I’m HIV-negative. If my partner, who is HIV-positive, is performing oral sex on me (I’m the suckEE), what is the chance that I could contract the virus?
And what is the chance that I could be transmitting something that is normally innocuous, but harmful to someone who’s HIV-positive?
Well, there certainly is a chance of you contracting HIV, but I don’t know if there are actual numbers available. As for your partner contracting something otherwise inconsequential, that probably wouldn’t be a problem until the HIV had progressed a lot more, in which case they probably wouldn’t be “in the mood.” 
HIV is not present in any detectable amounts in saliva, unless the person has an open wound in the mouth. I suppose that it’s conceivable that a person might catch some other diseases from receiving oral sex, but HIV is not one of them.
As for infections going the other direction, most of the opportunistic infections that attack AIDS victims are already present in most people. It’s just that they’re only dangerous to an immunosuppressed individual. Any unknown pathogens that you might be carrying, your SO is probably also carrying, so you won’t likely do any further harm that way.
Where’s JillGat when you need her?
If there are open sores in the mouth (herpetic lesions/canker sores/gingivitis) and the man is uncircumsized (sp?) there is a definite risk. Wear a condom (nonlubricated I would assume is more pleasant in this case) and be safe.
HIV is transmitted in body fluids. So, yes, you can get it receiving oral sex. It just travels up your pee tube. Or even minute cuts in the skin.
The risk might not be as big as giving it, but its there.
The HIV virus is present in all body fluids, but the amount of hiv in non-blood fluids is to low to transmit infection. You must get an adequate dose of the virus to get infected.
But I wouldn’t take the (very small) chance.
I have read that there is not ONE reported case of HIV transmission through oral sex, either giver or receiver. There is lots of evidence to back this up. But the other diseases out there can be, so still be careful.
-T
Surely you jest Tomcat:
http://www.thebody.com/oralsex.html
On February 6, 1994, the Columbia Gay Health Advocacy Project (CGHAP) sponsored a
conference entitled Oral Sex and Possible HIV Transmission. This conference was
co-sponsored by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). The event was held at
MillerTheater on the Columbia University campus and ran from 2 PM to 6PM. More than
500 people attended the conference. The program consisted of a series of speakers
presenting available scientific data, and a panel of community members discussing
psychological, social, and educational aspects of the issue. There was extended time for
questions and lively discussion from the audience.
Dr. Jeffrey Laurence explained that studies have shown that a reliable laboratory can isolate
HIV in the saliva samples of about 25% of HIV-positive people. The same labs can isolate
HIV in 100% of blood samples from the same people. In those saliva samples in which virus
can be found, the concentration of virus is much lower than in blood, semen, or the already
low concentrations found in vaginal or cervical secretions. The low concentration of virus in
saliva may mean that saliva is less likely to cause infection than blood or other body fluids.
This is certainly supported by test tube and animal studies of infectivity.
Saliva, as Dr. Laurence described above, contains very low concentrations of virus, possibly
due to an unidentified inhibitory factor in saliva. Nevertheless, infectious virus has been found
in the saliva of some HIV-infected people. The presence of blood in saliva (or any body
fluid) probably increases infectivity. Lesions, ulcers, and inflammations caused by other
sexually transmitted diseases make the mucous membranes more susceptible to infection.
But read the above URL, its pretty long.
Semi-corrected, but I think the jury is still out.
My opinions on this all started back in 1995 when I went into the county clinic in Colorado Springs for a random AIDS test. Just wanted to know, you know? So I’m there and the nurse starts asking me all the usual questions, and when I stated my pure heterosexuality, he asked why in the heck was I worried? I was surprised, but he went on and told me that there was no way in hell I’d get it, yada yada. Showed me an article that referenced a few studies, and the basic premise of that was that oral sex was safe, and that normal vaginal sex was pretty damned close to safe FOR MEN as well…Now, this coming from an openly gay nurse at the local STD clinic who had been in the biz for years it seemed. Sorta made me question my previous judgements on AIDS. Here is a link that has some yes/no arguments from around that time:
http://www.managingdesire.org/oralsexpolisher.html
Jump a few years later and you get books like “The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS” and other studies that back up these claims. Throw in the odd article and discussion, and I make that statement up above.
Now…searching a little again, this is all coming into a different light. Check this:
http://content.gay.com/channels/health/oralsex_000210.html
So now there is a study that says 8% of a test group contracted it by oral sex alone (article was from MArch of this year). The previous study by this group stated that their was a very low risk (0.04% per contact), but now they are wondering if it is higher.
After all of this, I still have my doubts. That 8% of the test group seems to me a bit misleading. Either one accepts that this now means that 8% of all new cases are from oral sex alone (which, if true, then one would think that this would have been proven a hell of a lot earlier than it has been), or that the statistically immpossible happened, and they just HAPPENED to get 8 guys (out of how many gays in California? 0.04% per contact for how many contacts in the gay community in Cali…Somebody do the math) into THIS study that that happened to. Sounds a little funny to me.
As stated earlier- I still think people should use condoms, but mainly for other diseases (namely Hep C- a disease that is much stronger, deadlier and more communicable than HIV).
I am curious to know what the true story is. But there seems to be a lot of dissenting opinion on this. I’d accept that if you had open sores in your mouth and lesions on the penis, well, then, yeah, of course. But aside from that (or other scenarios like getting a cut penis from a tooth or etc etc.) it seems like a safe thing. Or put differently, there is no way to make anal sex totally safe, even with a condom, nor is there a safe way to share needles, but there might be a way to make oral sex completely safe, which might be as simple as spitting. Which I think would be a simple and easily adhered to rule. Hey, you could even have a TLA rule “SSS, Suck, Spit, Safe.” or “No Sores? Then SSS.” 
I’ll stand corrected for now…now I should find Exprix (I think it was him)- we were talking about this earlier.
Thanks handy-
-T
tom, the only way to determine if you can catch something is to find people who only do THAT. In other words, to find out if you can get it from kissing, they would have to find people who only kissed & didnt do anything else. Youcan imagine how tricky that is. They did find a couple though who only kissed & the partner got the virus.
But that is not what the study was only on…
And kissing??? I must’ve missed that one.
And to be honest, only looking for people who got HIV from oral sex? They advertised? If that is true, then I believe the study even LESS. Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but c’mon…we are talking about random folks who rock up to a study and claim that that was how they got it? Trusting 8 guys who say they did does not conclusive evidence make.
Not trying to be a jerk, you have made me re-think this handy. But after 20+ years of AIDS, they are just now getting around to determining whether or not oral sex does or does not? You get my point. It is NOT a 100% known. The jury is still out. It is not out on anal sex or things like African dry-sex (god that is nasty- women smear baboon feces in their nether regions to inflame their vagina’s for greater pleasure of the man…icky, and the main reason why AIDS is so prevalent)(if you don’t know what I’m refering to, search for dry sex, its an eye-opener).
I want a 100% trusted way of determining this. Really. But the evidence so far doesn’t pan out that you run a great risk. Or even a small one, but that last study does make one wonder.
End the end it is the same. Use a condom. Whether for HIV or Hep C, use a condom.
Take care-
-T