Here I go again-Cunnilingus this time

[Parttimer]

First off, I want to apologize to the moderators for starting a new tread. My original post dated back to Jan thru May 2005 and I can't remember my username or what email address I used at that time.

For those of you out there worried you became infected by someone giving you a blowjob - Listen to the people here. There is no risk. I wasted 13 weeks worried sick after I got BJ from a prositute who 3 weeks later I found out she was HIV+ (She dropped her test results and disability claim paperwork in my truck). I was already worried, but when I found that I lost my breath. I thought I was + for sure. You can not get HIV from someone giving you a BJ.

Now my problem. I am a 43yo married male who screwed up and met up with a woman who's HIV status is unknown. She performed oral sex on me - no concern there as I know better from my previous scare. But..... I also performed oral sex on her. Now I know I should not be concerned, however, after the encounter I realized I had a canker sore on my upper gum in the front of my mouth. Now I am starting to freak out all over again. I'ts been 18 days and now I have swollen/sore glands in my troat and generally feeling like crap (which is probably the guilt). I can't stop thinking about the canker sore and what if that is a viable transmission means.
Please help me. I will get tested at 13 weeks but need to know if I am at risk

[Ann]

PT,

We got new forum software in 2006, so you would have had to create a new account anyway.

Going down on a woman is not a risk for hiv infection, regardless of your canker sore.

There have been long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

Hiv transmission doesn't stand a chance of happening via female genitals to mouth - there are just too many obstacles on the oral route.

The first obstacle is the mouth itself. The mouth is a veritable fortress, standing against all sorts of pathogens we come into contact with every minute of our lives. It's a very hostile environment and saliva has been shown to contain over a dozen different proteins and enzymes that damage hiv.

Hiv is a very fragile virus - literally. Its outer surface doesn't take kindly to changes in its preferred environment; slight changes in temperature, moisture content and pH levels all damage the outer surface. Importantly, it needs this outer surface to be intact before it can latch onto a few, very specific cell types and infect. 

Which leads to the second obstacle. Hiv can only latch onto certain types of cells, cells which are not found in abundance in the mouth.

The third obstacle to transmission this way is having hiv present in the first place. The female secretion where hiv has been shown to be present is the cervicovaginal fluid. This fluid is actually a thick mucus that covers and protects the cervix.

The fluid a woman produces when sexually excited comes from the Bartholin's glands, located on either side of the vaginal opening. I have yet to discover one shred of evidence (and believe me, I've looked) that shows this lubricating fluid to have any more hiv present than other bodily secretions such as saliva, sweat or tears. Saliva, sweat and tears are NOT infectious fluids.

So there you have it. Once the results of the serodiscordant studies started rolling in, what we know about hiv transmission on the cellular level was validated. The only people who were getting infected were those who had unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse. Period. One of the three studies went on for ten years and involved hundreds of couples. That's a lot of nookie.

You did not have a risk for hiv infection and you do not need to test. If your throat bothers you, see a doctor. It's nothing to do with hiv.

Ann

[Parttimer]

Ann,
Thank you for your re-assurance. Can you refer me to some of the studies you mentioned in your response? I can't stop thinking - "What if the studies don't apply to my situation?". I'm becoming more and more stressed each day. My jaw is clenched so tight it is staring to hurt. I get a twinge in my armpit and immediatley start to think " Great - my lymph nodes are swollen". This is going to be a long 10 weeks until I test.

[RapidRod]

You did not have a risk for hiv infection and you do not need to test. If your throat bothers you, see a doctor. It's nothing to do with hiv.

Ann

[Andy Velez]

You are worrying unnecessarily. The drama you are creating about this and about waiting to get tested has no basis in HIV science. A negative result for your test is a slam dunk.

Instead of focusing on studies and other details, you need to make a real effort to pay attention to other things in your life. Don't bother saying you're too worried to do that because I can tell you that response won't fly here.

Testing for you is not really needed. It's strictly for your peace of mind and a negative test result is a foregone conclusion, based on what you have reported of your activities.