Curiosity

[purplebunny]

Hiiii!

We don't really have sex education here in our country so I tried to find trustworthy websites where I can gain knowledge and I'm so happy I found Scarleteen.

Here are a few questions I had in mind after searching through the web:
a.) What does it take for a situation to be considered indirect touch of semen to vulva? What if a girl gives a guy oral sex, the guy pre-ejaculates, they kissed, then the guy also gave oral sex to the girl, is that considered indirect? Direct touch of semen to vulva can have pregnancy risks, but not indirectly right?
b.) In relation to my first question, I'm really confused whether or not sperm can still survive in the mouth after the semen was swallowed. I've seen a lot of contradicting answers and just want to find out.

I hope you'll be able to reply. Thank you so much

[purplebunny]

Follow up question. Is it unhealthy to use feminine wash?

[Jacob]

Hi purplebunny,

Welcome to Scarleteen! I'm happy you found us too!

We have plenty of answers to these questions and more in our articles. But we do make a point of NOT getting into questions like these on the message boards (or other direct services) about what sperm can and can't survive. This is because most of the time these conversations come from thousands of users who are asking if they could be pregnant from unlikely/impossible situations as part of their anxiety which we don't have the resources to take part in, as well as it not being helpful for those people.

You haven't crossed that line, but (and I may be wrong) it feels close! So just so you know, it's there.

For the best info we can offer on sperm cells, see this article here:
Who's Afraid of Sperm Cells?

And if you'd like more information on the policy I mentioned that's here:
Pregnancy Fear and Anxiety Policy

[Jacob]

Follow up question. Is it unhealthy to use feminine wash?

When you say feminine wash you mean products that are marketed at washing the vulva, yep? Usually they are just pH neutral (meaning not acidic and not alkaline) so that they are less likely to cause irritation, and might contain probiotics or other things depending on the brand. Whether or not you experience any problems with it might vary depending on the brand and your body, but generally if it feels ok you should be ok!

[purplebunny]

Sorry if it sounded that way! I've seen a lot of pregnancy scares online and some answers weren't really consistent so I didn't know which one to believe. I also hear people saying, "it only takes one sperm to get pregnant" so it sounded like sperms can survive a lot of conditions. Turns out sperm cells are delicate and can't even survive without semen (did I understand the article correctly?) Lots of misleading information online lol so thanks for clearing that up.

And yup, that's the kind of feminine wash I'm talking about. I've read that it isn't always healthy to use feminine wash since it could upset the ph of the vagina so I had to ask.

Thank you so much!

[Jacob]

No worries! And it sounds like you understood the article just fine!

With the washing/pH thing... it sounds like you may have read some stuff about douching, meaning to wash the inside of the vagina. That definitely does increase your chance of infection and things related to pH (aka acidity), and is totally unecessary. If it's more about washing the outside, you can just keep doing whatever works for you so long as you aren't experiencing any issues.

[purplebunny]

Hello again!

I was reading your articles and also your old message board (I think it was 2000-2014 archives). While reading, I saw a link about pregnancy risk misconceptions. I wanted to read that article, but it said "Access denied" Do you still have that article or anything related to that? I think it would be really helpful since I've found different sites that aren't reliable, I'd really like to know which ones are facts and not myths or made up stories.

Thanks so much!

[Sam W]

Hi purplebunny,

I can't quite locate the article you referred to, but in addition to the two pieces Jacob linked you to you can read these articles and get the information you're interested in:
Can I Get Pregnant, or Get or Pass On an STI From That?
Human Reproduction: A Seafarer's Guide
You Cannot Become Pregnant When You Have Pants On