What is an oral sexually transmitted infection?

When most people think of STIs, they tend to think of infections that affect the genitals. While this is true – many STIs will cause symptoms that affect the genital area – it’s not true in all cases.

The thing about infections is they’re often indiscriminate. They don’t mind where or how they get into your body, so long as they can survive once there. And several STIs are perfectly happy hunkering down in your mouth.

In this blog, we’ll cover what STIs are, how they can infect the mouth, what symptoms you may experience during an oral STI infection, and how you can get tested and treated.

Let’s go!

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What is an STI?

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are infections most people get from sexual activity, like vaginal sex, anal sex, oral sex, and sharing sex toys. These infections tend to be caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Some of the most common STIs include HIV, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, and Herpes.

STIs are very common and infect millions of people around the world every day. If left untreated, however, many of these infections can cause serious harm to your long-term health, including infertility, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, damage to major organ systems, and more. In some cases, untreated STIs can be fatal.

How can an STI infect the mouth?

As we stated before, most people who get an STI get it from vaginal or anal sex. However, several STIs can infect the mouth.

At the back of your throat, there is a mucus membrane. You may get an infection if pathogens come in contact with this membrane.

This tends to happen when:

You perform oral sex on someone with infected genitals
You kiss someone with an oral STI infection

What STIs can infect the mouth?

There are several STIs that have the potential to infect the mouth.

Herpes Simplex Virus

This is the infection that everyone thinks of when they think of oral STIs.

Herpes comes in two types: Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV 1) and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV 2).

HSV 1 infections are usually responsible for Oral Herpes, where fluid-filled blisters form around the mouth. These blisters eventually burst, forming sores that eventually scab over and heal. Outbreaks of blisters are often accompanied by redness, itching and pain around the mouth. It’s also possible to get an HSV 2 infection in your mouth.

HSV 1 can be passed on to a sexual partner simply through kissing.

Chlamydia

While you can’t get Chlamydia from kissing, it’s possible to get an oral Chlamydia infection by performing oral sex on someone with infected genitals.

The bacteria from the infected person can come in contact with the mucus membranes in the back of your throat. When you have an oral Chlamydia infection, you may experience:

Sore throat
Mouth pain
Sores around the lips and mouth

In all likelihood, though, you may not experience any symptoms during an oral Chlamydia infection. Most cases of Chlamydia go unnoticed because the infection often doesn’t produce any symptoms.

Gonorrhoea

If you get an oral Gonorrhoea infection, you most likely got it by performing oral sex on someone with infected genitals. Like with Chlamydia, a Gonorrhoea infection in the throat may produce the following symptoms:

Sore throat
Pain in the mouth
Sores in or around the mouth

Also like Chlamydia, you’re unlikely to experience symptoms of an oral Gonorrhoea infection.

However, unlike Chlamydia, there is some data to suggest that deep, open-mouthed kissing (mostly between men who have sex with men) may transmit an oral Gonorrhoea infection.

Syphilis

During the early stages of a Syphilis infection, a chancre (a round, smooth, painless sore) will form at the original site of infection. This site is most often in genital area, but can also include the anus and mouth. Physical contact with an infectious chancre during oral sex or kissing may transmit the infection.

During an oral Syphilis infection, you may experience:

One or several chancres in the mouth area
White patches inside the mouth, which may develop into ulcers
Fever
Fatigue
Swollen lymph nodes
Muscles aches and pains

Human papillomavirus (HPV)

HPV is the most common STI in the world. Most people will get a strain of HPV within their lifetime, and most strains are completely harmless and cleared by your immune system.

Some strains, though, can cause symptoms. Low-risk strains of HPV can cause Genital Warts—small, fleshy protuberances that can appear around the genital area and often resemble the head of a cauliflower. These warts are mostly harmless and usually go away on their own within a few years.

However, the real risk from HPV comes from the high-risk strains of HPV. Some infections involving high-risk strains of HPV are associated with cervical cancer, penile cancer, vaginal cancer, mouth cancers, and others.

HPV can be transmitted from person to person through kissing, though it is more commonly transmitted through vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

Final thoughts

STIs can infect many different parts of your body, so it’s important to be vigilant when you’re sexually active.

If you think you may have been exposed to an STI, you should get tested. Click the button below to book an appointment at a sexual health clinic near you.