Ask Beastly: What STIs Do Cum Dumps Actually Get?

Barebacking safely isn’t about fear. It’s about education, honesty, and good healthcare.

I’m Alexander Cheves, and this is LOVE, BEASTLY—a blog about sex, feelings, and manhood. It’s written mostly for men—gay, straight, bi, MSM, or just curious—but some readers are women, and some don’t fit into categories. Everyone’s welcome here.

I answer real, reader-submitted questions about sex, kink, desire, and intimacy.

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I enjoy your honesty and open discussion.

I love barebacking! I know the risk of it and understand its consequences. How common are Hep C and herpes, and do cum dumps contract them? 

Hey pig,

If you're a cum dump, you probably already have some strain of HPV and are likely to have genital herpes already.

Although I haven't experienced an outbreak yet, I almost assuredly have herpes and certainly have some strains of HPV. If you're a sexually active man who has sex with men, your likelihood of having one of these sexually transmitted infections is almost guaranteed. These are the two most common STIs in the world—so common, in fact, that there's no real point in testing for them. In men, they're often asymptomatic, meaning you may never experience symptoms of either one.

For HIV-positive men like me, some strains of HPV can increase one's chances of developing rectal cancer, and in women, HPV can lead to cervical cancer, so it’s wise to get anal Pap tests and HRAs every six months to monitor any cells in your butt that might be precancerous. This is recommended for most sexually active gay men and indeed all HIV-positive gay men.

You asked specifically about herpes, which is insanely, ridiculously common, and nothing to lose sleep over. Having herpes (there are two kinds, oral and genital) is not a sign of irresponsibility or recklessness. It's just a sign that you're a sexually active adult. According to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of the general population under 50 have herpes simplex virus type 1, or oral herpes. When the WHO released this data some years ago (I covered it in Plus), they also revealed that their data suggests herpes simplex type 1, or oral herpes, is a common cause of genital herpes (herpes simplex virus type 2).