oral sex - truth or myth? The likelihood of contracting an STD depends on your social status

Date of: 25.10.2023

Changing morals in sexual life have raised many questions. Is it possible to become infected with HIV through oral sex? One of them. In the modern world, sexual intercourse has become something more than a tool for prolonging the human race. The times of the Soviet era, during which there was no sex in our country, have long sunk into oblivion. They have been replaced by a completely new time, marked by more relaxed relationships and a lack of prejudice when choosing a sexual partner. All these factors contributed to the fact that lovemaking moved away from the only true missionary position and moved to a different level of experimentation, in addition to the search for one’s own personality.

Structure and transmission routes

Oral sex has been known to mankind for a long time; many ancient frescoes and manuscripts confirm this fact. However, a similar question has never arisen before due to the fact that a disease such as HIV was discovered quite recently. From its initial appearance to the present day, the human immunodeficiency virus has become enormously widespread. Its structure and nature of impact are such that it may have absolutely no manifestations for a long time, which sometimes amounts to years or even decades. Moreover, all this time the person is a carrier of the infection and can infect other people, completely unaware of the presence of a similar illness.

Activation of the virus gradually suppresses a person’s immune characteristics, making them unable to fully resist the various infections that fill our world. The awakening and development of HIV has its own name, which each of us has heard. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a consequence of the development of infection and leads to inevitable death. It is this fact and the rather serious consequences of a similar disease that have led to the fact that today the issue of AIDS prevention is particularly acute.

This fact has raised many questions, because no one wants to become infected with an incurable disease that can lead to death. In order to understand whether infection is possible as a result of oral sex, it is necessary to highlight the factors through which HIV is transmitted. These include the following possible infection options:

blood;
seed;
discharge from the genitals;
breast milk.

The above factors fully characterize the possibility of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. Based on this, it follows that HIV infection through oral sex is possible. However, as practice shows, such cases are the exception to the rule rather than the rule. A similar state of affairs is due to the structure of the virus itself, since when it enters the external environment it dies almost instantly. This makes oral sex relatively safe, but requires close monitoring of your condition and the health of your partner.

Risk factors

Due to the characteristics of the HIV virus and its instant death in the environment, it follows that oral fun is relatively safe. However, it is still possible to become infected, although the percentage of a similar risk is minimal. The following conditions are risk factors:

The risk of infection increases significantly when ejaculating into the mouth. As mentioned above, the seed is a carrier of the virus and its contact with the mucous membranes of the mouth can cause human infection.
The slightest damage to the mucous membranes of the mouth or genitals also causes increased attention. Scratches, sores, or bleeding can cause HIV transmission. Therefore, at the slightest sign of damage, you should completely abandon oral or any other type of sexual pleasure.
It is almost impossible to become infected through cunnilingus. However, the presence of menstrual flow in a woman is of particular concern, since blood coming out of the vagina can serve as a source of infection.

All these factors can serve as a source of infection and require careful monitoring. A unique way out of this situation is the use of barrier contraceptives, such as a condom. They are able to protect both partners from infection and ensure their health. At the same time, a condom still does not provide a 100% guarantee, although it significantly increases the chances of avoiding infection, and together with the death of the virus in the external environment, it significantly increases them. It is worth taking into account that promiscuity is a particular risk factor. In most cases, they become the cause of the spread of the virus and its sad consequences. Only having a permanent sexual partner can guarantee a person’s health and ensure that they receive the full range of positive emotions that come with having sex.

Prevention

Oral sex with a condom is an unforgettable experience! However, this approach provides the greatest protection against HIV infections.

However, it is still possible to engage in oral sex without barrier protection.

This requires minimizing the possibility of infection. A similar solution requires compliance with several rules aimed at preventing infection and making it possible to avoid it. These events look like this:

Refrain from performing oral hygiene procedures before engaging in oral sex. The minimum period for conducting them is 2-3 hours before the start of lovemaking. This need is due to the fact that when brushing your teeth, your gums or other mucous membranes are involuntarily injured, which increases the risk of infection.
A few hours before having sex, exclude from your diet all foods that can injure the mucous membranes of the mouth. Seeds, nuts or crackers can cause damage to the gums or tongue, making them an extremely undesirable food. Moreover, after 2-3 hours, the damage they caused is leveled out and it becomes possible to engage in this type of love.
The presence of non-healing wounds in the oral cavity or on the genitals should be the reason for a complete refusal of oral sex. The reason for this decision is understandable, since it is these injuries that pose the greatest danger and can cause the spread of HIV infection.
The use of barrier protective equipment is a good solution, providing additional reliability and significantly reducing the risk of infection.
Refusal to ejaculate into the mouth also provides a kind of protection against the spread of the virus. After all, it is sperm that is the carrier of the disease, and its exclusion from the scheme of oral sex can serve as a guarantee of protection against infection.

