Oral sex involves using the mouth to stimulate the penis fellatio , vagina cunnilingus , or anus anilingus. However, it is hard to know the exact risk because a lot of people who have oral sex also have anal or vaginal sex. The type of oral sex that may be the riskiest is mouth-to-penis oral sex. But the risk is still very low, and much lower than with anal or vaginal sex.

All Rights Reserved. Terms of use and Your privacy. Illustration by Liz Defrain. Can you get HIV from oral sex?

The chances of HIV being passed from one person to another depend on the type of contact. HIV is most easily spread or transmitted through unprotected anal sex, unprotected vaginal sex, and sharing injection drug equipment. Unprotected sex means sex in which no condoms or other barriers are used.

Visit coronavirus. You can also use other HIV prevention methods, below. If you are living with HIV , the most important thing you can do to prevent transmission and stay healthy is to take your HIV medication known as antiretroviral therapy or ART , every day, exactly as prescribed. There also are other options to choose from, below.