How risky is oral sex without a barrier?

There's always a risk when you aren't sex-free. (Well, you might just go nuts if you are sex free...so it goes both ways, Haha.)

Obviously, the risk is "smaller." You could still get something from oral sex. ESPECIALLY if you have an open cut. So yeah..you need to be careful. But you probably won't listen...will you?

 

Your lip ring shouldnt be a problem as they heal pretty much fully within 21 days. As for the other things i cant really help you sorry

 

This is a tough one..a lot of people say to use protection for oral, but a lot of people don't do it... Besides the normal stds there is a risk for hpv...it just comes down to a personal decision, one which I'm still struggling with. But As far as the run of the mill stds, oral isn't hugely risky so you should be fine..and then just get tested in a few months if you are still worried!

 

Pretty much this.

The risk for contracting things like HIV is incredibly low in oral. However those risks are greatly increased if you have any cuts or sores in your mouth, or if you have just brushed your teeth. Make sure your mouth is strong and healthy when you're going to give oral, or use a condom, or don't do it at all.

As for the risks with sperm, the risks are still pretty low for contracting HIV, just make sure you either swallow it or spit it out quickly. The longer it stays there, the higher the risks. If you just met the guy or you don't 100% trust him, then I advise spitting it out, as you can have micro-cuts along your throat that you aren't even aware of, which can become an area for the HIV virus to enter.

While it's a low risk activity for HIV, it's a higher risk for STDs like herpes. Although the main fixation is on HIV, as the other STDs aren't life-threatening. Make sure the guy has no herpes sores before engaging in oral though, as I'm sure you don't want an incurable STD. People tend to not care about things like chlamydia, as it's easily cured.

Make sure to get STD tests a few months after you engage in sexual activity to make sure you haven't contracted anything, as well as to get anything contracted cured (supposing it can be cured). The risk of HPV associated with cancer is up to your personal take. Don't ever swallow if you know the guy has HPV. In addition to the STD tests, it will be worth while checking for throat cancer too, as there is actually a rather worryingly high risk of developing it if you get infected with HPV via the throat.

All the best.

 

Keep in mind that safer sex rules date back to the early 80s, before we knew much about risk of HIV transmission and before we had tests for HIV. What we did know was that HIV was transmitted in body fluids.

Safer sex is about risk reduction. So, those recommendations included reducing the number of different partners, as well as doing things to reduce exchange of body fluids.

In 2013, we know a lot more than we did back in the 1980s. The risk of HIV transmission via oral sex has proven to be very low based upon 30 years of research on the subject. We also have tests that can identify HIV infection early, so you have an idea of whether your partner has HIV.

You can take the information about choosing your partners wisely, getting tested and the relatively low risks from oral sex and make decisions about condoms and barriers on a case-by-case basis. We can't tell you that it will never happen- we can only tell you that you need to use barriers that are appropriate on a case-by-case basis- at least when it comes to HIV.

HPV is the unknown. It is not transmitted by body fluids- it is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact. And because it is so common in teenagers and college-aged kids, we don't have a lot of research on risk and risk reduction. All we can recommend is that you talk with your doctor about HPV vaccination.