It should also be noted that when performing oral manipulation on a woman, the percentage of vaginal discharge is so small that it is almost impossible to become infected with HIV. Therefore, during cunnilingus, you can not use absolutely any means of protection, but only adhere to the above preventive rules. At the same time, ignoring them can play a cruel joke on a person and expose him to infection with an incurable disease, fraught with the only way out - death. It is not for nothing that the highest percentage of those infected are formed by people leading an unhealthy lifestyle and practicing promiscuous sexual intercourse.

Instructions

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus. The virus attacks the immune system - it invades lymphocytes, multiplies in them, and then the death and rupture of the lymphocyte occurs with the release of a new “portion” of the virus into the bloodstream. Considering that initially more than one virus enters the body, its titration occurs in geometric progression. From the moment of infection to the first positive HIV test, on average, it takes from one to three months. This is the “window period” when a person does not yet know that he is sick, but is already capable of infecting others. The life expectancy of an HIV-infected person without maintenance therapy is about ten years, with auxiliary drugs more than twenty years. AIDS is the last stage of development of HIV infection. A person’s death occurs not from HIV as such, but from associated (opportunistic) infections.

The routes of HIV transmission are well known: through blood (through poorly treated medical equipment, through the same needle of people, from mother to child during childbirth) and during sexual intercourse (through semen and vaginal secretions). For infection to occur, the virus must enter the bloodstream. Therefore, during sexual intercourse, infection occurs when the virus penetrates through microtraumas on the vaginal wall or. And for the same reason, in terms of the likelihood of infection, anal sex is much more dangerous. The fact is that the vagina was originally intended for sex - the vaginal wall consists of seven layers of tissue, produces a mucous secretion and is capable of stretching during sexual intercourse - this protects against injury during sex. The wall of the rectum consists of only three layers and is easily injured, and through injury the virus easily enters the blood.

It was found that a blood volume of 0.1 ml of blood was required for infection. The human immunodeficiency virus is found in all biological fluids of the body: not only in blood and semen and vaginal secretions, but also in tears, breast milk and saliva. The virus content in breast milk is quite high. During breastfeeding, the risk of a child becoming infected with HIV is approximately 15%. And in tears and saliva the concentration of the virus is very small and insufficient for infection. Therefore, HIV infection through saliva is impossible either in everyday life or through kissing. We can confidently say that when using shared cutlery and glasses there is no risk of infection. Kissing someone who is HIV positive is also safe. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid and distance yourself from people who are in such trouble.

Oral sex is a type of sexual intercourse in which arousal or satisfaction is achieved by stimulating the partner's genitals with the tongue and lips. A large number of people practice this type of sexual relations in an unprotected form (without a condom), believing that infections and diseases are not transmitted through oral sex. This is the most common misconception! The risk of contracting various viruses, infections and diseases is almost the same as through direct sexual contact.

Venereal diseases

If one of the partners suffers from a sexually transmitted disease, then during oral sex the other becomes infected. The likelihood of infection increases sharply if there are wounds or ulcers in the mouth. Viral bacteria enter the blood along with secretions.

What can you get infected from oral sex?

Syphilis

The causative agents of this disease live in semen in men and genital secretions in women. A typical manifestation of infection is the formation of a chancre (painless sore). After a blowjob, it can be localized on the face, lips or tonsils. There is an increase in lymph nodes in the submandibular area. Treatment is strictly individualized by the attending physician. It is based on antibiotics.

Gonorrhea

It is less likely to become infected with a virus during blowjob than during normal sexual intercourse, but this possibility cannot be ruled out. One of the lovers may be a carrier of the infection without showing symptoms, which will also cause infection of the partner if contraception is not used. Symptoms of the disease are the appearance of unusual discharge and painful sensations when urinating. When the throat is infected with gonorrhea bacteria, gonococcal pharyngitis develops, which manifests itself as pain in the larynx. Treated with medication.

