Study: cutting your hair down below raises your STD risk by 440%

[davidn3600]

BRITS who keep it bare down below are four times more likely to catch a sexually transmitted infection, a study reveals.

It found adults who removed all their pubic hair were at a 440 per cent higher risk of picking up a sex bug. Experts said younger people are most likely to banish the bush.

Researchers said those waxing or trimming below were more sexually active, putting them at greater risk of STIs.

And grooming may also cause small cuts and tears to the skin, making it easier to pick up an infection.

The study looked at more than 7,500 adults in the U.S. aged between 18 and 65. Around 13 per cent admitted having at least one STI.

Three-quarters said they trimmed their pubes – with 84 per cent of women and 64 per cent of blokes’ saying they were fans of a manicured bush.

Scientists found those practicing “extreme” grooming – the removal of all their pubic hair – were at the highest risk of infections such as chlamydia, syphilis, warts and gonorrhoea.

But overall, any cutting, waxing or shaving down below was linked to an 80 per cent higher chance of an STI.

Writing in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, lead researcher Dr Benjamin Breyer from the University of California San Francisco, said: “Grooming may cause epidermal skin microtears, which may increase the risk of STIs.

“Another possible explanation for our findings, individuals who groom may be more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours than those who do not groom.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2334832/adults-who-remove-all-their-pubic-hair-are-440-per-cent-more-likely-to-get-an-std/

[Warpy]

1. Not surprising in the least

since all methods irritate the skin and leave micro abrasions and sometimes cuts.

[uppityperson]

2. Mostly correlation, with a tiny bit of causation

[pnwmom]

5. Cuts and tears do make it more likely to pass an infection. n/t

[Grey Lemercier]

10. I agree 100%

from the article

Researchers said those waxing or trimming below were more sexually active, putting them at greater risk of STIs.

[jmowreader]

3. Oh jeeze...

You don't get those diseases from removing your pubic hair. You get them from having sex with an infected person without using a condom.

If they're saying "people who remove all their pubic hair are (some percentage higher than 440, because not all unprotected sex leads to disease) percent more likely to engage in unprotected sex," that sounds about right.

[phleshdef]

4. Personally I never understood the trend of women shaving down there.

I don't like it and my wife likes that I don't like it, lol. I prefer my significant other to look like they've gone through puberty, maybe thats just me.

[JI7]

6. some of it is because of bathing suits

[RandiFan1290]

8. So many women shave their legs and arm pits as well

I never realized they were trying to look like prepubescent girls.

[Mike Nelson]

7. Shaving...

...right before sex would increase risk, I guess. Mostly, I think people who shave are more likely to have a more active sexual lifestyle and that's the real reason, in my opinion.

[pinboy3niner]

9. They warned us about this in the '50s...