Be careful, love bites

Never let an injury acquired in the depths of passion fool you, a playful bite can easily lead to a deadly infection

First, let me confess that when a Maasai friend told me that a Moran, is taught to tame his woman by a firm grip and bite on her neck before they copulate, I hadn’t the slightest idea what he meant.

Welcome to the wild side of intimacy, where humans-and animals-get carried away, dig teeth into flesh as they reach the peak of pleasure. In the animal kingdom, the female praying mantis decapitates the male just before mating.

The Black widow spider (take note of the name) has a lethal bite that instantly kills the male after mating. It is a lovey-dovey gesture, which is equally lethal.

Have all bites checked

Moving on, there are people, I am told, with unexplained teeth marks on their necks, hands, chins and private areas. These could be love bites.

The bite might be deep and invasive or superficial though strong enough to leave distinct marks. Should they be laughed off and ignored just because they were acquired while copulating?

“No,” warns Dr Richard Muraga of Family Health Options Kenya (FHOK).

“Any bite, whether from a human or an animal, should never be ignored. Remember that infections happen when body fluids or blood comes into contact with certain germs.

 It is the same way that a rabid dog causes rabies – by a simple bite.”

The doctor recommends that all love bites have to be checked.

“There are a whole lot of bacteria, fungi and at times viruses which live inside the mouth. Some of them may not be deadly in the mouth but may prove fatal in the blood stream.

The person who is bitten may have actually been infected with something deadly and they don’t know. Letting the bite ‘heal’ can eventually cause death,” he says.

A treat or death sentence?

Beyond that, there could be other mechanical dangers of love bites. In January 2011, Mail Online reported news of a New Zealand woman who got a stroke after a night of passion.

The woman aged 44 at the time of the incident, experienced loss of movement in her left arm after the amorous encounter with her lover. Doctors suspected a mild stroke, but could not find any obvious causes.

They however noticed a fading bruise on the woman’s neck – a love bite, also called a hickey. After the suction of the love bite, doctors concluded that damage to a major artery, where a blood clot had formed caused the stroke. The clot had then travelled to the woman’s heart, causing the stroke.

“By all means possible,” says Muraga and warns, “Don’t ignore any open wound caused by any wound causing object.”

Photo: Courtesy