Q:
I date a lot of women and I’ve always been careful about using condoms and practicing safe sex. But a friend of mine recently told me that I can get all kinds of diseases by going down on a woman, including cancer. Is that true?
A:
Yes, your friend is right. It is the unfortunate truth that you can get sexually transmitted diseases from oral sex—some of which can increase your chances of developing cancer. Although oral sex has come to be regarded as the less risky kind of sex, it still carries the risk of such STDs as herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV, and HPV. HPV can be found in saliva, urine, semen, and genital secretions, and is transmitted through sexual and skin-to skin contact, so you can even pick it up during heavy petting. The virus was once considered to be a benign nuisance—causing unsightly genital warts—but now it’s known to increase the likelihood of cervical cancer in women.
Recent research has also shown that HPV can cause throat cancer in men and women, and may be implicated in some head-and-neck cancers. Those with one to five oral-sex partners were nearly four times more likely to develop cancer than others, and those with six or more partners were nearly nine times more likely to get the disease. It made no difference if the partners were male or female. So don’t offer to go down on every hot girl you meet—oral sex is not so safe after all.
Victoria Zdrok's combination of beauty and intelligence has earned her the label as "sexpert" in many media outlets. She writes a monthly column on love, sex, and dating for Penthouse Magazine entitled "Ask Dr. Z," and a column on sexuality and the law for Penthouse Forum. She is a frequent contributor to several publications and has her own SIRIUS Satellite Radio specialty show, The Sex Connection, on Howard 101. You can find out more about Dr. Z at www.sexysexpert.com
