# Oral sex, how come "we're" not all dead? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 21, 2013, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907 "2013-05-21T08:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907/1 "2013-05-21T08:15:43Z")
> **[Why are men supposed to wash their hands after urination? Plus: urine therapy!](https://www.straightdope.com/21342195/why-are-men-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination-plus-urine-therapy)** > [@](#): > > I’ve said this before: your boxer-shorts region — from belly button to mid-thigh — is crawling with germs known as coliform bacteria. These bacteria originated in your intestine, and some of them are deadly. Remember punji stakes? They were sharpened sticks that the Vietcong concealed point up along trails and daubed with excrement. If you stepped on one you had a good chance of contracting a fatal infection. Similarly, an otherwise not-so-serious gunshot or knife injury could kill you if it perforated the intestine and allowed coliform bacteria to spread around your abdomen. > > But you know this (or at least you ought to). What you may not know is that washing will not make the coliform bacteria go away. They’re holed up in the pores of your skin and nothing short of sandblasting — certainly not your morning shower — is going to get them out. Showering merely gets rid of the ones that have strayed onto the surface. The bacteria won’t do much harm if they stay put, but when you urinate your fingers come in contact with Mister P. long enough for the coliform bacteria in your pores to hop aboard. Your fingers subsequently touch lots of other infectible items. If you don’t wash your hands with soap and water (soap gets rid of the skin oil that the bacteria stick to) … hello, Typhoid Mary. Note that a reader brings up my very question, where Cecil just kinda dissembles.😕 And that is just the racier deadly scenario that basically all people have faced, if you’re a parent…yea babies ain’t taboo on the poo. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907/2 "2013-05-21T11:01:01Z")
Since this is a good question about one of Cecil’s columns, I’ll move it to CoCC from General Questions. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907/3 "2013-05-21T16:54:30Z")
Punji sticks would push the bacteria into the blood stream. Otherwise, in general, they are usually the same bacteria most people already have in their intestinal tract. You do run the risk of picking up something you body in not used to - especially interacting with people from other locales… or if you have cuts or lesions in you mouth. there was the old story about sailors having iron constitutions, since they encounter bacteria (in food as well) from many different palces; while travellers usually are prone to catching interesting stuff, particularly of the intestinal tract, when they encounter unfamiliar bacteria. Eventually, your body build up some immunity to its familiar often-encountered bateria i would assume. However, not all bacterial invasions result in sickness. We have very well developed immune systems, especially when they are not already stressed. Just, the more you wallow in the stuff, the more likely that some will “catch”. Hence the value of good hand-washing and other hygiene practices. (I recall an article many years ago, some girl who grew up in a “free love” hippie household; she mentioned that the unspoken result of “free love” was frequent vaginal and pelvic infections. It happens.) ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907/4 "2013-05-22T16:09:05Z")
The short answer is a powerful immune system that keeps the certain bacteria from getting a foothold. As was mentioned, if you were under a great deal of stress, or if your immune system was compromised, you would be subject to many more infections than someone with an otherwise healthy immune system (and a usual amount of stress). Our bodies are filled with bacteria so the immune system has to be tuned to efficiently attack foreign bacteria without bothering the ‘good’ bacteria. It’s amazing how well the human body deals with intruders such as bacteria or viruses. ---
**Author:** ![jjube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@jjube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjube)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907/5 "2013-09-25T04:07:35Z")
if our boxer region is infested with coliform bacteria from bellybutton to mid-thigh…it got me thinking. Does this not mean that girls wearing short shorts/skirts would be spreading this bacteria everywhere they sit? Or even wearing a bathing suit, or touching your stomach for that matter? I did some research and it seems like coliform bacteria is generally not harmful unless ingested in large amounts or if it gets directly into open sores (in large amounts? or would it only take small amounts?) As a girl, I wouldn’t want to go to the extreme of not wearing shorts to avoid spreading bacteria…does this seem ridiculous? I also have some OCD about spreading germs so this was really bothering me!! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-how-come-were-not-all-dead/658907/6 "2013-09-28T19:15:22Z")
We are all shedding and spreading bacteria all of the time. I know how hard it can be for folks like us to deal with, but I’ve found that it’s best to simply not give it a moment’s thought or i’d never do anything. That’s why I can post this with two little dogs (Do you know exactly how sickening dogs are? Don’t find out.) lying on top of me.