If you thought oral sex was safe sex, you have another thing coming.

Oral sex is often seen as a safer form of sexual activity because there is no risk for pregnancy and the chances of contracting HIV are much lower than when having penetrative intercourse, but the risks are still considerable.

Getting herpes is one of the biggest STD risks during oral sex, but the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis infections can live in the mouth and get passed from the mouth or throat to the penis as well, putting both the partner performing and the partner receiving oral sex at risk.

However, men are more susceptible to getting an infection when receiving oral sex than women because the penis can hit the back of the throat. It is very possible for a healthy, STD-free penis to become infected after receiving oral sex from someone who has the bacteria in their mouth.

“I didn’t know (you could get an STD from oral sex). I usually figure it’s all good if she brushes her teeth. If I don’t see anything on the surface, I figure I’m fine,” said Joe Gorman, 21, junior English literature major.

Judith Foster, a 37-year-old senior nursing student, explained that the germs that cause certain STDs can live in the mouth.

“I have a friend who got chlamydia from receiving oral sex. He didn’t know the guy he got it from, but germs that live in your mouth can carry it,” Foster said.

A condom is the best defense against contracting an STD, even during oral sex, but many do not consider giving or receiving oral sex to be a dangerous sexual activity, or simply prefer oral sex without a condom and take the risk.

“It seems kind of pointless because it feels so much better without the condom,” said Brian Collins, an 18-year-old sophomore history major who has never used a condom while receiving oral sex. “I know you can (get STDs from it), but I don’t know what they are.”

Herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis are recognizable STDs from textbooks and billboards, but nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) has yet to make it onto the side of a bus. Also diagnosed as a “non-specific urethritis,” the infection in the penis caused by bacteria and symptoms include a discharge from the head of the penis and painful urination. NGU can be cured with antibiotics.

Both strains of herpes can live in the mouth or the genitals, and particularly during outbreaks (cold sores, herpes lesions) can be passed from one place to the other and are not curable. However, it is possible to spread herpes between outbreaks. Using a condom during oral sex is the only guaranteed way not to spread infection.

Despite the risk of infection, there are those who have never suggested their partner use a condom while engaging in oral sex.

“When having sex-sex, obviously you always use a condom,” said Lindsay Cookson, 18, a freshman theater major. “But with oral I don’t really think about it, even though I guess it’s the same.”

Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, the director of the STD Prevention and Control Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, recommends that sexually active people get tested every six months.

“Not all STDs have symptoms and not everyone who has an STD develops symptoms. That is the importance behind routine STD testing for sexually active people," he said.