Posted on 01/08/2006 12:28:15 PM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
New research suggests that the gonorrhea-like condition known as urethritis, perhaps the most common sexually transmitted disease, can spread to men when they're on the receiving end of fellatio.
"This one really nails it down," said Dr. Hunter Handsfield, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington who wrote a commentary about the findings.
Urethritis, a condition related to a number of health problems, such as urinary tract infections and some sexually transmitted diseases, causes inflammation of the urethra.
It can lead to genital discharge, burning during urination and redness and swelling at the tip of the penis, said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The symptoms "usually signify an infection due to a germ, like a bacteria or virus," he said.
Urethritis usually goes away on its own or is easily treated with antibiotics, Klausner said. But in some cases, it can result in serious complications, including permanent damage to the urethra in both men and women, especially if it's not treated.
According to Handsfield, urethritis brings more men to sexually transmitted disease clinics in the United States than any other condition or disease, and it may be the most common STD among both men and women.
In the new study, Australian researchers recruited 329 men with urethritis symptoms that weren't related to gonorrhea and 307 healthy men. The researchers tested the men and asked them about their sexual habits.
About five percent of the cases were directly related to germs from the mouth, including adenoviruses and a form of herpes. The researchers also found that urethritis without an apparent cause was more common in men who were on the receiving end of oral sex from their female or male partners.
The study findings appear in the Dec. 28 online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The research points to the potential influence of normally innocuous germs in the mouth, Handsfield said. "It suggests that some of these cases might be due to bacteria that are entirely normal when they're in the mouth but cause inflammation in the urethra."
This also suggests that men shouldn't assume that getting a case of urethritis from a partner is a sign that she or he has been unfaithful, Handsfield said. The urethritis may have simply come from normal mouth germs.
By contrast, there's no evidence that urethritis is easily passed to women during cunnilingus, Handsfield said. In fact, he said, cunnilingus seems to be safer when it comes to STD transmission than fellatio.
What does the urethritis finding mean for sexually active men? "Men who receive oral sex need to be concerned about STDs and talk to their doctor about what screening tests might be appropriate or how to reduce their risk for getting infections," Klausner said.
R O T F L M A O
I see a new ad campaign for Listerine...
The "turning black" part doesn't bother me. That might actually be an improvement. The "falling off" part does.
I'll take my chances.
I see a new USE for Listerine.
Did anyone else catch the morning Fox crew discussing "girl slang" and mentioning that 'lollipop' is a term used to describe cute guys?
The Blondie thought it was a cute descriptive - evidently completely missing the double entendre.
They say that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth, germwise.
Seems that this study proves it.
And what should pop into my head, but that Morrisette song "Hand in my pocket".
Specifically the line "Got my hand in my pocket, and the other one is hailing a taxi cab."
*UNNNGH!*
No, it isn't safe to ask.
And in a painful manner to boot!
A MD friend of mine who works at the STD unit of the CDC in Atlanta told me that when you mix oral, urethral and (worse yet) anal bacteria, the result is microbially zooey. You don't have to have AIDS to come down with opportunistic infections.
If you're going to do it, do it kosher.
No kidding. I make it a point to clean my barrel after every time I use it.
I've got a feeling that the mods are watching this thread like hawks...
UNNNGH!!!!
but not sore throat?
Where can we buy it?
Yeah!
I must now get that out of my skull.
Make it vodka....just to be sure.
say that out loud and your dog will head for the hills.
Does this apply to auto fellaters?
Soo... I should find me a nice Jewish girl? w00t!
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