If life were fair, it would be impossible to catch anything remotely bad from a kiss. But in addition to things like the common cold and the flu (seriously, get vaccinated, people), it is actually possible to contract various illnesses from a make-out session. That includes a couple of sexually transmitted ones. Buzz. Kill.
Here, doctors explain potential infections you can get from kissing, along with exactly what you need to know to stay as safe as possible.
1. Herpes
Herpes may be incurable, but it doesn’t make you a pariah. In fact, it kind of makes you normal. Around two-thirds of the world’s population under the age of 50 has herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1), which is known as the oral kind of herpes, according to the World Health Organization. And around one in every six Americans under the age of 50 has herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2), what’s known as the genital kind of herpes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
