OK- I am fairly new, and am cautious about picking up something I don't want. I know condoms reduce (not eliminate) catching something when I enter a provider, but... what about the risk to ME with BBBJ? Also, what is the risk to HER if she does BBBJ with someone infected?

I am not asking because I am freaked out, but because I just don't know and want info before I take the plunge and contact a provider who offers BBBJ. So far only had CBJ and HJ. I know HJ has, what, zero risk, but BBBJ sounds so much better.

I read on Dr. Ruth's site (or someone like that) that DATY is the lowest risk actvity. Anyone confirm or refute that?

Thanks!

i often reply to this type post (which come up very regularly) with sarcasm because (in my view) many people are misinformed and filled with fear about the potential for disease transmission. your post seems sincere and intelligent, so i'll try to respond in kind. keep in mind that i am probably the biggest ANTI safety guy who will respond, so take me with a grain of salt.

in fact, take EVERY response with a grain of salt. why the hell would you ask a bunch of hobbyists a medical question? if you really want to know, ask your doctor or follow one of the links below to a MEDICAL site!!!

"bloodborne" diseases like HIV and hepatitis (b,c) are caused by viruses. to contract the disease you MUST absorb a significant amount of your partner's anaerobic body fluid (blood, semen, spinal fluid) directly into your bloodstream. if their viral load is high and your immune system is weak, you might contract the disease.

this is not a FACT but is widely considered to be true in the medical community: that the HIV virus cannot live in saliva, and in fact may be killed by the enzymes - so, in order to contract HIV by receiving a BBBJ, you would have to have significant, deep cuts on your penis AND your partner would have to have a mouth full of infected blood. NO CASE of HIV to date has been clinically proven to have been incurred through oral sex - giving OR receiving. (i'm not saying that means it can't happen - obviously, it would be difficult to "prove")

HERPES is a viral STD that CAN be transmitted by "casual" contact. the only high risk behavior is unprotected genital-to-genital contact, but the POSSIBILITY of infection exists even in "low risk" activities like oral sex or condom-protected intercourse. herpes is not deadly and the symptoms are treatable, but it IS "forever", just like love

we actually miss the old days when STD's like gonorrhea or chlamydia were all we had to worry about. USUALLY easily diagnosed, RARELY serious, and a shot or two would clear them up. MOST likely to be transmitted through unprotected intercourse, but theoretically possible to receive through oral sex.

the best information on the PLANET is available at these three sites (below). remember, though, that THEY will always err on the side of caution (in other words, for instance, THEY will say that there is NO evidence to prove that hiv can be incurred through oral sex, then tell you that you SHOULDN'T DO IT. remember when THEY told you that smoking pot would 'damage your chromosomes'?}

the united states center for disease control:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/disease_info.htm

"the body" originated at columbia university but it looks like they have gone private (?):
http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/

the national institute of health in bethesda, MD
http://health.nih.gov/result.asp/588

Reear Mr. Act, (long)

Thanks for not responding with sarcasm. My questions were serious and not the rantings of a paranoid. The Body site was particularly good at answering the questions I have. Bottom line seems to be what I expected- there is risk associated with damn near everything in life, but we must undertand how much we can accept. What I need is a sexy, disease free girlfriend with whom I can have a monogamus relationship. So, until then, I had best be cool on hobbying a lot, and develop a better relationship with Rose Palma and her 5 sisters.

I was in college in the "good old days" when AIDS was a gay disease, and everything else could be cured with a shot. Those were the days!!!

Reear Mr. Act, (long)

Clarence,

I absolutely agree with what you say about blood borne STD's.

Only recently has evidence come to light that oral transmission is even a viable route of HIV transmission, and this among gays who have developed a preference for oral sex in the belief it is a "safer sex".  As a result of patterns of fairly violent activity that often damages the mucous membranes deep in the throat, there has been a spike in HIV cases in the gay community that are now strongly correlated with oral sex.

But years of evidence have failed to demonstrate that men performing oral sex on women is a viable route of tranmsmission, so we can assume the risk is pretty remote.  

And it's probably not likely many providers are going to let you try to tear their tonsils out, so transmission from man to woman is at least less likely than the current transmission demographics among gays.

But I have to differ with your statement on HSV (and HPV):

" ... the only high risk behavior is unprotected genital-to-genital contact, but the POSSIBILITY of infection exists even in "low risk" activities like oral sex or condom-protected intercourse.

Sorry, that is just not quite true.  

Sure, a condom is certainly advisable, but the level of protection it really provides is questionable.   A condom never covers you completely (Well, OK, so maybe one covers you completely but not me!  LOL - I'm just kidding).

So there is always enough genital-genital contact for transmission.  Same for HPV.

And the "risk" level is impossible to determine because the transmission factor is whether the infected person is in a stage of viral shedding or not.  That is essentially impossible to know becasue lesions don't have to be present and the person can be completely asymptomatic, but still be in a stage of viral shedding.

And consider the statistics:

1 out 4 women in the US have herpes.  1 out of 5 men.  Many do not even know it.

It is a risk that is impossible to calculate - there is no way to put a "high" or "low" on the risk level.

Sorry, but those are the facts ....

Reear Mr. Act, (long)

The following statement is illogical:

"1 out 4 women in the US have herpes.  1 out of 5 men.  Many do not even know it."

Why?, if they don't know it, then how can they be part of the statistic? And there is NO diagnostic test for HPV or herpes (both are virions) except for examination.

Anyway, you are correct though about condoms and viral protection from herpes and HPV, though female condoms provide more genital to genital coverage with respect to herpes and HPV, thus have a higher protection rate than male condoms.

TET

...if you test 1000 people and find 1/4 or 1/5 or ~200 people who are positive and find that many did not know, one may extrapolate to the population at large.  This is how one can say this projection.  It is called epidemiology.

1) 1/4 women, 1/5 men have herpes is NOT a fact, it is an assumption based on what the cdc calls a "nationally representative survey". the survey is based on anecdotal questioning, NOT medical testing, and less than .002 percent of the population is actually studied.

2) no way to put a "high" or "low" on the risk level -
sure there is. i will grant you, condoms do not protect you 100% from anything, not even pregnancy. i'll also grant you that condoms protect less against herpes than against bloodborne or bacterial diseases. however, intercourse with a condom is less risky for herpes transmission than without. and even the cdc will tell you, grudgingly, that mouth-to-genital transmission (of HSV-1) is rare.

as i said originally, herpes transmission is possible whether you think you are protected, or performing "safe" acts or not. i'm not saying that there's no danger.

but the "FACT" about statements made by the government pertaining to STD is that they will always pad their "statistics", employ scare tactics and poor science, and bluff when they don't know an answer.

They test to see whether you have antibodies in your blood to these viruses.  People do not know if they have herpes because in some people it is fairly dormant, not causing the painful ulcers we associate with the virus.  While relatively asymptomatic, these "carriers" can still pass on the virus.  This is nature's little trick to spread the disease.

Preach!