A large amount of air introduced into the vagina during cunnilingus can swell the abdomen and cause a fatal infection.
- Cunnilingus is an oral sex practice that involves stimulating different parts of the female genitalia using the tongue and lips.
- It is used either as a preliminary or carried to orgasm.
Oral sex can have amazing health consequences. An article published in the Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons mentions the case of a 24-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department of Stanford University (California), when she felt severe abdominal and chest pain. The pain was sharp and had traveled to the lower right part of her stomach – before rising and spreading. Apart from these pains, the patient presented no other symptoms.
Sexual history
An X-ray initially made it possible to detect the abnormal presence of air in his abdominal cavity, a phenomenon which corresponds to pneumoperitoneum. Despite testing the previous two times, no cause was found and the air was gradually reabsorbed by the surrounding tissues, which usually happens within a week, the doctors detail in the article. During the patient’s last medical visit, an additional examination (sexual anamnesis), however, revealed the cause of her suffering: her abdomen was swollen after oral sex performed by her partner. The air then moved from her vagina to the uterus before ascending into the abdominal cavity through the fallopian tubes.
“The patient disclosed that she had had sexual intercourse, during which her partner forcefully blew air into her vagina prior to any episodes of pneumoperitoneum. She remembered the pain starting four hours after each occasion.“, specify the doctors.
Higher risks in pregnancy
The patient was kept under observation in the hospital for another day while the gas in her stomach dissipated. Fortunately, she escaped without further complications. However, doctors insist on the fatal risk of this type of infection (higher in the event of pregnancy), citing in particular the case of a pregnant woman who died after her partner involuntarily introduced air into her vaginal cavity.
“Cunnilingus is a common sexual practice all over the world. During such activity, where gas may be forcefully blown into the vagina through the mouth or insufflated by other mechanisms, large involuntary amounts of air may be pressurized into the vagina“, alert the latter. “Gas can end up in the uterus and, after tubal dilation, in the abdomen, causing non-surgical pneumoperitoneum. The patient often has no knowledge of the open access between vagina and abdomen, and medical personnel are often misinformed about the patho-mechanism“, they conclude.
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