Chlamydia

Herpes

Different types of this virus can affect not only the lips and mucous membranes of the mouth, but also the external genitalia. It manifests itself in the formation of vesicular rashes that accompany itching and burning. If one of the partners has a rash, the other becomes infected during fellatio. This type of virus is incurable, you can only alleviate the pain during relapses. Drugs are also prescribed to strengthen the immune system.

Gardnerellosis

The bacteria of this disease constantly live in a woman’s vagina, but under certain unfavorable conditions, the normal microflora of the organ is disrupted. Men are carriers of this infection from a sick partner to a healthy one. They themselves do not feel the symptoms of the disease. The main symptom is profuse discharge with an unpleasant odor from the vagina in women. Treatment includes antibacterial therapy and restoration of natural microflora. A complication after an illness in women may be the appearance of problems during pregnancy. In more severe cases - infertility.

Mycoplasmosis, ureaplasmosis

Bacteria of these viruses are capable of causing inflammatory processes in the organs of the genitourinary system. Painful sensations occur during intercourse, discharge from the vagina or urethra, pain and burning during urination. In advanced cases, pain occurs in the lower abdomen, scrotum, and lower back. Rashes may appear in the liver area. These infections are especially dangerous for pregnant women (miscarriage). The disease also causes complications in the form of urethritis, urolithiasis, and inflammation of the ovaries in women. Treatment is a course of antibiotics.

Read also: Pimples on the penis: possible causes

Viral hepatitis groups A, B and C

With hepatitis B, the virus is found in saliva, semen, urine and blood, so the risk of infection is especially high. At first, the symptoms of the disease resemble a cold, then characteristic painful sensations appear in the right hypochondrium, nausea, joint pain, vomiting, and the sclera of the eyes become yellow. In 90% of cases, the disease can be completely cured. The remaining 10% is due to the development of a chronic disease.

With viral group C, bacteria live only in the blood, so infection can only occur if there is trauma to the mouth and genitals. The disease is practically asymptomatic, while affecting the liver. An analysis for the presence of antibodies to the virus and an ultrasound of the abdominal organs helps to identify it. Some patients are cured completely, while others become carriers of the virus.

Hepatitis A can be infected through oral sex of the anus. Feces may get into the mouth. Symptoms of hepatitis include elevated body temperature, foamy urine, and general weakness. Later nausea, vomiting, jaundice. The patient is prescribed a course of antibiotics to restore health.

Papillomas and condylomas

Human papillomavirus causes the appearance of common warts, genital papillomas, and many small warts of the throat and vagina. The skin on intimate places is very thin, so bacteria penetrate and take hold very easily. Some forms of the virus can cause cancer of the external and internal organs of the pelvis, anus, mouth and skin. Condylomas are warts located on the labia, in the urethra, on the cervix or in the vagina. They come in different sizes and shapes and cause discomfort during sexual intercourse and itching. During treatment, first of all, the patient’s immune system is strengthened. Removal of papillomas is carried out using laser, cryotherapy, surgical excision, radio wave therapy, electrocoagulation. But in order to avoid their reappearance in the future, you need to maintain your immunity.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Many people are interested in whether it is possible to become infected with AIDS through oral sex. As you know, HIV is found in all body fluids. These are vaginal discharge, sperm, blood. Infection through oral contact occurs through direct entry of these secretions into the blood through wounds and cracks in the oral mucosa. If the gums and oral cavity are not damaged, ejaculation has not occurred, then the likelihood of infection is significantly reduced. Sperm is one of the main sources of spread of the virus.

A sick person loses the protective properties of the body. Any cold or runny nose can be fatal. The last stage of this disease is called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Many scientists around the world are trying to create a cure for this virus, but today there is no such remedy.

Inflammation of the genitourinary system and gastrointestinal tract

One partner can transmit infections to the other partner's genitals, causing the following diseases:

ARVI;
angina;
pharyngitis;
tonsillitis;
scarlet fever

This leads to the appearance of inflammatory processes in the pelvic organs. Such diseases are urethritis, pyelonephritis, cystitis. Patients complain of severe pain when emptying the bladder, purulent discharge from the urethra, frequent urge to urinate, general weakness, and increased body temperature. For proper treatment, a tank is cultured to determine the type of virus and its resistance to drugs.

The presence of dental caries and periodontal disease of the gums can also cause inflammation of the genital organs, since during fellatio, bacteria living in damaged teeth enter the genitals and cause inflammatory processes.

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