[Question #6221] HIV RISK FROM BEEN SUCKED AND LICKING VAGINA (10SEC)

17 months ago

Doctor i need your assistance once again.

Last saturday i met a lady all i did was kissing, she sucked me, and i briefly licked her vagina for 10 seconds.

I am very worried about HIV again i read several post some people say cunninglus is a risk some websites says not.

You clearly mention that there is never a case from performing cunningless.

Can you please tell me about hiv risk ? testing ?

recieving oral sex and performing 10 seconds vagina licking?

Also, i know its a risk sucking a cock with ejaculation. i am not sure whats the difference is ?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

17 months ago

Welcome back. We have previously discussed exposures like this one, although I appreciate your holding off on repeat similar questions after a flurry of them 2 ½ years ago. Still, this is quite similar. As you were informed by both me and Dr. Hook, oral sex is extremely low risk for HIV. One estimate (by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is that if the oral partner has HIV, fellatio (oral-penile contact) has 1 chance in 20,000 of transmitting HIV to the penile partner. That's equivalent to receiving BJs by infected persons once daily for 54 years before transmission might be likely. And you don't know that your partner has HIV -- the frequency of HIV in Australian women is very low, so probably she wasn't infected.

Cunnlingus is even lower risk -- to my knowledge there has never been a reported case of transmission of HIV in either direction. Same for kissing. So those exposures can be viewed as truly zero risk.

It is true that performing fellatio is slightly higher risk for the oral partner than the penile partner, but still very low risk. With or without ejaculation in the mouth, the average chance of transmission, if the penile partner has HIV, is estimated at 1 chance in 10,000. Cunnilingus is still lower risk simply because there is less contact with infected fluids. Also, oral exposure in general is low risk. That's one reason kissing is risk free. Why? Saliva is toxic to HIV, i.e inhibits or kills the virus.

If this is your only exposure in recent months, no testing is needed. If you have had several such exposures since you were last on the forum, you should consider HIV testing for reassurance, and also a syphilis blood test, and urine and throat swab testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia. As I think we have discussed previously, Australia's government-supported sexual health centres are world class STI/HIV prevention faciltieis and the Melbourne and Sydney clinics (I forget where you are) are the best of the best. Consider visiting your local SHC for highly expert, personalized, lifestyle-senstitive prevention advice and testing.

Finally, please consolidate your forum accounts. Multiple accounts and email addresses are against forum policy. Or at least write down your current account information and plan on using this account for any and all future questions.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

---
---
---

17 months ago

Hi Doctor,

I appreciate your response.

I called the alfred hospital pep line melbourne and the nurse said that there is no risk of hiv.

Can you please confirm why the websites say its a risk ? It is really frustrating.

You always mentioned been sucked is not a risk of hiv . doctor hook / doctor sean from freedomhealth said the same for ages. Why the websites are different.

Can you please confirm with doctor hook if he has seen any one getting hiv from licking vagina ? There might be cum on outside but its like i am licking outside not deep in so how this can be a risk of hiv?

Please dont close this thread and allow one more answer please.

17 months ago

Sorry i will rephrase my questions.

I appreciate your response. I called the Alfred hospital pep line Melbourne and HIV line Sydney and both people on the phone said that there is no risk of hiv.

Can you please confirm why the websites say that cunnilingus performing can be a risk ?

Also, you always mentioned been sucked is not a risk of hiv . doctor hook / doctor sean from freedom-health said the same for ages. Why the websites are different ?

Can you please confirm with doctor hook if he has seen any one getting hiv from licking vagina or been sucked ?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

17 months ago

Of course I am not surprised to hear the telephone resources your called agree you were not at risk for HIV from the exposure events you have described.

Why the differences in advice? Many websites, hotlines, etc are conducted by official agencies (governments, etc). In general these tend to take conservative, careful stances. If there is a theoretical risk of transmission, they describe the activity as risky, usually without clarifying the difference between frequent real-world risks and theoretical risks that rarely (and sometimes never) happen. They may take these positions because they do not truly understand the relative risks, or because their legal departments insist on a conservative stance. On this forum and other science-based sites, such as Freedom Health and thebody.com, we emphasize the science and make distinctions between sexual exposures that carry important risk (unprotected vaginal or anal sex) and theoretical risks and activities proved to rarely or never transmit the virus (like kissing, oral sex).

As I said, there has never been a proved case of HIV transmitted by cunnilingus (oral-vaginal contact) or for the penile after in fellatio (getting sucked). Therefore, it is obvious that neither I nor Dr. Hook have seen such a patient.

---
---
---