Thanks for your question. Many people have questions about oral sex. Oral sex is any contact between someone’s mouth, lips, and/or tongue with another person’s genitals. Everyone’s genitals and genital discharge have a different smell and these different smells can be normal. For instance, think about body sweat; everyone’s smells a little differently. Discharge is concerning if the discharge ever has a fishy smell or looks yellow, green, or bloody. Also if there is discharge from a penis and you are not ejaculating, this can be concerning and should be checked out by a health care provider.

We do not recommend using anything other than a gentle soap and warm water to clean a penis and the vulva (the outside of a vagina). We recommend against the use of any bleach in the genital region.

It’s also important to remember sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be transmitted through oral sex. We recommend using a condom (you may want to try a flavored condom) to cover a penis or a dental dam to cover the vulva (outside of the vagina) or anus.

Here’s a tip on how to bring it up to your health care provider: “I’m worried my discharge smells. Is that normal?”