Butt Licker: Health hazards from rimming (licking butt)
Hey Doc,
I'm a dedicated ass-licker who just got over a hellish case of hepatitis A. I suspect the hep germ came from my favorite pastime--not bad salad dressing. After two weeks of pure misery, I want to make sure this never happens to me again. I'm not going to quit rimming so what can I do? Also, could I get anal warts on my tongue? For that matter, anything else a devoted rimmer needs to know?
Butt-Licker
Dear Butt-Licker,
As you now know, no matter how lovely and mouth-watering the butt in question, it crawls with germs - thousands or millions of them. Most of these germs help balance the gut-to-butt environment. They keep it from dripping, stinking, or hurting. However, some germs, such as E-coli, salmonella, shigella, amoeba, giardia, and cryptosporidiosis (just to name a few), can make you very sick when they get into your body. As you found out, viruses such as hepatitis A are also spread through rimming. However, now that you've gotten that particular bug you should be protected against more hepatitis A in the future.
One of the best ways to protect yourself when rimming is to use a dam (also called a "dental dam"). You get full visuals and heat while he (or she?) gets the full feel of your big hot tongue. A dam is a thin, smooth, and flexible sheet of latex or polyurethane. You can get them flavored or unflavored, colored or clear. Some guys however just prefer to use good old household saran wrap (plastic wrap)--just make sure it's not the microwaveable or colored variety (these have tiny pores in them). A double layer adds extra protection... just to make sure you don't tear through it. Squirting a dab of water-based or silicone-based lube on the butt-side will help it stay in place. You can also "pin" it in place with some deep tongue penetration.
Genital warts (from butts, dicks or pussies) can be found in or around the mouth, on tongues, lips, gums, etc. But they are not common unless you have HIV infection. And even with HIV, they are pretty rare. In my 10 years of working with STD's, I have only seen "oral warts" in about five people. Each of these folks was also dealing with HIV. It appears that a weak immune system can allow genital warts to grow in places like the mouth. As always, people with HIV or other immune system problems need to be especially careful.
Dr. Dick