Oral sex enthusiasts were sent into a tailspin after a TikTok creator who appears to be a doctor claimed that going down on someone could lead to throat cancer.
The TikToker, Daria Sadovskaya who goes by the username @sadovskaya_doctor, posted a vid of herself wearing scrubs with text reading: “Are you saying oral sex is proven to be the number one cause of throat cancer?” She then mouthed the words to Doja Cat‘s “Paint The Town Red” saying “Bitch, I said what I said.”
Naturally, people went bonkers over her claim.
Before we move on, it’s important to note that we haven’t been able to confirm whether Sadovskaya is really a qualified or practising doctor. According to her Instagram and TikTok account, she is a “health guide” who does not give medical advice. As more and more accounts of people pretending to be medical professionals on the platform pop up, I think it’s important that we exercise a level of caution and media literacy when we come across medical advice on social media.
But, despite Sadobskaya giving some very questionable medical advice in her other videos, she does raise an interesting point when it comes to the link between throat cancer and oral sex. So, to fact-check her claims, I spoke to practising and qualified doctor Dr Zac Turner to find out whether it really is possible to get throat cancer from giving head.
And, as it turns out, it’s not good news for fans of slobbering on a knob.
Can you get throat cancer from oral sex?
According to Dr Turner, you absolutely can get throat cancer from oral sex and it’s all because of a little fucker called the human papillomavirus (HPV). While HPV is a super common and easily treatable sexually transmitted infection, in some rare cases the infection can lead to the development of some cancers.
“The human papillomavirus – specifically HPV 16 and 18 – are the main causes of ovarian and cervical cancer in Australia and worldwide,” Dr Turner said.
While it’s most commonly associated with cervical and ovarian cancers, HPV can be passed along from any mucosal membrane like the nose, vagina, penis, mouth or anus. And for many people, it goes undetected for yonks.
“The thing about HPV, especially for guys, is that it has almost no external clinical manifestations,” Dr Turner explained.
“There’s a lot of other viruses like this as well and they often spread from a mucosal membrane.”
Dr Turner explained that the reason that HPV is associated with throat cancer specifically is due to the rubbing involved while you give head. When you’re going to town on a schlong, the repetition of the movement causes friction which rubs away the protective cells on the outside of your throat – which is another one of these mucosal membranes.
“So if you’re deepthroating, you’re rubbing off the protective outer cells and allowing the absorbing lower cells, which are directly connected to your bloodstream,” he said.
And because the transmission of the virus is connected to the amount of rubbing and friction involved, the more time you spend giving head can correlate to the likelihood of it being transmitted.
“So if you’re just deepthroating for five minutes as opposed to a longer session the chance of you getting HPV is a lot less.”
Is HPV the leading cause of throat cancer?
HPV-related throat cancers are on the rise and are currently the cause of 70 per cent of throat cancers.
But the sexually transmitted infection is not the only cause of throat cancers. While it might come as an absolute shocker to no one, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are also huge factors linked to these types of cancers. However, people with HPV-related cancers often respond well to treatment and have a better chance of a cure than those who developed cancers due to smoking.
According to the Cancer Council, the causes of throat cancer include smoking tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption, HPV, epstein-barr virus, poor diet and a family history of cancer.
What can we do to avoid getting HPV from oral sex?
Thankfully, there are ways to avoid getting HPV and (god forbid) developing throat cancer.
Of course, Dr Turner recommends the usual important measures such as dental dams and condoms. Still, he says that it’s also important to thoroughly wash out your mouth with salty water or betadine mouthwash after oral sex.
“It’s always important, post oral sex, to give your mouth a rinse out and really gargle properly because have you deep throated? Have you swallowed? How deep has it gone?” he said.
Now that’s an easy step I’m adding to my head-giving regimine.
What about the HPV vaccine?
The good news is, there is a vaccine available to prevent the spread of HPV and it was created here in Australia. In fact, we were the first country to roll out a vaccination program for HPV in 2007.
These days, the Australian Immunisation Handbook recommends the HPV vaccination for people aged nine to 25, people with immunocompromising conditions and men who have sex with men.
But for those who went to high school between 2007 and 2013, the HPV vaccine was only recommended for girls. Not only did this leave a large portion of the cohort without vaccination for HPV, but it made a lot of people assume that it was just a thing that women needed to do.
Now, Dr Turner is encouraging all men to seek out the HPV vaccine.
“This is why guys especially need to go and get the HPV HPV 1618 vaccine, early cancer going other people to prevent the spread because they’re often the carriers because they don’t get the physical manifestations of it.
“And let’s call out the misogyny here,” he adds.
“This affects women but it’s often caused by men. Cervical cancer, and throat cancer, it’s caused for the most part by men who have not done the right thing and got these vaccines.”
Well, there you have it.
But before you tell your partner that you’re never going downtown again, remember that HPV is actually fairly chill. Approximately 80 per cent of people in Australia have had HPV at some point in their lives and it’s been totally fine. This is just your reminder to remember to get tested regularly, use protection and be sexually safe.
That being said – happy gluck gluck 9000’s everyone!!!
