Can
you die from performing or receiving oral sex? As shocking as this
question sounds, it's a question that we all need to ask. And the
answer, as usual, is a complicated one.
Many
of us think that alcohol and cigarettes are the main causes of oral cancer, and that notion is not far from the truth. When actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed with oral cancer at age 66 last summer, the media pointed to his longtime half-a-pack-a-day smoking habit. However tobacco is no longer the leading cause of oral cancer. The new player in town seems to be oral sex.
Habits
have changed. Fewer people of all ages smoke cigarettes, but more young
people are having oral sex in place of intercourse. Of course oral sex
is nothing new, but since the 60's trends in this area have been
changing. This change in behavior may be the reason that oral cancer now
is thought to be primarily caused by exposure to HPV.
Oral
sex among teenagers has increased, mainly due to the misconception that
sexually transmitted diseases cannot be transmitted from partner to
partner in this manner. The irony in this scenario is that the
consequences of oral sex can be as dangerous as unprotected intercourse.
As
the sexual behavior of people changes, so must the awareness of it's
potential consequences. Perhaps a throwback to the Clinton era, teens don't consider oral sex to be real sex—and parents and health educators are not talking to teens about oral sex.
So here is what we know at this point in time:
- Virtually all experts and studies confirm there is a connection between oral sex and oral cancer.
- Between
1970 and 2005, HPV was responsible for 23 percent of oral cancers.
Since then, it has accounted for 64 to 93 percent (depending on which
study you read).
- Having
six or more oral partners increases your risk for oral cancer (tongue,
throat or tonsils). Twenty-six or more oral partners triples the risk.
- Transmission via mouth to mouth contact, i.e. French kissing, may be a factor in oral cancer.
- For the rest of the world, tobacco remains the leading cause of oral cancer.
So
the general concensus is that as peoples' sexual habits change, so does
the incidence and type of oral cancers. And not to single out only one
STD (in this case HPV), syphilis, herpes and hepatitis B can all be spread through oral contact with a partner's genitals, too.
What can you do?
- Next time you got to the dentist ask him or her if you are a likely candidate for oral cancer, and what can be done about it.
- Ask your dentist during your twice-yearly exam to palpate your neck and perform a visual oral cancer exam.
- Make sure to seek out advice if your sexual habits fit the typical profile for this increase in oral cancer.
- Also,
make sure your children consider getting the new HPV vaccine. (It's
unclear at this point whether the vaccine will procure protection
against oral cancer.) Although administration of this vaccine has been
specifically recommended for girls, I'd recommend you consider it for
your teenage son as well.
- And lastly, do not ignore chronic postnasal
drip, a chronic sore throat, chronic swollen lymph nodes, chronic pain
in the jaw and chronic lumps in the neck. Michael Douglas admits to
ignoring his sore throat for many years before his diagnosis of oral
cancer.
The New Leading Cause of Oral Cancer
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