Pubic Hair Care Can Increase Your Risk of Contracting an STI
If you are doing any “grooming” or tending your “feminine garden”, you may need to consider downsizing. Recent research suggests a correlation between pubic care and STI infection.
A study led by Benjamin Breuer , a urologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and published this week in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections , found that participants who had pubic hair care at least once in their lives were almost twice as likely to above. have at least one STI. And participants who had their hair combed or completely naked more than 11 times a year were more than four times more likely.
However, before you throw your shavers away, keep in mind that this study found a significant correlation between the two. There is still no evidence of a causal relationship . And the study did not collect data on whether people had safe sex or were vaccinated against HPV, which are the two main preventive measures.
However, it’s important to be aware of this because it makes sense when you consider the biology in the game. As Jennifer Gunther , an obstetrician-gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, explains to NPR Science , shaving and waxing creates micro-cracks and cuts in the skin. If you are grooming just before sex, these tiny wounds may not heal in time and viruses and bacteria can enter your body more easily. Gunther notes that pubic hair is a mechanical barrier, like your eyebrows, that traps bacteria and debris, and that there is a reason for that. So no need to worry, but
Correlation Between Pubic Hair Care and STIs: Results from a Nationally Representative Probability Sample | Sexually transmitted infections according to NPR Science