Hello, fresh breath; so long, STI.
Gonorrhea is getting more common and harder to fight,
but findings by Australian researchers suggest a cheap and easy way to
prevent the sexually transmitted infection.
Look no further than your
local supermarket or drug store for the fix — Listerine. It fights
halitosis, as everyone knows. It also battles gonorrhea bacteria,
according to a study in Sexually Transmitted Infections journal.
The maker of the mouthwash has said the oral rinse does that since
1879. Investigators note that this is the first published study — a
two-pronged investigation — to test the company’s claim. In lab tests,
mouthwash solutions curbed the growth of bacteria in culture dishes,
while saline solutions didn’t. In a clinical trial of 196 men being
treated for gonorrhea in their throats, subjects who gargled with
Listerine were 80% less likely to test positive for the STI five minutes
later than the men who did likewise with saline solution.
Researchers noted that more testing must be done to learn how long the
reduced STI levels last, but they called the public health potential of
the findings “very significant.” Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported STI in the U.S., so that’s nothing to spit at.
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