Years ago, oral sex was regarded as an almost unmentionable activity, but studies prove that these days it is a common fixture of most people’s sexual activity, both in heterosexual and homosexual relationships. In 2010, the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention found that over 90 percent of men aged 25 to 44 had had oral sex with a woman, and over 88 percrent of women within this age group had had oral sex with a man. A further 5.7 percent of men had said they’d had oral sex with a man – the equivalent figures for women weren’t available. It’s been proven that oral sex can be an extremely effective way for women to achieve an orgasm, and it can also help men who have minor difficulties getting an erection. And if you’re looking to avoid pregnancy, it can be a great way of reaching climax without the risk of unplanned pregnancy. There are some concerns that it can be a risk when it comes to infection, in particular HIV. In 2011, experts also pointed out there could be an increased risk of spreading chlamydia and gonorrhoea through oral sex activities. Oral sex is the stimulation of one’s genitals with your mouth – it’s sometimes referred to as cunnilingus for women, and fellatio for men. For men, it involves licking or sucking the penis, and is sometimes referred to as a blow job – this is actually not an accurate description of the activity, and blowing during this time is highly dangerous. ‘Nippling’ refers to the activity of sucking on your partners nipples, though this carried no risk of infection. Oro-anal sex is also referred to as rimming, and involves stimulating the partner’s anus with your tongue or lips. There is a significant risk of infection with this activity though, as the anus is not a particularly clean area of the body and can lead to germs being transferred to the mouth.
Because of the nature of the activity, there is a huge risk of infection being spread with oral sex. Both fellatio and cunnilingus can pass on the HIV virus, though oral sex is far safer than anal sex and probably safer than vaginal intercourse. However, having ulcers in the mouth could increase the risk of infection. Using condoms or dental dams during oral sex could help to reduce the risk of catching HIV, but it doesn’t eliminate the problem. Naturally, as well as HIV, there is the risk of spreading other STDs through oral sex if you or the other person is infected. Gonorrhoea can be spread through oral sex, in particular through fellatio. Because of this, many sexual health clinics will now take a throat swab as part of a routine check up. In the throat, this infection can cause inflammation and soreness, as well as the formation of pus. Syphilis can appear on the genitals or the anus, and can occasionally occur on the lips as a result of oral sex. Chlamydia is a common STD and it’s thought that around 10 percent of young people have it. It can also spread hepatitis A, B and C. While there are ways to reduce the risk of infection, there aren’t ways to completely avoid the infection without abstinence. Getting regular STD checks after every new partner can help to reduce the risk of spreading infection between new people, as well as ensuring that you’ve not caught any infections from previous partners. Safe sex practices are also vital in order to reduce the spread of STDs, which means using condoms or dental dams where possible and making sure that good hygiene is maintained at all times.