Oral sex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
STD risk
Chlamydia,
human papillomavirus (HPV),
gonorrhea,
herpes,
hepatitis (multiple strains), and other
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)—including
HIV—can be transmitted through oral sex.
[9] While the exact risk of transmitting HIV through oral sex is unknown, it is generally thought to be lower than other sex practices.
[10] Any kind of direct contact with body fluids of a person infected with HIV (the virus that causes
AIDS) poses a risk of infection. The risk from most of these types of infection, however, is generally considered far less than that associated with
vaginal or
anal sex.
If the receiving partner has wounds or open sores on their genitals, or if the giving partner has wounds or open sores on or in their mouth, or bleeding gums, this poses an increased risk of STD transmission. Brushing the teeth, flossing, undergoing dental work, or eating crunchy foods such as chips relatively soon before or after giving oral sex can also increase the risk of transmission, because all of these activities can cause small scratches in the lining of the mouth. These wounds, even when they are
microscopic, increase the chances of contracting
STDs that can be transmitted orally under these conditions. Such contact can also lead to more mundane infections from common
bacteria and
viruses found in, around, and secreted from the genital regions.
HPV and oral cancer link
In 2005, a research study at the College of
Malmö in
Sweden suggested that performing unprotected oral sex on a person infected with
HPV might increase the risk of
oral cancer. The study found that 36 percent of the
cancer patients had HPV compared to only 1 percent of the healthy control group.
[11]
Another recent study suggests a
correlation between oral sex and
head and neck cancer. It is believed that this is due to the transmission of
human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that has been implicated in the majority of cervical cancers and which has been detected in throat cancer tissue in numerous studies. The
New England Journal of Medicine study concluded that people who had one to five oral-sex partners in their lifetime had approximately a doubled risk of throat cancer compared with those who never engaged in this activity and those with more than five oral-sex partners had a 250% increased risk.
[12][13]