International Kiss Day 2019: Scary ‘health-related’ things that can happen when you kiss

As the name clearly suggests, International Kiss Day is a non-official day celebrated to celebrate kissing and how it has been used as a show of expressing love. And while kissing is a natural happenstance between two people who are emotionally or physically attracted to each other, there is a whole lot of science involved in this mere sharing of lip and tongue. Certain studies have even found that kissing can burn 2 - 6 calories per minute of course not to mention the zing the two people sharing the kiss feels.

But, on International Kiss Day 2019, let us look at the more unloving side of kissing that will make you want to say back-off to the other person:

Kissing can expose you to some nasty bacteria: While saliva is 98% water, electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes a possibility of transmitting bacteria is never off the table. "Mouths can serve as a transmission route for germs because there is close connection with the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems, and these are common sites of infections for germs," explains Kelly Reynolds, PhD, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona's Zuckerman College of Public Health. 

It can cause infections like mononucleosis or mono: Known as the kissing dease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, the mono virus can persist and cause symptoms like extreme fatigue for upward of six months in some people, sometimes causing permanent and even life-threatening damage.

Risks of HPV: Yup, you heard it right, with every kiss is also a susceptibility to all types of HPV because microbes that cause HPV like illnesses such as gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, can be transmitted through saliva. 

It can cause cavities: Bad breath can be caused by many things, cavity related aliment, tobacco and alcohol use or mouth infections caused by bacteria Hence with the many possibilities of different diseases that lie in the other person’s mouth, you can guess what happens next when you kiss.

Cold cores: The little red pumps on your mouth that happens sometimes? Well, it may have been caused by kissing. Because sores or the tiny red pumps are caused by the herpes virus that's marked by fluid-filled blisters around the mouth.