Oral Sex May Increase Your Risk Of Oral Cancer!

May 17, 2010

I was recently informed of this information via the radio on my drive home. Although the BBC thinks the link to be true but not very alarming, ABC has a completely different take. “Today more than 34,000 people have oral cancer and 39 percent of those cases are related to HPV.”

Since this is a sexually transmitted disease, any oral sex can spread the HPV to the mouth, where it disrupts healthy cells and causes them to be unable to repair themselves and unable to duplicate properly. HPV never travels through the bloodstream, it is by direct contact only. There is no evidence it is passed mouth to mouth, however it is a good possibility. Once the virus is in your mouth, extensive drug treatment is the only option.

The number one risk factor is a high number of sexual partners. The more partners the more risk.

A virus called HPV or Human Papilloma Virus is present in about 26.8 percent of females in the U.S. This virus is usually discovered by routine pap smears and does not always present with genital warts, but can cause cervical cancer and go undetected without this routine exam.

Men are affected similarly, acting as carriers of HPV, but forgoing the cancer element. Since HPV doesn’t always manifest it can be carried and transmitted easily without anyone knowing.