The doctor told how you can get infected through kissing

Kissing as an act of showing love, care and attraction is an integral part of the life of a couple in love. However, this is not only a pleasant ritual, but also one of the sources of transmission of certain diseases. As infectious disease doctor Tatyana Kogut told Gazeta.Ru, about 80 million bacteria are transmitted during a kiss, and about 20% of them are unique, that is, each person has his own personal microbiome in his mouth.

During a kiss, in the process of exchanging saliva, partners form antibodies to each other’s foreign bacteria and the so-called cross-immunization occurs. Moreover, the more often people kiss, the more active this immunization is and the immunity is better strengthened.

In addition, the expert added, during a kiss, oxytocin, the happiness hormone, is released from the posterior pituitary gland in large quantities. It affects our mood and at the same time suppresses the level of the stress hormone cortisol, thereby increasing the body’s defenses.

But there is also a risk of infection through kissing, the doctor noted. One of the most common diseases is the herpes virus.

“To be more precise, the herpes simplex virus type 1,” Kogut explained. – The manifestations of this disease in the acute phase are familiar to many: small painful blisters near the lips, nose or even inside the mouth, itching and burning in the affected area, a slight increase in temperature. Although most people are carriers of herpes, it can only be transmitted during the period of exacerbation, which is characterized by the aforementioned vesicles. Of course, kissing during this period is not worth it, since the risk of infection is high.

Infectious mononucleosis can also be transmitted in a similar way.

“The causative agent of this “kissing disease”, the Epstein-Barr virus, also belongs to the herpesvirus family, only it belongs to the 4-mutip. This virus is transmitted with saliva and feels great in a favorable mucous environment. Symptoms of mononucleosis are constant fatigue, sore throat, high fever, loss of appetite, and swollen lymph nodes with sore throat. The disease can be detected by serological testing. And although this disease is considered less contagious than herpes, it should be remembered that young people aged 15-30 years are at risk, ”the doctor said.

She added that absolutely all infections that are spread by airborne droplets can be transmitted through a kiss. These include influenza, and COVID-19, and adenovirus infection, and other acute respiratory viral infections.