How risky is playing with cum?

Very high quantities of HIV live in a positive guy's cum so getting it in any parts of your body that have easy access to your blood stream (e.g. your arse) is considered risky for HIV. Once cum leaves the body and hits air, HIV in it dies rapidly. 

How do I reduce the risk?

If you enjoy playing with cum but want to avoid catching or spreading HIV, there are ways you can play with it safely:

• Facials: HIV will die soon after it's exposed to air so if you are into cum splatting all over your face or body then the risk is low. Ask him to fire away; just make sure you avoid getting cum in your eyes because it stings like hell.

• Felching: Sucking your own cum out of someone's arse, even if the person you are felching is HIV-positive, carries minimal risk for HIV. You can however pick up other STIs including hep A and bacterial stomach infections, which can make you very sick. If you get involved in group sex and you felch someone else's cum then you are putting yourself at risk, similar to the risks from rimming and oral sex, however the HIV risk is small.

If you like getting cum in your mouth, make sure you have healthy gums and avoid brushing your teeth at least an hour before sex. That reduces the risk of HIV getting into your bloodstream if it gets in your mouth.

Can I get other STIs from playing with cum?

Although HIV dies quickly after cum is exposed to air, other STIs, including gonorrhoea, chlamydia, herpes and hepatitis C can be in spunk and live longer. There is no exact time scale for how long HIV lives once it's exposed to air.

How risky is swallowing cum?

Although high volumes of HIV live in a positive guy's cum, research suggests that saliva has properties which will usually kill HIV. There have, however, been some cases reported where men have become HIV-positive from getting cum in their mouths so getting cum in your mouth and swallowing it isn't entirely without risk. You can also get other infections from swallowing cum, including gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis.

The risks involved with mouth-to-mouth cum swapping are the same as swallowing cum.

A HIV-positive person on effective treatment is undetectable and cannot pass on HIV sexually.