Don't Blush: Oral Sex and Oral Cancer

It's a bit of a tender subject, but one that needs discussing; oral sex. For decades, the practice of oral sex has been on the rise, with many people -- especially teenagers -- considering it 'safer' than 'normal' sexual intercourse. It's certainly less likely to result in an unwanted pregnancy, but scientists are discovering a link between oral sex and oral cancer later in life.

The link, some scientists theorize, is due to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV lives in the genital area of both men and women, and is known to cause cervical cancer in women (leading to the development of Gardasil and other immunizations against HPV). It turns out that during oral sex, HPV can take up residence in the mouth, where it lives for decades, eventually resulting in some form of oral cancer, most often in the tonsils or the base of the tongue.

How can you limit your risk of oral cancer due to HPV? Fortunately, the vaccines that work against HPV are starting to become available for men as well. As of this writing, only Gardasil is actually on the market for men, but other brands are following suit quickly. If you're under the age of 26, you can get the vaccine injection and dramatically reduce your risk.

Mount Sinai Medical Center came up with an excellent infographic that says it all:

If you see yourself somewhere in that chart above, feel free to ask us for an oral cancer checkup. We'd rather our patients be safe than find out too late that they need massive surgery to remove a deeply embedded tumor we could have found years earlier.