HIV risk from oral sex

How low di risk be?

Among all di ways wey pipo dey do sex, oral sex get di smallest HIV risk. CDC dey call am low, dem no give one exact number. Di calculator dey use estimate of 0.01% (around 1 out of 10,000) for each act wen di partner get HIV and no dey take treatment.

Wit partner wey you no sabi im status, di chance small well well, becos most likely dat person no get HIV. For example, for United States:

• Woman wey give man oral sex, and im status no dey known: <0.0001% (around 1 out of 5,800,000)
• Man wey give man oral sex, and im status no dey known: 0.00036% (around 1 out of 280,000)

Di second number high pass only becos HIV dey more common among men wey dey sleep wit men. Di act itself get di same small risk.

To give and to receive

To give oral sex (your mouth for your partner penis or vagina) mean say you go touch semen, pre-cum or vaginal fluid. Dis fluids fit carry HIV, but CDC still tok say oral sex get very small or no risk.

To receive oral sex mean say your partner saliva (spit) go touch you. HIV no dey pass through saliva, so to receive oral sex sef get very small risk.

If your partner get HIV and im viral load (how much HIV dey di blood) dey undetectable (di HIV for blood don low reach where test no fit see am) becos e dey take treatment, e no dey pass HIV through sex, and oral sex dey inside. See U=U.

Ejaculation, cut and sore

CDC tok say ejaculation inside mouth, togeda wit mouth sore, gum wey dey bleed or sore for private part, fit increase di chance for HIV to pass during oral sex. Oda STIs fit do am too. Even so, di risk still dey low.

• No ejaculation inside mouth. Di calculator dey reduce di estimate by 50% wen male partner no release (ejaculate) inside your mouth.
• Oda STIs. Sore and swelling from anoda infection dey make am easy for HIV to enter. Di calculator dey multiply di estimate by 2 if any of una get STI (sexually transmitted infection, wey be infection wey dey pass through sex).

Rimming

CDC dey count mouth wey touch anus (nyash), wey pipo dey call rimming, as one type of oral sex, and e put oral sex for im group of “very small or no risk” for HIV. But e fit pass oda infections.

Oda STIs na di bigger worry

HIV no too dey be di main risk from oral sex. CDC tok say you fit get oda STIs from oral sex. If you get symptoms, or you dey go check yourself anyway, tell di health worker about di oral sex so dem go decide which test you need. Our page on HIV and STIs dey explain how di two connect.

Wetin to do now

1. If na only oral sex happen, your risk dey very low. For most pipo, test for di correct time go reassure dem well.
2. If oda types of sex happen too, dem usually get more risk pass di oral sex. Use di calculator and put every act inside.
3. Do test afta di window period (di time afta infection wen test neva fit show HIV). Lab antigen/antibody test (blood wey dem draw from vein) go give negative result wey don be final from 45 days afta di exposure (wen HIV fit don enter your body). See how test correct week by week.
4. Take care of your mind. Plenti pipo dey worry afta oral sex, even though di risk dey very low. If di fear don dey take over your life, see our page on HIV anxiety.