New record high STD/STI infection rates in the USA

[LivingnLA]

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/25/welcome-to-the-next-deadly-aids-pandemic/

 

The 22nd International AIDS Conference was on July 25th in Amsterdam and the reports coming out should give us all something to think about.

 

Thanks to the flawed global strategy using tier 1 drugs to control the spread of HIV, we now have treatment-resistant strains spreading very quickly in certain parts of the world. These resistant strains are becoming a sizable percent of all new infections in LIMICs (Low Income Middle Income Countries), like much of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(17)30702-8/fulltext

 

Infection rates for syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, and various forms of hepatitis are "skyrocketing," especially in young men who have sex with men in Europe and North America. And to make things even more challenging, there is now an effectively incurable form of gonorrhea spreading in Australia and the UK.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/syphilis-rise-sexual-health-crisis-nhs-government-cuts-warning-a8383901.html

 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(18)30225-1/fulltext

 

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/06/14/why-stds-are-soaring-in-america

 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(18)30276-7/fulltext

 

https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/rapid-risk-assessment-extensively-drug-resistant-xdr-neisseria-gonorrhoeae-united

 

There is no such thing as 100% safe sex. All we can do is have safer sex. It's a question of risk factors and what each of us is willing to live with based on our choices.

 

1. Get informed.

2. Get tested (regularly, at least annually and every 3 or 6 months is better depending on your sexual activity).

3. Recognize that Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) are a high-risk category for infection & transmission.

4. Understand that socioeconomic, racial, and geographic risk factors exist. Know how risky your partners may be so you can assess your decisions/choices/risks.

5. Understand your options. (Condoms are still the best tool for reducing risk of transmission during anal, oral, & vaginal sex).

6. Know about the vaccines (HPV, Hep A/B, and Meningitis) and decide which ones make sense for you.

7. Know about PrEP, it's pluses and minuses, and the reality that resistant strains exist, though these strains are currently a small percent of the infected population. (That will change.)

Edited August 5, 2018 by LivingnLA

[Wolfer]

Thanks for posting this. It does give you pause. I wonder if the rise in the spread of other STI's could have anything to do with the use PreP and the subsequent disuse of condoms.

 

I know that not everyone who's on PreP stops using condoms. But there are also guys who do stop using them. The rise of using PreP and the rising of other STI's normally also somewhat halted by condoms makes me wonder.

[Mocha]

Thanks for posting this. It does give you pause. I wonder if the rise in the spread of other STI's could have anything to do with the use PreP and the subsequent disuse of condoms.

 

I know that not everyone who's on PreP stops using condoms. But there are also guys who do stop using them. The rise of using PreP and the rising of other STI's normally also somewhat halted by condoms makes me wonder.

 

That's why people can't bet their health on just 1 pill. When people tell me they are negative and on prep, it's like and? I have an asthma inhaler, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be fine with you blowing cigarette smoke in my face.

[LivingnLA]

I wonder if the rise in the spread of other STI's could have anything to do with the use PreP and the subsequent disuse of condoms.

 

Oh, it's likely that PrEP availability plays a role in lower condom use. This significant decline in condom use leads to increases in every other STI.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/06/rapid-rise-in-anti-hiv-prep-pills-linked-to-drop-in-condom-use

 

But, it's more than just PrEP. People don't fear HIV anymore. They think it's totally fine to live with it and "there'll be a cure soon anyway" so who cares? We've seen this attitude for over a decade now. Younger people in North America and Europe--the areas where other STIs are skyrocketing--think HIV is no big deal so don't use condoms.

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/hiv-rise-being-man-enough-to-stay-safe-1.1441217

 

Florida in particular is very dangerous right now for new HIV infections. Miami is an incredibly risky area to have anal, oral, or vaginal sex with strangers without condoms.

 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-miami-is-the-epicenter-of-new-hiv-cases-in-the-u-s

 

Plus, people continue to stupidly believe oral sex is safe sex, when it's an incredibly easy way to catch every STI except HIV. There's no such thing as safe sex! Only degrees of risk and safer sex.

 

https://www.verywellhealth.com/is-oral-sex-safe-sex-3133091

Edited August 29, 2018 by LivingnLA

[LivingnLA]

Please also remember that the USA has a massive public health crisis because of the opioid epidemic, there are a growing population of drug addicts who are also HIV positive and they have no clue because they've never been tested.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/14/577713525/mapping-how-the-opioid-epidemic-sparked-an-hiv-outbreak

[Populist Fury]

No PNP. Condom + PrEP always!

[LivingnLA]

For the 4th year in a row, we have seen new record high infection rates for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in the USA. We have the highest rates of infection of any industrialized nation. We're #1!

