Many Teens Don’t Realize STD Risks From Oral Sex

By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Many American teenagers and younger adults underestimate the danger of sexually transmitted infections from unprotected oral intercourse, and that is very true of younger males, a brand new survey reveals.

Doctors say oral intercourse can transmit herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV), which may result in cervical most cancers, and head and neck cancers.

While there’s an HPV vaccine, it is not broadly used amongst younger males, the researchers famous.

“Youth need to know the details concerning the dangers of oral intercourse,” stated Dr. Tammy Chang, an affiliate professor of household drugs at Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan.

“It’s not nearly sexually transmitted infections, but additionally the danger for most cancers later in life,” stated Chang, director of the MyVoice ballot primarily based on the college.

“Educating youth concerning the dangers of oral intercourse right this moment and making safety accessible and simple to make use of can start to vary the cultural norms round oral intercourse and save lives,” she added in a college information launch.

The text-based ballot included greater than 900 U.S. teenagers and younger adults, common age 19, who had been requested to fee how dangerous oral intercourse is on a scale of 1 to five, with 1 being the least dangerous.

Overall, 60% of members rated unprotected oral intercourse at 1, 2 or 3, however younger ladies had been almost twice as probably as younger males to fee it as a 4 or 5, whereas younger males had been twice as prone to fee it as a 1 or 2.

Those who gave unprotected oral intercourse a low-risk ranking largely centered on the dearth of being pregnant threat and a decrease threat of transmitting a sexually transmitted an infection, in contrast with unprotected vaginal intercourse.

Just over half (54%) of the survey members imagine their technology wants extra training concerning the dangers of oral intercourse, and learn how to cut back these dangers by utilizing protecting obstacles akin to dental dams and condoms.

One in 5 additionally identified the necessity for extra depictions or dialogue of safety throughout oral intercourse in common tradition to normalize it, in response to the findings.

The outcomes had been printed within the January situation of Annals of Family Medicine .

More info

For extra on oral intercourse and sexually transmitted infections, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan, information launch, Jan. 28, 2022