What Is Oral Sex?

Oral sex is when you stimulate your partner's genitals with your mouth, lips, or tongue, or they stimulate your genitals using these body parts. This might involve fellatio (oral sex involving the penis), cunnilingus (oral sex performed on a vagina, vulva, or clitoris), or anilingus (oral sex involving the anus).

Oral sex is often considered foreplay, meaning it happens before penetration with a penis or sex toy. It might also occur after sexual intercourse or replace intercourse entirely. Everyone has their preferences, and there are no rules, provided both parties consent to the activity.

Safety

While oral sex can offer deep physical and emotional pleasure, it also has one of the same dangers as intercourse. Whether you're the giver or receiver of oral sex, you can contract and/or spread sexually transmitted infections (STIs) through your mouth, genitals, rectum, or throat. It is also possible to have an STI in more than one of these locations at one time.

To protect yourself, make sure you and your partner get STI tests before getting intimate. This is especially important because many STIs don't present with symptoms. So, you or your partner may be unaware that you have an STI.

If you're not sure about your partner's status, you should use a barrier method every time you have oral sex. For oral sex with a penis, you should cover the penis with a condom. For oral sex with a vagina or anus, you should use a dental dam (a thin piece of latex). It is important to use these methods properly every time to increase your protection.

Considerations

Oral sex is a commonly practiced type of sexual activity. Approximately, 85% of sexually active adults have had oral sex.

How you practice oral sex depends on your and your partner's personal preferences. Some people use oral sex as a segue to insertive play (vaginal fingering, anal fingering, penile intercourse, or toy use). However, you should be careful. Ultimately, saliva is not lube. 

Unlike lube, which is designed to be long-lasting and moisturizing, spit is actually drying to the genital tissues. The good news is that there are plenty of store-bought lubricants on the market that are safe to ingest—including, but not limited to, flavored lubes.

"Many people use [oral] sex as a part of foreplay," Sarah Melancon, Ph.D., sociologist and clinical sexologist with The Sex Toy Collective, told Health. "It takes time for the genital tissues to become fully engorged and ready to penetrate or be penetrated.” 

If you go from zero to penetration, it's not going to be as comfortable and there is a greater risk of tearing. Therefore, having oral sex before other kinds of sex can make the activities that follow better for all people involved.

It's common for people who experience pain during penetration to prefer oral sex to other kinds of sex. One study found that 37% of participants need clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm. Another 36% said that clitoral stimulation isn't necessary to have an orgasm but improves the experience.

Communication and Consent

Communication and consent are an important part of sex, and that goes for oral sex as well. It's important to communicate whether you are the giver or the receiver. If either party feels uncomfortable, you should stop immediately.

Risks

Penetrative intercourse isn’t the only kind of sex that comes with a risk of STIs. Without proper protection, oral sex can also lead to an STI. 

The STIs most commonly transmitted through oral sex include:

• HSV (herpes)
• Gonorrhea
• Syphilis
• HPV
• Trichomoniasis

Chlamydia, HIV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C can also be transmitted via oral sex, but are less likely.

STIs aside, oral-anal play poses additional risks. Analingus can lead to the ingestion of intestinal parasites like Giardia and bacteria like E.coli and Shigella.

Oral sex can also lead to pubic lice. Although uncommon, pubic lice can jump from pubic hair to facial hair.

Unfortunately, you can't rely on obvious symptoms to clue you into your genital or oral STI status since most people with STIs don’t experience any noticeable symptoms.

When symptoms are present, they may appear as:

• Unusual discharge
• Pain while peeing
• Bumps, sore, or warts on or around the genitals 
• Rash
• Itching

If left untreated, STIs can lead to different complications. An HPV infection can lead to throat, cervical, vaginal, anal, or penile cancer. Additionally, HIV can lead to an increased risk of developing certain infections and cancer. The complications of these STIs can be harmful, which is why it's important to protect yourself during oral sex.

If you think you've been exposed to an STI or are experiencing symptoms, schedule an STI testing appointment. You can also take an at-home STI test.

A Quick Review

Oral sex can be a great way to bring pleasure into a sexual relationship. As with any sexual encounter, it is important to protect yourself from STIs. Whether that means getting tested for STIs before getting intimate or using a condom or dental dam, there are ways to protect yourself and your partner from a sexually transmitted disease.