While the use of saliva is popular for many during sexual intercourse, especially when used as some kind of lubricant in the vagina making the action more enjoyable, this news won’t be good for users of that saliva but truth should be told.
Health experts have said that there is an increase in diseases caused by fungal and bacterial infections in a woman’s reproductive tract, the main cause being saliva, according to Mwananchi.
Research shows that some men have been using saliva as a lubricant during sexual intercourse, so women get those diseases that make them discharge dirt and smell bad in the vagina.
That has resulted in many women searching for cures on the internet, looking for drugs to treat these problems by cleaning the vagina in various ways, including putting various things in the vagina with the aim of treating fungi and bacteria.
However, experts have gone further and claimed that those diseases that show various symptoms if not treated in time make it easier fod bacteria and viruses to attack the vagina endangering the reproductive tract of a woman with infections.
The Head of the Department of Diseases and Maternal and Childbirth at Muhimbili Hospital in Tanzania, Dr. Nathanael Mtinangi said using saliva during intercourse is not advised and scientifically unacceptable.
“It spreads diseases. It is unacceptable,” he says.
Science explains that the human mouth is made up of hundreds of bacteria ‘oral micro flora’ which are friendly to oral health, however they are harmful if they go to the vagina.
Also in the reproductive system of a woman there is a type of bacteria ‘lactobuciluss’ as well as the fungus ‘candida albicans’ which is friendly to the reproductive system of a woman, but science says that these are harmful if they go into the mouth.
Some gynecologists confirmed that diseases caused by fungi and bacteria in women have been increasing now, despite the fact that they have existed for a long time.
A gynecologist from the Aga Khan Hospital, Jane Muzo, said that when you take saliva and put it in a woman’s vagina, you transfer the bacteria found in the mouth and bring them into the vagina.
“Remember that they are a different types of bacteria, so they cannot live together. As a result they conflict and lead to weakening either the visitor or the local.”
“When local bacteria become weak, foreign bacteria dominate the area and since that is their proper place to live, they begin to cause serious harm to the vagina and cause various types of infections in the female reproductive tract,” he said.
He said the bacteria sometimes get used to each other and produce hybrid bacteria that can be mild or severe. If they are aggressive, they cause cervical cancer, tumors and other diseases of the reproductive system.
A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology from the Salaaman hospital in Temeke, Dar es Salaam, Abdul Mkeyenge explains that in the human mouth there are bacteria whose home is there, so those who use saliva as a lubricant are wrong.
“Scientifically, we do not use saliva as a lubricant in sexual intercourse because there are different bacteria in the mouth, so when you use saliva as a lubricant you are happy when having sex but you are also making the mouth’s bacteria move to the vagina, which results in infections,” said Dr. Mkeyenge.
He said that when the bacteria enter, they start attacking the friendly bacteria of the vagina and in most cases the bacteria of the vagina are exhausted.
“Those bacteria start from there in the vagina and spread into the whole of the reproductive tract, which can cause ‘bacterio vaginosis’ and the woman will start to get symptoms of dirt that comes out with a smell.”
He also said that a man can have a fungal infection or other bacteria in the mouth, so when he spits out his saliva and sends it to the vagina, it is easy to for his partner to get a fungal infection in the private parts.
He said that they have been treating many repeat patients who suffer from fungus from time to time.
“Women complain that they get unending fungus every day, they are treated in the hospital, they don’t know what the reason is, but instead of getting well, their husbands keep doing the saliva thing to them.”
“Another person may be having other viruses in the mouth, if he spits, he gives off an infection, then his partner gets rashes, others suck each other’s secret parts, it is easy to get a bacterial, fungal or viral infection in the production system,” he said.
He said there are women who suffer more serious consequences, including the discharge of dirty liquid during labor and warned that if she does not get treatment on time, the problem becomes worse.
He mentioned other effects of the bacteria that include a woman getting an infection in the reproductive tract, that is PID.
“We call this PID an infection in the reproductive tract. If these bacteria flourish in the vagina, they will start to cause these minor effects, but when they increase, they cause an infection in the reproductive tract, which is Pelvic inflammatory disease or PID,” he said.
He said the effects of PID include infertility, swelling, ectopic pregnancy, accumulation of pus in the pelvis and other effects.
What should be done?
Dr. Mkeyenge said men should prepare their partners for sex.
“Many men, where they are with their partners they do not prepare them well, later during the act you find that she is dry, she has not got the mucus released by the body.
“If you prepare her well, there is fluid that she can release that helps to wet the private parts, even later when you penetrate her she will not feel any pain or disgust…”
Research
A study published in the biology journal PLoS in August 2020 confirmed that oral sex can lead to a vaginal infection.
Research has revealed that women with the disease may not show symptoms but some produce a bad smell.
The reasearch also showed a certain type of bacteria found in the mouth, associated with diseases of the gums and dental membranes, which can contribute to getting this disease.
Oral bacteria ‘Fusobacterium nucleatum’ were found to increase the growth of other bacteria that cause vaginal irritation.
Researchers, Dr. Amanda Lewis from the University of California and other workers, say that the study shows that the use of oral sex during sexual intercourse can contribute to vaginal irritation.
About the saliva
Dr. Mkeyenge said that saliva is made or composed of three things, including mucus, fluid and an enzyme known as ‘salivary amylase or ptyalin’.
The function of the water in the saliva is to dissolve food in the mouth, to soften the food so it is easy to swallow, the enzyme (salivary amylase) helps to change starches / carbohydrates into simple sugar ‘maltose’, thus doing the main function of saliva as a food enzyme.
He said that what the saliva is there for is to soften the food when it enters the mouth so that it is ready to be swallowed and softened by enzymes that have the function of breaking down the food from carbohydrates into sugar.
However, he said that the saliva lives in the human mouth and there is usually a combination of more than one bacteria that are not harmful when they are in the mouth, as they are there to protect the mouth.
“There are many bacteria in the human body and all of them are harmless, those present on the skin are harmless unless they enter and cause harm to the tissue by producing pus and the tissue will rot and there will be a wound that will be emitting pus,” he explained.
He warned lovers that continued use of saliva in the vagina is not something they should tolerate as saliva is meant for the mouth and should never used down there.
