What is oral sex?
Oral sex is a form of sex in which one person's mouth touches the other person's genitals. back to top

Are there any risks to oral sex?
Although you can't get pregnant from oral sex, you can get a sexually transmitted disease. For example, it's possible to get a gonorrhea throat infection from oral sex.

You can also catch genital herpes (herpes simplex type 2) and oral herpes (herpes simplex type 1) from oral sex. If you have unprotected oral sex, you can get genital herpes both on your genitals and in your mouth and oral herpes in your mouth and on your genitals just by coming into contact with an open herpes sore in either place.

You can also catch HIV from oral sex, because all bodily fluids (including semen, vaginal secretions, and saliva) can contain the HIV disease. So if you exchange any kind of bodily fluids, you can catch HIV or any sexually transmitted disease.

The best way to have oral sex is to use a condom or a dental dam to protect you from coming into contact with any potentially harmful bodily fluids. back to top

What happens during oral sex?
Oral sex is when a girl takes a boy's penis into her mouth and stimulates it with her mouth and tongue, or when a boy uses his mouth and tongue to stimulate a girl's genitals. One or both of you may have an orgasm during oral sex, but an orgasm doesn't always have to happen. back to top

Should I swallow the semen?
This is a common question. The answer is that it's really up to you. But remember that if you have oral sex without a condom, even if you don't swallow, there's a chance that you could catch a sexually transmitted disease, including HIV. Semen can contain all kinds of bacteria. The boy you're having oral sex with could have an STD or even HIV and not even know it. Having any kind of intimate sexual contact without using a condom is risky business. back to top

Why would a guy want to go down there? Doesn't it smell?
Most guys like the way a girl's vagina smells. So there's no reason to feel self-conscious about the odors and juices coming from your vaginal area. Your vagina is like a self-cleaning oven. It contains a lot of good bacteria that work to keep it clean and to fight infections. So it's completely normal if there's a bit of odor down there. It doesn't mean you're dirty. It means that everything's working right. back to top

Learn more about:
safe sex
condoms
sexual intercourse
abstinence
virginity