Diseases you can get from going oral

With changing values all around the world, oral sex has gradually become a mainstream sexual activity. Oral sex or oral intercourse is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue or teeth). While cunnilingus is oral sex performed on a female, fellatio is oral sex performed on a male. Anilingus, another form of oral sex, is oral stimulation of a person’s anus. However, oral stimulation of other parts of the body (as in kissing and licking) is usually not considered oral sex.

It may be performed as foreplay to incite sexual arousal before other sexual activities (such as vaginal or anal intercourse), or as an erotic and physically intimate act in its own right. 

Perhaps, one of the reasons for the increase in this form of sexual behaviour is the belief that it involves a lower risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. However, like most forms of sexual activity, oral sex can pose a risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases. 

According to Dr. Olumide Apata , a medical practitioner at the General Hospital, Ife-Ekiti, Ekiti State, “Oral sex can be risky because it has its own danger. Most people involved in it do so because they assume there is a lower risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. But the truth is, there is a high risk of contracting diseases through oral sex. Sexually transmitted diseases can be categorised into four groups which are outside the mouth, inside the mouth, inside the throat and those that  manifest all over the body.

“Through the mouth, one can easily contract Herpes type 1 and type 2. Herpes is also called cold sores or fever blisters, which is an infection of the face or mouth. Herpes is mostly easily transmitted by direct contact with a lesion or the body fluid of an infected person or individual. Transmission may also occur through skin to skin contact during periods of asymptomatic shedding. Barrier protection methods are the most reliable method of preventing transmission of herpes. 

“There is also the risk of contracting oral candidiasis that occurs in the mouth. Also,  mouth gonorrhea, which is also called pharyngeal gonorrhea, can be contracted through oral sex. People get this infection when they come in contact with infected people or body fluid like pus, white discharge or vaginal fluid when secreted from the infected person thereby causing gonorrhea and also chlamydia infection. While inside the throat one can contract diseases like throat gonorrhea, throat cancer and also this gonorrhea can also affect the eyes.”

Not only can oral sex result to contracting diseases that affect the mouth and throat, there is also the risk of contracting some life-threatening diseases including Hepatitis B and C, cancer as well as HIV. 

According to Dr. Irene Bassey, a medical practitioner, “There is a link between oral sex and cancer but it’s not oral sex, per se, that causes cancer, but the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can be passed from person to person during sex, including oral sex. If you aren’t exposed to HPV during oral sex, you’re not at risk for cancer. When it comes to HIV transmission, the risk is low but that doesn’t mean it is completely absent. HIV is, transmitted through bodily fluid contact, so, if there is for instance, mouth ulcer, bleeding gums or genital sores, there is a high chance of exposure to the virus. Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect and damage the liver and it is present in the blood and, to a much lesser extent, the saliva and semen or vaginal fluid of an infected person. It can also be transmitted sexually but in the case of oral sex, the risk is higher when there is an open sore or wound that can allow for contact of bodily fluids.”

Just like other forms of sexually transmitted diseases, prevention is always better than cure and this can be done if individuals take correct preventive measures.  First of all, the more partners you have, the greater the risk of catching an infection. Also, individuals who intend to engage in oral sex should get tested first and make  sure they are disease-free before embarking on the act. Medical practitioners have also advised that the men use condoms and in cases where the woman doesn’t enjoy oral sex with condoms, flavoured condoms can be used. This helps to reduce the risks. Also, for the woman, a dam (which is a small thin square latex or plastic that acts as a barrier between the vagina or anus and the mouth) can be used. There are also dental dams, mouth dams or cut –open, non-lubricated condoms that can be put between the mouth and the partner’s genitals or rectum. 

Dr. Apata adds that women should avoid allowing their partners ejaculate in their mouths and people should be careful when choosing partner because sexually transmitted diseases are among the major health problems most Nigeria are facing and living with.