Get Down On It: The Link between Infection and Oral Sex

Back in the days, talks of oral sex were considered taboo. Be it heterosexual or homosexual oral sexual activities, people will give you scandalized stares if you even hint of the subject in a conversation. But that was then. Now that we live in a more liberated society, more and more people are starting to open up to the idea of oral sex.

Oral Sex
Oral sex includes all sexual activities that involve the use of the mouth. This may include the use of the teeth, tongue, and throat to stimulate the genitals. Cunnilingus is the term used for oral sex performed on a woman, and fellatio refers to oral sex performed on a man. Analingus, on the other hand, refers to oral stimulation of the anus. Couples engage in oral sex as part of the foreplay before the intercourse, or during or after intercourse. It can also be done for its own sake.

Benefits and Risk
Oral sex is beneficial in the sense that it is an extraordinarily effective way of helping a woman reach her climax. The extra stimulation provided by the tongue may help bring a woman to greater heights during orgasm. It can also help men who have minor difficulty obtaining an erection with the stimulation provided by a woman’s mouth, tongue, and throat. The best benefit of oral sex is that it cannot get you pregnant. Since there will be no direct contact of the genitals in this activity, a man’s sperm will not be able to reach a woman’s egg cell for fertilization.

Hearing of these benefits might entice you to be more liberal in engaging in oral sexual activities. However there are risks you might want to consider before doing it. Engaging in oral sex may prevent you from getting pregnant, but it does not protect you from sexually transmitted diseases and bacterial infection. Here are some infections you might acquire from having oral sex.
HIV. HIV can be passed on through oral sex, although it doesn’t happen frequently. You have to beware of engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio if you have ulcerations in the mouth as it increases the risk.
Chlamydia. This bacterial infection may also appear in the mouth aside from the genital area. Performing oral sex on someone infected with this condition may pass the bacteria from their genital to the mouth of the given, and vice versa. A person with Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria in the mouth may pass it onto a receiver of oral sex.
Genital herpes. This is passed on when a giver has cold sores on the mouth.
Gonorrhea. This may infect the giver’s throat, usually causing inflammation, pus formation, and soreness in the throat.
Bowel organisms. Certain bowel organisms may be present in the anal skin and may be transmitted by means of oro-anal contact.
Hepatitis. This viral infection may also be transmitted via oro-anal contact. Its virus can be found in feces and may be present on apparently clean anal skin.
Worms. This may be passed on if oral sex is done after anal intercourse.

Prevention
Considering the risks enumerated above, prevention now comes to mind. Avoiding oral sex immediate negates any bacterial infections you might get from oro-genital or oro-anal intercourse. But since it is an enjoyable part of couples’ sex lives, the earlier advice may sound impractical. Engaging in a clean, monogamous sexual relationship would minimize chances of incurring sexually transmitted diseases. Also, condoms and dental dams may also be used to protect from passing on or getting infections from your partner’s genital or anal area. Knowing how to prevent being infected ensures that you can continually enjoy the pleasure of oral sex.