How risky are fucking and getting fucked?
Getting fucked without a condom
Most gay men who have HIV caught it from getting fucked without a condom. As far as gay sex goes, getting fucked without a condom, and having your partner cum inside you, is the riskiest thing you can do. This is because the lining of the arse can absorb liquids directly into your bloodstream. If there’s HIV in his cum, and his cum goes up your arse, that will be absorbed too. Getting fucked without him cumming inside you is lower risk but, as there is HIV in pre-cum too, there is still a risk of HIV transmission.
In group sex it’s theoretically possible to catch HIV from getting fucked even if your partner is HIV negative, if he has fucked someone who is HIV positive and then fucks you and there are traces of HIV infected anal mucus or blood on his cock or condom.
Getting fucked is also high risk for most other STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis, warts, hepatitis B and for HIV positive men it is thought that you can catch hepatitis C as well. Condoms provide an effective barrier against most STIs, including HIV, although some STIs, such as syphilis and warts can still be transmitted if the condom does not cover the entire infected area, such as the base of the cock. If you are infected with an STI in your arse, it will increase the chances of you being infected with HIV if you are HIV negative. If you are HIV positive and have an STI, it is likely that there will be higher concentrations of HIV in all of your body fluids, including blood and anal mucus, and so you will be more infectious.
Fucking without a condom
Fucking someone without a condom is less risky than getting fucked without a condom, but it is still one of the riskiest sexual practises that gay men do. If you are HIV negative, fucking someone bareback is more likely to lead to infection than sucking cock. This is because the anal mucus that lines the arse (we all have it, it’s the stuff that helps your shit slide out) contains a very high concentration of HIV. The skin just inside the tip of the penis can absorb liquids directly into the bloodstream. HIV experts used to think that infection from the receptive partner (bottom) to the insertive partner (the top) was as a result of bleeding in the arse. Although it’s possible that blood is responsible for transmission in some cases, we now think that anal mucus is more often the reason that the man doing the fucking can become infected.
Other infections in or around his arse, such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis, warts and hepatitis B can be passed to the guy fucking through his urethra (piss hole). Condoms can prevent most of the infections that you can get from fucking, although it’s worth remembering that some STIs can be transmitted even if you use condoms.
Fucking and getting fucked with condoms
While it is rare, condoms can break during fucking and this could make it possible for HIV or other STIs to be transmitted. Condom breaks usually occur because condoms are used incorrectly or are used for long sessions without changing them. If you use condoms correctly with plenty of water based lube, it will greatly reduce the chances of it breaking.
While condoms offer protection against HIV and most STIs, they cannot prevent them all. A regular visit to a GUM clinic will help you to keep your sexual health in check.
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