When taken properly, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV by around 99 percent. PrEP - short for pre-exposure prophylaxis - is a drug you can take to prevent HIV if you’re at risk because you aren’t using condoms and your partner is HIV-positive or if you or your partner is having sex with other people.
Preventive medication is available for certain STIs and another way to have safer sex without a barrier. Viral load is the amount of HIV in the blood, anal mucus, and semen.Ī person with undetectable HIV (HIV-U) can’t transmit the virus to others. If you test positive for HIV, condoms are still recommended by experts outside of abstinence, but bareback sex doesn’t have to be off the table.Īntiretroviral therapy (ART) can help you control HIV and eventually get your viral load low enough to be undetectable. Most STIs can be cleared up with a course of antibiotics, so just postpone sex in the raw until you finish treatment and retest to make sure you’re in the clear. That said, a positive test doesn’t mean you need to permanently shelf the bareback thing. Remember that you both have the right to change your minds about ditching barrier protection at any time, regardless of the results. Keep using a barrier until you’ve both received results, and then decide how you want to proceed. So, even if you tested negative recently, if you’ve been having unprotected sex you may want to get two negative tests before going bareback.” “If you’re considering bareback sex, make sure both you and your partner are tested beforehand and that you’ve communicated verbally about any high-risk activity you’ve engaged in recently,” Neal says. Manual, oral, and dry humping in the buff can do it, too. Infections aren’t just transmitted by having penis-in-vagina or penis-in-anus sex. STIs and swabs may not be anyone’s idea of sexy pillow talk, but it’s necessary. Unless neither of you has ever engaged in any type of sex act, then STIs are a possibility and a talk about status and testing needs to happen before saying buh-bye to barriers. Once you’ve nailed your “sexpectations,” it’s time to talk STI testing. If sex with other partners is on the table, committing to barrier use with other partners is the safest way to go bareback with each other. If it is and you’re both committed to not engaging in barrier-free sex acts with anyone else, cool. While some recommend that bareback sex be reserved for people in monogamous relationships, that may not be the type of relationship that’s right for you. Set boundaries and expectations based on your situation. Not to be a total killjoy, but if you haven’t already had the “where is this going” talk, now’s the time to do it.
If you want to give it a shot, do this firstīarrier methods, like condoms, help prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancy, so going bareback means a higher risk for one or both, depending on the type of sex you’re having.Īn open and honest convo about risks, expectations, and boundaries before going sans barrier is in order. This affects reproduction function to increase the chances for producing a healthy pregnancy. When seminal fluid makes contact with reproductive tissues, it initiates a controlled inflammatory response. If you’re trying to conceive, going bareback makes it possible for sperm to get to where they need to go.
Skin-to-skin contact and even contact with seminal fluids and genital secretions have been linked to improved mood, reduced stress and depression, and a stronger immune system.
Making the conscious choice to have barrier-free sex with a partner can give you a greater physical connection and up the intimacy factor, bringing you closer. There are some other potential benefits to sex without a barrier, like bonding and intimacy. “Although, this alone isn’t reason enough to go without a barrier, so please don’t let an unsafe partner penetrate you unless you’re fully consenting.” “Many people report that the increased heat and feel of skin-to-skin contact increases their arousal and pleasure,” Neal explains. Neal, MPH, a resident sexologist for sexual hygiene company Royal. “The primary benefit to sex without a barrier is heightened sensation,” says Caitlin V. That said, pleasure shouldn’t be your only motivator to ditch barrier methods. This is thanks to the heat, wetness, and friction.
#Bare gay fucking skin#
Pleasure, for starters! The feel of their skin on yours, and their mouth and tongue on, well, everything, just feels good.