Oral Sexually Transmitted Diseases

·         There are many different types of sexually transmitted diseases that can be acquired through oral sex. Many individual falsely believe that HIV can not be transmitted through this behavior, however, it can be. The person who is engaging in the activity is the individual most at risk for getting HIV. This risk significantly increases if he/she has sores or cuts inside his/her mouth. The individual who is receiving the oral sex in not likely to catch HIV, however, if the partner preforming the act has large quantities of blood inside his/her mouth, then the receptive individual may be exposed to the virus. Herpes is one of the most common oral sexually transmitted diseases. An individual who has herpes is contagious, even if he/she is not exhibiting symptoms of the sexually transmitted diseases. Either partner is able to contract herpes during oral sex. The preforming partner may contract it from contact with his/her partner's genitalia, while the receiving partner may be exposed if his/her partner has oral herpes. The herpes virus spreads during skin contact, and therefore, condoms are not entirely effective in preventing the transmission of this diseases.

·         Gonorrhea is one of the many sexually transmitted diseases that can cause very uncomfortable health complications. Gonorrhea can be transmitted from one individual to another during oral sex. This oral sex std has been known to cause severe throat infections, which are extremely difficult to treat. Unlike many types of oral sexually transmitted diseases, this condition is usually only contracted when an individual is preforming fellatio on a man, and is rarely contracted by an individual preforming oral sex on a woman. This is because gonorrhea occurs in a female's cervix, a location that is not exposed or touched during oral sex. Chlamydia shares these characteristics will gonorrhea. When HPV is transmitted as an oral sex std, it significantly increases an individual's chance of suffering from throat cancer later in life.

·         Syphilis is an oral sex std that is very easily transmitted during this behavior. Unlike herpes, an individual who has syphilis is only contagious when his/her symptoms are present. Therefore, during periods in which the symptoms of this disease are not present, oral sex may be preformed with a diminished risk of transmitting the disease (though this is not recommended without the proper precautions). However, in many instances, the sores are easily missed, as they are often not painful, and they may be present even if neither partner notices them. Using proper safety precautions will decrease the risk of contracting oral sexually transmitted diseases. Dental dams and condoms are effective in prohibiting the transmission of many sexually transmitted diseases.