Q: I have a question about an unusual, taboo sex act and I wasn’t sure who to ask. I have not engaged in this practice, but am curious about it. Is blood drinking considered a high risk sexual activity? I read somewhere that it is actually quite difficult to contract HIV that way because the acid in your stomach kills the virus, and that the only danger would be if one had open cuts or sores in the mouth. Is that true? Do piercings (i.e. Tongue, lip) count as an “open wound”? And if you can’t get HIV, can you get other diseases? Basically in a nutshell I am asking whether this would be classified as a high risk activity or if it is relatively safe?
A: We know that some people drink blood directly from the body and some people drink blood that has been previously drawn. The risk of each may vary.
If it is your own blood there is no risk. However, if it is someone else’s blood than there is a risk and, if you are unsure of their status, that risk is higher.
The diseases that are of most concern would be HIV and Hepatitis B & C and there are lesser but varying risks for other STDs.
HIV is known as a dangerous virus but it is also a fairly fragile virus. If the blood was directly from the person it would be a higher risk if you have small cuts in your mouth, possibly from brushing or flossing your teeth, that you may be unaware of. It may also get into small cuts that are on your lips or hands if the blood gets in contact with those areas. If the blood was previously drawn and exposed to air for a period of time or stored refrigerated the risk would be reduced as the HIV virus would be less likely to survive in either environment. In addition the HIV virus does not survive long when it comes in contact with either saliva or the digestive acids in the stomach
The Hepatitis virus however is much more resilient and can survive much longer than the HIV virus. For this reason there is a high risk of contracting Hepatitis if you were exposed to and drink blood that was contaminated. There are vaccines for Hepatitis A & B you can get for protection.
Piercings, if they have healed, are not considered open wounds. They do however provide an area that is at increased risk for irritations and those irritations may allow a virus or disease to enter the body.
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