Play Safe, Avoid Oral Cancer

When it comes to being responsible — by that I mean using condoms during sex, many will take the gold. But, do you apply the same precaution during oral sex?

Did you know that you can contact sexually-transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, and even cancer of the throat from oral sex? I doubt it.

Before now, oral sex was usually considered a lower-risk sexual activity; but a recent study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that it’s actually becoming a popular, though unintended, way of spreading sexually transmitted infections.

The researchers state that since oral sex involves a partner stimulating the genitalia of another person, using the mouth, including the lips, tongue or teeth, viral and bacterial infections such as herpes and HIV can be contacted through these means.

The Chief Medical Director of Westover Heights Clinic in Portland, Oregon, an American private clinic specialising in STDs, Dr. Tarri Warren, says the risks of contacting these diseases depend on a lot of different things, including the number of sexual partners, gender, and what particular oral sex acts people engage in.

She states, “Many people don’t know that STDs can be spread orally. Or, if they do, they don’t see the health risks as being very serious. Oral sex is not safe sex; rather, it’s safer sex, but it’s definitely not safe sex because most people don’t use protection for oral sex. However, they should actually be cautious about it too, especially if your partner has other partners.”

Warren says performing oral sex on a male partner without a condom is riskier than other forms of oral sex, and stresses the importance of condom use for a man having oral sex with multiple male partners.

“If a male is giving oral sex to a woman, I consider that to be a low-risk exposure; but a woman giving oral sex to a man with multiple partners is really dangerous. You can’t tell if his partners are infected. It is just like sex with multiple partners but no penetration,” she adds.

Another concern that has recently arisen is the question of catching chlamydia through oral sex.

In May 2011 International conference at Gateshead, at which Dr Indrajit Ghosh and his colleagues revealed the results of their screening programme among female commercial sex workers in London.

They found that one in every 25 of these women had chlamydia in the throat. It seems fairly certain that they had acquired the germ through offering oral sex to customers.

Additionally, one in every 50 of the female sex workers had unsuspected gonorrhoea in the throat.

Ghosh says, “This research makes it clear that oral sex is not quite as safe as it may have seemed – except of course if you only do it with one partner.”

Oral sex is linked to throat cancer. Cancer? Yes, you can get throat cancer from oral sex, says American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer, Otis Brawley.

Brawley explains, “It’s not oral sex, per se, that causes cancer, but the human papilloma virus which can be passed from person to person during sex — including during oral sex — that causes cancer. Those who have ever performed oral sex have more than doubled their risk of getting an HPV infection.”

Researchers have found that some cancers of the oropharynx (the middle of the throat) and tonsils are caused by a certain type of HPV.

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed a greater risk for oropharyngeal cancer in people that had oral sex with at least six different partners.

They found out that the DNA signature of HPV Type 16 was often found in the cancers of people who had multiple oral sex partners.

Brawley says, “Both men and women can have an HPV infection in the throat. It doesn’t discriminate by gender. The population that I thought would be least likely to get it was the first population to have this problem — that is heterosexual men between ages 40 and 50,” he says.

Again, one can get HIV through oral sex. A research conducted by the San Francisco Aids Organisation found out that many women contacted HIV from oral sex by swallowing semen.

The study states, “HIV still can enter through open cuts and sores, or possibly by infecting the lining of the mouth. There are some documented cases of people getting HIV through their mouth.

“Once semen gets past the mouth, stomach acid and enzymes in the aesophagus kill the virus. So, swallowing or spitting out semen reduces your risk for HIV, compared with letting it sit in your mouth.”

However, you don’t have to leave yourself and your partner unprotected. To reduce your risk for these infections, experts recommend the use of barrier protection like dental clams or condoms and also offer some advice.

Brawley says, “Before you two taste each other’s forbidden fruit, make sure you’re clean. Don’t perform oral for about 45 minutes after you brush your teeth, floss, or engage in any other aggravating oral behavior; and not at all when you have open sores.”

But you can be more practical this weekend. Get yourself and your partner tested for these diseases before engaging in any sexual activity. And save yourselves the worry.

Remember, the catch is, stay faithful!