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The ugly side of oral sex

Between The Sheets
 How safe?

It is common knowledge that some couples like to involve the mouth and the tongue in gratifying their partners sexually, not so?

I put the question to Dr Ben Omondi, a privately practising dentist at the Nelson Awori Centre:

How safe is oral sex? “It is totally unnatural and unsafe,” he said, not fearing that his answer may not be politically correct.

“Even before we consider the medical part of it, it is important to state that different parts of the body are designed to perform specific purposes in life.”

The body of a human being, as it turns out, is a cornucopia of life, teeming with microorganisms.

Nature, points out Dr Omondi, has allowed for certain species of microbes to reside within certain niches, without causing diseases in the process.

A good example is the alimentary canal which carries millions upon millions of these invisible organisms which help in the process of digestion.

That one microbe resides in one part of the body should not be misconstrued for safety.

This is because they may be capable of causing debilitating diseases when they are transferred to other parts of the body.

“For instance,” Dr Omondi says, “a microorganism safely living in the gut can cause an infection in the eyes – or in the private parts.”

Oral sex, popularly known as blow job when performed on a man, or cunnilingus, when performed on a woman, provides a conduit for exchange of bacteria between bodies and organs.

In such a situation, notes Dr Omondi, there are real risks of infection.

Sexually transmitted infections

While he agrees it is a sure way of preventing a pregnancy – no conception can occur – he also says that sexually transmitted infections can still spread.

Then there is the real danger of dealing with halitosis. Different types of bacteria respire in the mouth to release a foul smell.

When bacteria from the genitals are transferred to the mouth, Dr Omondi explains, the level of halitosis could be unbearable.

Risk of being bitten

“And it is not only bacteria from genitalia that can cause trouble in the mouth; the vice versa may happen. If a mouth has fungal infection, chances are that the infection will spread to the genitals. For women, a fungal infection can be very disturbing.”

In many cases, Candida, a fungal disease, easily affects women because of a moist anatomy.

But men too can be infected. A paranoid friend made it clear in one of our conversations that he wouldn’t want to risk oral sex for the fear that his partner in crime might use it as a chance hit back for whatever reasons, and bite off a treasured part of his body.

Beyond such fears, Dr Omondi points to “very unhygienic conditions” involved in oral sex. The anus is closely located to the genitals and therefore smudge from the orifice may find its way to the genitalia, in which case cholera and dysentery are possible.

Dr Omondi believes that every part of the human body should only be used for what nature intended. That way, humans can maintain some amount of safety.

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