While not very common, there is some risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections via shared beds or towels. Some of the causative agents, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HSV-2, can survive for short periods of time on an infected surface such as a bed or towel. The ectoparasites scabies and pubic lice are also transmitted this way.
While most people believe that STDs can be acquired only by having unprotected sex, through skin-to-skin contact, or in case of blood transfusion, researchers propose other options too. It would imply that you can be at risk of acquiring an STD even without sexual exposure—for instance, by using another person's towel or sleeping in someone else's bed. In this article, we shall learn about these unusual modes of transmission, but let's first understand the main routes through which STDs are transmitted.
01 October 2024
5 min read
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Main Transmission Routes of STDs
The most common method of acquiring STDs involves unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex. These diseases are particularly fond of our mucous membranes, which can be found in our genital area, anal region, and oral cavity. Some of these infections, including the human papillomavirus and herpes, may be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact with an infected partner. For HIV to take hold, there needs to be some sort of opening in the skin, such as an open sore, wound, or cut. Sexual contact with sperm in the eyes could give you an STD as any substance entering the eye could subsequently gain entry to the bloodstream.
Research shows that even kissing may transmit STDs, particularly gonorrhea and herpes. Oral infections can also be transmitted to the partner through oral sex. Blood transfusions are another risk, as HIV and hepatitis B and C are highly infectious through blood.
The main modes of transmission are as follows:
Intercourse, either vaginal, anal, or oral, without protection
Genito-genital contact
Oral-genital contact
Skin-to-skin contact
Fingering
Kissing
Blood transfusions
Sharing needles/syringes
Exposure of infected body fluids in the eye
Mother-to-child during pregnancy/delivery
Unusual Forms of STD Transmission
Besides the usual modes of transmission, there are several unusual modes of acquiring an STD without sexual exposure to an infected individual. A few of the important examples are outlined below:
Consuming Infected Foods
Hepatitis A is primarily an infection transmitted orally through the fecal-oral route of transmission, which implies that hepatitis A can be acquired through the ingestion of infected food. Example: When one has hepatitis A, he or she does not wash his or her hands well after going to the bathroom and then prepares your food, you may become infected. You can then spread the virus sexually to another person. Vaccines to prevent hepatitis A do exist and, in developed countries, are generally administered early in life.
Indirect Contact
Examples of infections that can be transmitted via indirect sexual contact include Trichomoniasis and HPV; examples of indirect sexual contact include hand-to-genital sexual stimulation and sharing of sex toys. Not a highly plausible means of acquiring an infection, but it is nonetheless documented that many different pathogens can survive for brief periods of time under fingernails or on plastic surfaces provided cleaning and decontamination have not been adequately performed.
Sharing beds or towels is less hazardous than sexual activities or direct exposure; yet, these are possibilities that one must be aware of. Safe practices, hygiene, and awareness are very much helpful to reduce the risk of such diseases, and their spread as well.
STDs from Shared Beds and Towels: The Risk
Does this imply that one has a legitimate risk of contracting an STD through sharing beds or towels? The risks are low, but not impossible. A handful of the causative agents of STDs, like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HSV-2, linger for brief periods on infected surfaces and can thus conceivably be transmitted. Parasites such as scabies and pubic lice are also transferable through shared beds or towels.
However, the risk of transmission is much lower compared to the major routes of STD transmission, such as through protected sex or skin-to-skin contact.
Unusual STD Transmission: How to Reduce Your Risk
There are some ways through which one can reduce the risk of his/her acquiring such sexually transmitted infections through these unconventional modes of transmission:
Practice good personal hygiene: Including regular washing of hands before eating and preparing food. Towels and bedding must also be washed on a routine basis.
Immunization: Consider getting vaccinations against hepatitis A and HPV—the diseases which may be carried along the route of transmission other than sexual.
Avoid sharing things that are personal: Minimize this risk by not sharing towels, beddings, and sex toys.
Testing for STDs regularly: It helps in early detection and treatment of any probable infection. This reduces the risk of transmission of the disease to another person unknowingly.
While sexual contact is the most common mode of transmission, one must not frown upon the potential dangers which emanate from what have been termed as non-sexual modes of transmission, like sharing a bed, or shared towels, or even food possibly leading to an infection. These risks are much smaller, but they do exist and must be taken as warning.
Good personal hygiene, proper vaccination, abstaining from sharing personal items, and regular testing for STDs are some of the precautions against sexually transmitted diseases. Knowledge and precautionary measures are your best defense against sexually transmitted diseases.
References
"Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)" - World Health Organization: Link
"STD Risk and Oral Sex - CDC Fact Sheet" - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Link
"Hepatitis A Questions and Answers for the Public" - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Link
"Can You Get an STD From a Toilet Seat?" - Healthline: Link
"Can You Get an STD From Kissing? Here's What Experts Say About the Risk" - Health.com: Link
"Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know" - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Link
"Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis" - Mayo Clinic: Link
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