Yes, you can get an STI without having penetrative sex
Anilingus. Cunnilingus. Mutual masturbation. Many sexual acts without penetration are well worth exploring from a pleasure point of view. But many sex workers engage in these sexual acts under the assumption that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only be transmitted through penetration. This myth makes many explorers think they are being safe, when in fact they are putting themselves in a position where transmission of STIs is, in fact, possible.
How is this possible?
Sexually transmitted infectious particles do not “hide” deep in your orifices (eg mouth, anus, etc). Instead, these infectious particles can live on either the inner or outer skin or in bodily fluids. For this reason, certain STIs can be transmitted whenever there is skin-to-skin contact or when body fluids are spread.
Not all STIs can be transmitted through contact with all parts of the skin or all body fluids. Which skin segments or which body fluids can transmit the STI depends on the particular STI. It also depends on where the IST is located or whether it is considered a full-body IST.
What other sexual activities can transmit an STI?
To be clear, STIs are not weeds: they just don't spring up out of nowhere. For an IST to be transmitted, someone must be the transmitter. And for someone to transmit, it must be IST positive. And the only way to know if you're positive for STIs is to get tested, but more on that below.
Depending on what an STI is and where it is located, an STI can be transmitted during any sexual activity that involves the following:
- the mouth, lips, throat or saliva
- blood or breast milk
- vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculation (pre-cum), semen, or anal secretions
- internal anal canal, anal entrance or perineum
- vaginal canal, vulva, penis or testicles
This means that, in theory, an STI can be transmitted during any of the following sexual acts:
- kisses
- oral nipple stimulation
- oral sex
- sexual intercourse, including anal and vaginal sex
- manual sex, including anal fingering, vaginal fingering, vulvar stimulation and male masturbation
- any prank involving menstrual blood, blood from another part of the body, or lactation.
What other non-sexual activities can transmit an STI?
Anything involving the ingestion, exposure, or exchange of bodily fluids can result in the transmission of infection. For example:
- kiss on the lips
- get a tattoo or piercing
- sharing sex toys that have not been cleaned
- receive a blood transfusion
- share needles
- breastfeeding
- give birth
- self-inoculation
However, most of the fear surrounding non-sexual STI transmissions - for example, that you might pick up an STI from a toilet seat, hot tub or public pool - is not based on science in most conditions.
STIs generally cannot exist outside the familiar environment of the body's mucous membranes for very long. And all the chemicals in pools and hot tubs kill any infectious agents.
Is it possible for an STI to lie dormant in the body before presenting itself later?
Before we answer this question, let's quickly talk about the word "asleep". Most doctors no longer use it. The concept of a dormant STI is not helpful. It's based on the idea that you might have an STI that just isn't doing anything in your body. The words doctors like to use are "asymptomatic" or "latent".
An asymptomatic STI occurs when someone is not having symptoms that they can feel, see or smell. According to the World Health Organization, most STIs are asymptomatic. It is possible to have an STI, not have symptoms, and still pass it on to someone else. It's also possible to have an STI, not experience symptoms that you can feel or see, and still do something with your body.
For example, someone may have human papillomavirus (HPV), not show any symptoms, but still have the cell composition of the cervix altered by the virus. You can also have an STI, not have symptoms now, but start to experience symptoms later.
An STI cannot be detected by an STI test immediately after exposure. The STI cannot be detected because it has not been in the body long enough for the body to develop antibodies in response to it, which is what most STI tests are looking for.
How often should you take the test?
The official recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is that most sexually active people get tested at least once a year. But it's good practice to get an STI test before every new partner. Because? Because this is the only way to know your current STI status and reduce the risk of transmission.
What is the incubation period for each STI?
The incubation period is the amount of time between when someone gets an STI and testing positive for that STI on a test. If you test for an STD during the incubation period, the test will be negative. The incubation period is different for each STI, it varies between 2 days and 3 months. The incubation period of the most known STIs are:
- chlamydia: 7–21 days
- genital herpes: 2–12 days
- gonorrhea: 1–14 days
- hepatitis A: 15-50 days
- hepatitis B: 8-22 weeks
- hepatitis C: 2-26 weeks
- HIV 2–4: weeks
- HPV: 1 month to 10 years (depending on type)
- oral herpes: 2–12 days
- syphilis: 3 weeks–20 years (depending on type)
- trichomoniasis: 5–28 days
This means that if you have unprotected sex with someone, it's actually not right to get tested the next day. This test will tell you whether you were exposed to an STI before having sex with this person, but the test will not tell you whether this person exposed you to an STI. If you had unprotected sex, we recommend testing after 2 weeks and again 2 weeks later.
And if you've never been screened for STIs before, where do you start?
If you've never been screened before and want to, congratulations on deciding to take care of your sexual health. Seriously, the importance of this step cannot be overstated! Start by finding a test center near you. Before going to the testing location, make sure they test all the STIs you are interested in getting tested for. Some clinics only test for HIV, for example.
When you get there, be sure to ask explicitly about any STIs you want to be tested for, especially if you want to be tested for oral or anal STIs. Most testing centers only test for genital gonorrhea, genital chlamydia, HIV and syphilis unless otherwise requested.