A Bong or Water Pipe is one of the absolute best smoking devices you can use. Not only does it make smoking so much quicker and convenient than having to roll a joint, but it also gives you exceptionally smooth and powerful hits. Bongs are also a good choice for smoking with friends, and passing the Bong around is a common ritual for smokers. But users might have some concerns- for instance, can you get herpes from sharing a bong?
Sharing a Bong is a great way to smoke with friends, but you should practice caution if you’re sharing with people you don’t know. Naturally, sharing a device that’s covered in people’s saliva is a bad idea if you’re around people with any kind of infection. Here’s what you need to know about the dangers of sharing your Bong and how to avoid them.
Can You Get Herpes From Sharing A Bong?
Many beginner smokers and even many experienced smokers might wonder whether you can get herpes from sharing a bong. The short answer is yes, and the reason why is simple. Herpes is transmitted via oral secretion. That means that, just like you could catch herpes from kissing a person that’s infected with herpes, you can also get herpes from sharing a Bong with them.
There’s an important distinction to note here. You won’t catch the more severe herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2, also known as genital herpes) from sharing a Bong. HSV-2 is spread via skin-on-skin contact and doesn’t survive for long outside of the body. However, catching herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) is an inevitability if you share a Bong with an infected party.
If a person with HSV-1 uses a Bong and shares it with friends, everyone that uses it could also catch the infection. HSV-1 is characterized by cold sores and fever blisters around the mouth and it’s estimated that almost half of the American population has HSV-1. Although many cases aren’t severe, HSV-1 stays in your system forever and can cause further complications, so it’s best to avoid it.
How To Avoid Herpes From Sharing A Bong
Since you can catch oral herpes or HSV-1 from sharing a Bong with other people, you might want to take some measures to avoid it. First and foremost, you should never share a Bong with others if you have herpes or another kind of infection, nor should you share with someone who knows they’re infected.
It’s best to only share a Bong, Pipe, or other smoking devices with other people if you trust them. What’s more, the fewer people you share it with, the better. That means that instead of passing your Bong around at a party, you should save it for small gatherings with your closest and most-trusted smoking buddies.
You might even want to disinfect your Bong if you’re sharing it with others. You can use alcoholic wipes to quickly sterilize the mouthpiece before taking a hit- although this might look strange if you’re at a party or large gathering. If you want to be especially cautious, you might want to avoid sharing smoking devices altogether and instead keep your Bong or Pipe to yourself.
Can You Get Herpes From Sharing A Joint?
Some users might wonder if sharing a joint instead of using a Bong will lessen their risk of getting herpes from another user. After all, joints have a smaller surface area to place your mouth and you might feel like paper is safer than glass. However, just like you could potentially catch herpes from sharing a Bong, you could also catch herpes from sharing a joint.
Since your saliva is directly placed on the joint when you take a toke, any infectious diseases can potentially be carried and transmitted to the next person. That means that you should avoid sharing joints with anyone who’s infected with herpes. You should also avoid sharing a joint if you have herpes.
While it’s easy enough to disinfect a Bong with wipes, you can’t do the same thing with a joint. Wiping the butt of your joint on your shirt won’t help much, either. As such, it’s best to avoid sharing joints with people you don’t know if you’re cautious about infectious diseases such as herpes.
Can You Get Coronavirus From Sharing A Bong or Joint?
The year 2020 has brought about a whole new swarm of concerns for people due to the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Those in high-risk areas are recommended to socially distance from others, wear masks to reduce infections, and regularly sanitize their hands. But could sharing a Bong or joint be dangerous?
Just like with other infectious diseases, you could catch COVID-19 from sharing a Bong, joint, or anything else that makes contact with your mouth. COVID-19 has been shown to spread in saliva particles and, as such, sharing your smoking devices with others is not a good idea.
Since COVID-19 is often symptomless, it’s best to avoid sharing your smoking devices altogether. Those who are in high-risk areas might even want to avoid smoking with friends for the time being. However, if you do, you can still enjoy the experience with friends while smoking separate joints or smoking devices and keeping your distance.
Should You Avoid Using A Bong?
Just because infections can be spread by sharing Bongs, that doesn’t mean that you should avoid them. On the contrary, using a Bong is one of the best ways to enjoy your weed, and you can still do so safely.
Bongs are very easy to clean thanks to their glass surface and you can also eliminate any risk of catching something from someone else by not sharing your Bong with others- especially people you don’t know in large gatherings.
What’s more, Bongs provide one of the easiest and most effective ways to get an excellent high. You can buy a Bong online from FatBuddhaGlass and you can also buy Cleaners to keep your Bong and other smoking devices clean.
Conclusion
In summary, you can get herpes if you share a Bong with someone who has oral herpes. You can also catch other infections that are transmitted orally. However, you can avoid these risks by being careful who you share your Bong with and keeping it clean.
You can find Bongs, cleaning supplies, and everything else you need for a safe and satisfying smoking session from FatBuddhaGlass.
