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Home / Answered Questions / I had protected sex with a woman who says she is HIV positive. I’m just worried coz she had a blocked nose, so I’m not taking her word. I also gave oral sex to her and she gave it to me too. Am I at risk? I bleed from 2-3 gums when I brush and I had brushed about 30 minutes before this happened. I’m just paranoid reading about it on the internet. I don’t do this all the time, just the first time and i regret. Please help.

I had protected sex with a woman who says she is HIV positive. I’m just worried coz she had a blocked nose, so I’m not taking her word. I also gave oral sex to her and she gave it to me too. Am I at risk? I bleed from 2-3 gums when I brush and I had brushed about 30 minutes before this happened. I’m just paranoid reading about it on the internet. I don’t do this all the time, just the first time and i regret. Please help.

Hi

It is possible that HIV could have been passed to you when you performed oral sex on her. It’s not common for HIV to be passed this way and really depends on the situations e.g. if she is taking HIV medication the chance would be greatly reduced.

It is possible that other STI can also be passed with oral sex. As most STI do not show symptoms and you are concerned about what happened I would recommend going for an STI test. Have a look at our “STIs at a glance” chart, it provides information on how long you need to wait before getting tested (window period).

As a general rule best to wait at least 2 weeks before getting tested for STI like gonorrhea and chlamydia and to wait 6 weeks before getting blood tests for HIV and syphilis. If someone developed STI symptoms best to come to the clinic straight away.

Also have a look at our “Know your chances” web page, it provides information on your chances of getting or passing an STI depending on how you are having sex.

They currently recommend not brushing or flossing for at least 30 minutes before performing oral sex to reduce the chance of something passing to you.

It sounds like you are not happy with what happened. It is common that people can feel worse about their situation after reading information on the internet. There is lots of misinformation or old information on the internet. Even if someone has something it does not mean it will pass to you the first time you have sex.

It would be best to see a health care professional. They will be able to recommend what tests to do and discuss your individual situation. Let us know if you need help finding a clinic.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on February 1, 2015.