Can I perform cunnilingus if I have a sore throat?

Dear sore throat,  

A sore throat might be an oral annoyance, but sharing a bed doesn’t mean sharing the pain! Whether or not you can spread a sore throat during oral sex depends on the cause of the sore throat. They may be caused by environmental factors (like allergies, dryness, or irritation), viruses like the common cold, or infections like strep throat. You can’t spread a sore throat that’s caused by environmental factors to your partner. Although you can’t share the common cold directly through oral sex, it can spread if you and your partner are breathing the same air in close, indoor settings. If the sore throat is caused by strep, it’s rare but possible to spread it through the genitals.  

What causes a sore throat?  

A sore throat could be caused by environmental, viral, or bacterial factors.  

Environmental causes include:  

• Straining the muscles in the throat by yelling or talking for a long time 
• Dry air, which can lead to the throat feeling scratchy 
• Allergic reactions to allergens like pet dander, pollen, dust, or mold 

List adapted from Mayo Clinic.

If your sore throat is caused by an environmental factor, it can’t be spread to your girlfriend during oral sex.  

Viral infections are the most common cause of a sore throat, like the common cold or flu. Less commonly, it could be caused by another virus, like mono, chickenpox, or COVID-19. A sore throat could also be linked to the bacterial infection group A streptococcus, commonly referred to as “strep throat.” A sore throat caused by strep throat might feel more severe than one caused by the common cold. 

If your sore throat is the product of an infection, you’ll likely have other symptoms. These might include:  

• Fever 
• Body aches 
• Headache 
• Sneezing 
• Running nose 
• Cough  

List adapted from Mayo Clinic. 

Can you spread the common cold through oral sex?  

The short answer is no, not directly through oral sex. To catch a cold, the virus has to get into your nose, throat, or lungs. Therefore, it can’t spread through the genitals.  

The most common method of spreading the cold is by breathing in air that contains the virus. This might happen when you spend a long time indoors with someone who is sick.  A cold can also spread through kissing or touching something that’s been in close contact with a sick person’s saliva or mucus. If you have a cold, having sex with your girlfriend might be the perfect recipe for germs to spread through breathing or saliva.   

Can you spread strep through oral sex?  

In some cases, yes. There’s some research that someone with strep throat can spread the infection to a partner after oral or vaginal sex. That being said, it seems that this is pretty rare. Like the cold, strep is usually spread by breathing in air that contains the infection. So, being in close contact with your partner during sex might have a greater risk of transmission than the oral sex itself.  

However, a sore throat linked to strep might be more severe than one from a cold or environmental factors. So, if you have strep, you might not be in the mood to do anything with your mouth but rest it and seek treatment from a medical provider.  

Can a sore throat be a sign of a sexually transmitted infection (STI)?  

If you notice a sore throat appearing after having oral sex, there could be a chance that it’s caused by an oral STI. If you give oral sex to someone with gonorrhea or chlamydia, your throat might become infected. Besides a sore throat, symptoms of oral gonorrhea might include redness, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, or a fever. A sore throat from oral chlamydia might also cause pain when swallowing or pus on the tonsils. If you’re having sex with a non-monogamous partner, you may want to consider using barrier method protection like a condom during oral sex to prevent the spread of STIs.  

Before deciding to perform oral sex again, you may want to consider what is causing your sore throat and if you have any other symptoms. Checking in with a medical provider on how you feel overall can help you decide whether you’re up to getting down to business.