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/08/28/642664883/record-high-number-of-std-infections-in-u-s-as-prevention-funding-declines

[Chad Constantine]

I placed my thoughts on the subject here. https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/condoms.123836/page-2#post-1305925

I was called the condom police for stating my opinion that if a guy tried to come at me with a bare dick he better be prepared to be on the floor in pain because I get panic attacks just from hearing about guys just blowing loads in each without a care in the world.

I also stated I will take my panic attacks and condoms while waiting for advances in the medical world like this:

Edited August 29, 2018 by Chad Constantine

[TruthBTold]

I placed my thoughts on the subject here. https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/condoms.123836/page-2#post-1305925

I was called the condom police for stating my opinion that if a guy tried to come at me with a bare dick he better be prepared to be on the floor in pain because I get panic attacks just from hearing about guys just blowing loads in each without a care in the world.

I also stated I will take my panic attacks and condoms while waiting for advances in the medical world like this:

 

Yes, we must make decisions for ourselves regarding both STI and HIV infections and what we want to do to try not to get them. However, at the same time we have to accept that people will have to live with the decisions they make. They may decide that the decisions are worth what they desire.

[Chad Constantine]

Yes, we must make decisions for ourselves regarding both STI and HIV infections and what we want to do to try not to get them. However, at the same time we have to accept that people will have to live with the decisions they make. They may decide that the decisions are worth what they desire.

 

Yes that is very true that is why I don't try to judge people on their action unless it directly involves myself. I have always been a do you just dont mess me up type of guy.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

For the 4th year in a row, we have seen new record high infection rates for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in the USA. We have the highest rates of infection of any industrialized nation. We're #1!

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/08/28/642664883/record-high-number-of-std-infections-in-u-s-as-prevention-funding-declines

Thanks putting the stats out there. People need to know, to make decisions for themselves.

[adventurous old guy]

So glad to see this forum being used to raise awareness of this increasing risk. I think it needs to spill over into the Deli. I've had several somewhat awkward conversations now with service providers who either ask me why I still want to use a condom or why I'm not on PrEP myself. Maybe its an over-reaction on my part, but in these conversations it feels like the expectation now is that condoms won't be used, and that's a big shift. That truly scares me -- for myself as well as others.

[+ glutes]

So glad to see this forum being used to raise awareness of this increasing risk. I think it needs to spill over into the Deli. I've had several somewhat awkward conversations now with service providers who either ask me why I still want to use a condom or why I'm not on PrEP myself.

 

Ding!

 

This should be in Deli & Ask an Escort.

[LivingnLA]

Thanks for the support! Feel free to share any of these links if they're useful. We need to keep educating people.

 

1. Men who have sex with men are a high-risk category for all STDs/STIs.

2. Men of color and poor men are high-risk categories as well.

3. Oral sex without a condom is a great way to catch every known STD/STI except HIV.

4. PrEP only protects against HIV and there are already PrEP resistant strains of HIV in the general population.

5. There are now highly-resistant strains of the major STDs/STIs in the general population.

 

Life is always about risk and that includes sex. There is no such thing as 100% safe sex when another person is involved in some way. All we can do is educate ourselves, weigh the risks, and make decisions about how we want to live.

 

I enjoy swallowing cum, so oral sex without a condom is a risk I take. I mitigate that risk by being very careful about who I have unprotected oral sex with to minimize my probability of exposure. I get comprehensively tested regularly and I have my shots.

Edited August 31, 2018 by LivingnLA

[JerseyBabyDaddy]

"But I'm on PrEP!"

 

Honey, PrEP doesn't protect you from syphilis or the new drug-resistant gonorrhea that's emerging. So, put that rubber on and shut the fuck up.

[sexymonk]

"But I'm on PrEP!"

 

Honey, PrEP doesn't protect you from syphilis or the new drug-resistant gonorrhea that's emerging. So, put that rubber on and shut the fuck up.

Well said!!! The viewpoint of guys have changed totally towards raw after the so called prep thing! They think that by going on prep they are behind the supershield and nothing can go wrong with uninhibited acts! So much misconception!!!

[Guy Fawkes]

I vote no, One Thread, In the appropriate forum is all that is needed. Multiple threads lead to confusion.

Ding!

 

This should be in Deli & Ask an Escort.

[Larstrup]

I vote no, One Thread, In the appropriate forum is all that is needed. Multiple threads lead to confusion.

 

Yes, because too much information about STI/STD transmission and infection in the USA, in too many places, will lead to confusion in others about how they're transmitted to others. I never thought I'd live to see the day where the suffocation of sexual health protection and information could be so blatantly disregarded.

[Guy Fawkes]

 

Yes, because too much information about STI/STD transmission and infection in the USA, in too many places, will lead to confusion in others about how they're transmitted to others. I never thought I'd live to see the day where the suffocation of sexual health protection and information could be so blatantly disregarded.