How low is it catching HIV through oral

[babycakeee]

Hey ladies single mum here and finally out of a toxic relationship gave myself a year to heal and decided to go on my first date/ hook up I had few cocktails and me and this person have unprotected oral sex well I gave him this was 4weeks ago

While sitting on my sofa watching YouTube a video came up about you could catch hiv through oral sex now I've worried myself to death about this I have ordered myself a test kit so waiting for that to come through the post

But i'm worried asf the person didn't cum in my mouth but just worried

Bump!

Extremely unlikely. Worth noting it has an incubation period of 12 weeks so you'd need to wait 3 months from the event before testing to truly rule it out. Easier said than done but I'd push it to the back of your mind now. Congratulations and well done on getting out of a toxic relationship by the way xxx

Think you are worrying needlessly. The risk of you catching hiv through oral sex is very low. That coupled with the chances of him having hiv being relatively low.

Make sure you're using barrier contraception for penetrative sex- goes without saying.

Its extremely unlikely you were at any risk, but you are doing the right thing to check for your own peace of mind.

As has been said, there is an incubation period before HIV would show up on a test, so you will need to wait till that time is up before testing.

Try not to worry yourself about it - enjoy your new found freedom and the time will pass quickly.

And, not to be patronising, but how you are feeling just now can act as a good reminder not to mess about with people whose status is unknown.

Take care!

Extremely unlikely. HIV is a delicate virus.

Statistically, there's a tiny theoretical risk. But, in practical terms, it works out as exceptionally unlikely.

As I understand it, in decades of study and analysis there's never been a single confirmed case of HIV transfer via oral route only.

However, you can contract other (treatable) STIs orally. So if you're newly single and considering casual sex (and maybe with more than one partner), you might think about getting into a regular testing regime at your local sexual health clinic.

I don't know but I'd suggest not giving out non reciprocal oral sex. You're worth more than that I'm sure.

Such a low chance. Do you have cuts or bleeding gums at the time but even then so low. STI check is more the worry. Don't give oral to someone's who's status you don't know next time. Well done for getting out there though

V unlikely, but good that you are testing. Always use condoms (pill and implant prevent pregnancy but NOT STDS) - even with oral.

But if you do make a mistake (or condom splits), then as soon as possible after the event, go to sexual health clinic or a&e as they may be able to give you medication to reduce your chance of contracting it (but it only works if it is within a certain time window like 48hrs or something).

Also - you may have caught other stds - so you could go for a sexual health screen at a GU Medicine clinic.

Good pint about the medication you can get. It makes you really sick for a week or two but can stop transmission of HIV

As PP said - there is an incubation period, so even if this test is negative, to be sure, you may need a repeat test in a couple of months (GU clinic will be able to advise - and I believe they would do it for free). But the risk is v low (so you can put your mind at ease).

I don’t know for certain, but I think it’s highly unlikely that they are going to give a heterosexual woman PrEP because she’s had a split condom in an otherwise ‘low risk’ sexual encounter. Think how full A&E would be if everyone went there every time they had unprotected sex…

While there is a risk if either you or he were bleeding or had open wounds in the relevant areas, HIV is extremely rare in the UK nowadays so it's like tiny odds multiplied into tinier odds.

While there is a risk if either you or he were bleeding or had open wounds in the relevant areas, HIV is extremely rare in the UK nowadays so it's like tiny odds multiplied into tinier odds.

IME the sexual health clinics will test after four weeks and you can rely on that result. (Source: I used to be in a regular testing regime at the NHS sexual health clinic on Hammersmith Broadway.) You would need to check if that applies to the test you've ordered.

Technically the exposure window can be up to 90 days (it depends on the testing method used) but in practice most sexual health clinics are extremely unlikely to retest if a negative result has been found at four weeks. They will retest if the activity was considered to be high risk. This will almost certainly not include oral.

A&E/clinics are very unlikely to give you PEP after one instance of reciprocal oral sex. Don't go to A&E for this, they'll just send you away again.

For clarity: PEP is the post-sexual activity treatment, PrEP is the ongoing preventative medication that can stop HIV infection.

@NightmareSlashDelightful

Yes I also thought it was four weeks aswell
The test I ordered mentioned that it should be taken at 4weeks onwards after last unprotected sexual incident

@babycakeee

If you are in UK as everyone says the risk is very low. Have a look at the NHS websites to see how many new infections there are each year and the demographics

Yeah I've always been told four weeks after last sexual event.

Listen, it's totally normal to have a worry like this. I did from time to time and I was very sexually active for a while (so you'd have thought I'd be used to it). When we do something new, or different, we can sometimes get a weird wobble afterwards because part of our brain jumps in and tells us we shouldn't have done X or Y, and tries to come up with scare stories to frighten us off doing it again. Basically, the human brain is a great big prude-after-the-fact. It isn't always helpful, even if it thinks it's trying to be!

Statistically, your likelihood of contracting HIV is pretty much zero. Not absolutely zero, but near enough zero. Even less if he didn't ejaculate in your mouth.

Sorting the test is good. Also, many of the NHS sexual health clinics have advisors you can ring for a chat about your risk. They're knowledgeable and reassuring. (Although like most public sector things, they've taken a hammering recently and are likely understaffed so you might have to try a few times to get someone.) I used the Hammersmith Broadway one, part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and they were utterly brilliant. Terrence Higgins Trust will have advisors you can ring up too, I think.

You have to be prepared to be very frank with them — tell them what went where and for how long etc — but they will give you good advice. If you're worried it might be worth seeing if you can give them a call.

Good pint about the medication you can get. It makes you really sick for a week or two but can stop transmission of HIV

They will only prescribe it if you were at risk, and oral sex with a heterosexual male partner of unconfirmed status wouldn't qualify

It would be like getting a rabies jab after being licked by a puppy in Wigan.

Such low risk.

It's interesting that people still worry about HIV so much while Hepatitis is a bigger threat.

Obviously. I never said the OP would qualify not sure where you got that from. I was simply supporting PP who mentioned PEP should the OP OR anyone for that matter in the future have unprotected sex and are concerned about that persons status they know about PEP

To clarify, the meds used in PEP are the same as people living with HIV use and are generally very well tolerated. Sometimes there can be nausea, headaches or tiredness but this can be managed and settles after a few days.

PEP, where offered, should be started within 72 hours of potential infection.

This can be a useful tool for anyone wondering if they should take PEP www.tht.org.uk/our-services/sexual-health/have-you-taken-risk

@HIVpos

There we go everyone it can make you sick.