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Monkey Pox & Massages


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Guest untakenalias

Not to be a total downer, but with monkey pox cases rising in several major US cities, I was wondering if this has changed how anyone thinks about / goes about massages, especially ones that involve more than just hands? CDC guidance suggests massages may be a transmission vector, so just wondering if anyone has thought about how to navigate this. Thanks! 

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2 hours ago, Lucky said:

I know that I would not massage a monkey under current conditions.

I sometimes have a monkey massage my clients (only when they are laying prone and can’t see what I’m doing). My monkey does their back etc while I catch up with the paperwork and put some washing on. He’s very good, no one notices the difference. I’ve trained him not to bite my clients’ nuts (although some clients were quite partial to that 😳). 

Unfortunately now I’ll have to lay him off. If anyone has work for a massage trained monkey please let me know. 

Seriously though… this condition is just another thing to be mindful of when giving or receiving massage. If you’ve any skin conditions or any contra indications for massage then don’t have a massage, or give one! Get yourself checked regularly at the clinic, be body aware about what to look for, use good masseurs who follow proper hygiene protocols. Avoid those who subcontract their work to monkeys…🙊
 

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Gay Pride in NYC is next weekend .

Let's see what the infection numbers are by Fourth of July. Traditionally this weekend turns into a giant orgy with multiple sex parties advertised and every escort from across the globe heads to town to pick up a bit of the action. Scary to consider the potental super spreader event if someone from one of these European circuit parties travels to NYC 😳

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  • 4 weeks later...

Bumping this. I guess it’s easier to make light of the issue than to confront it. But I’m definitely worried. There aren’t any real resources in regards to information, vaccinations, and treatment options. I’ve been holding back on going to see even my regulars in fear of possible consequences. From what I’ve read, cases continue to rise and mode of transmission doesn’t even need to be sexual. 

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44 minutes ago, Lfeegrin said:

Bumping this. I guess it’s easier to make light of the issue than to confront it. But I’m definitely worried. There aren’t any real resources in regards to information, vaccinations, and treatment options. I’ve been holding back on going to see even my regulars in fear of possible consequences. From what I’ve read, cases continue to rise and mode of transmission doesn’t even need to be sexual. 

I dont follow your meaning. There are plenty of resources, starting with the CDC, your state health department and your primary care physician.  I got the vaccine last week. Most of my friends and acquaintances in the gay community got their vaccines in the past week or have it lined up for the coming week.  
 

Where are you located? If in a smaller city the risk of transmission is probably lower but the vaccine should be available shortly if not already. To date nobody has died in the USA to my knowledge, as treatment options are available. Chin up, fella. 

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Full transparency (while posting under a disguised username) I’m a lover of massage and my partner doesn’t know it. Other than an occasional massage, I am otherwise faithful. 
 

I am incredibly concerned about monkey pox transmission from massage. I’ve always felt that I was “cheating” safely by only having touch (no oral no anal) but now that may be thrown out the window. 
 

 

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53 minutes ago, NYMassageAddict said:

I am incredibly concerned about monkey pox transmission from massage. I’ve always felt that I was “cheating” safely by only having touch (no oral no anal) but now that may be thrown out the window. 

I hear ya! While not exactly in your shoes, yesterday I decided to step back from massage until I’m vaccinated. A more active friend of mine has it, and the husband of a friend is awaiting his results. My married friend is obviously distraught on a number of levels. I don’t think either has anything to do with massages or spas, but odds of exposure here in NYC seem high enough to me to warrant a break.

Edited by EVdude
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2 hours ago, FrankR said:

I dont follow your meaning. There are plenty of resources, starting with the CDC, your state health department and your primary care physician.  I got the vaccine last week. Most of my friends and acquaintances in the gay community got their vaccines in the past week or have it lined up for the coming week.  
 

Where are you located? If in a smaller city the risk of transmission is probably lower but the vaccine should be available shortly if not already. To date nobody has died in the USA to my knowledge, as treatment options are available. Chin up, fella. 

Where are you located? I’m in LA and the vaccine is by invitation only and very difficult to get, and no one knows when we will have more. I’m very frustrated trying to get the vaccine but unable to. 

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48 minutes ago, newportbeachdude77 said:

Where are you located? I’m in LA and the vaccine is by invitation only and very difficult to get, and no one knows when we will have more. I’m very frustrated trying to get the vaccine but unable to. 

 New York City.

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3 hours ago, FrankR said:

I dont follow your meaning. There are plenty of resources, starting with the CDC, your state health department and your primary care physician.  I got the vaccine last week. Most of my friends and acquaintances in the gay community got their vaccines in the past week or have it lined up for the coming week.  
 

Where are you located? If in a smaller city the risk of transmission is probably lower but the vaccine should be available shortly if not already. To date nobody has died in the USA to my knowledge, as treatment options are available. Chin up, fella. 

Is there any truth to if we've received the chicken pox vaccine in our younger years, it will help against monkey pox?  I've had the chicken pox in my teens and may have taken the vaccine after that when it became available.  I'll share with you guys that I attended my first au natural wine and cheese gathering in NYC to celebrate Bastille Day.  Doing something like that was way out of character and my comfort zone for me but after a few glasses of wine, caution is thrown to the wind.  It was a friendly group which was portrayed to be a social gathering but by the last half hour with everyone feeling good, guys start getting frisky.  This thread makes me think it wasn't the ideal time for me to make my debut between monkeypox and the increasing rate of coronavirus.  You've got to think of going to the gym as well.  Skin contact and sweating on machines is a point of contact.  Best to wipe off machines/bikes before using.

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On 6/18/2022 at 5:18 PM, untakenalias said:

Not to be a total downer, but with monkey pox cases rising in several major US cities, I was wondering if this has changed how anyone thinks about / goes about massages, especially ones that involve more than just hands? CDC guidance suggests massages may be a transmission vector, so just wondering if anyone has thought about how to navigate this. Thanks! 

 I'm avoiding bathhouses/saunas/spas until either I get the monkey pox vaccines or until the outbreaks stop.  That means no massages in bathhouses for me at the moment.  But I'm still getting massages at my home or the provider's home or office.

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2 hours ago, Redwine56 said:

Is there any truth to if we've received the chicken pox vaccine in our younger years, it will help against monkey pox?  I've had the chicken pox in my teens and may have taken the vaccine after that when it became available.  I'll share with you guys that I attended my first au natural wine and cheese gathering in NYC to celebrate Bastille Day.  Doing something like that was way out of character and my comfort zone for me but after a few glasses of wine, caution is thrown to the wind.  It was a friendly group which was portrayed to be a social gathering but by the last half hour with everyone feeling good, guys start getting frisky.  This thread makes me think it wasn't the ideal time for me to make my debut between monkeypox and the increasing rate of coronavirus.  You've got to think of going to the gym as well.  Skin contact and sweating on machines is a point of contact.  Best to wipe off machines/bikes before using.

I hear this all the time - folks confuse smallpox vaccine with chickenpox vaccine. Smallpox vaccine will provide protection for monkeypox, chickenpox vaccine won’t. Please do consult with a medical professional - I am not one. Ive just been reading up. 

Edited by FrankR
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4 hours ago, newportbeachdude77 said:

Where are you located? I’m in LA and the vaccine is by invitation only and very difficult to get, and no one knows when we will have more. I’m very frustrated trying to get the vaccine but unable to. 

It’s very much the same here in NYC. Big ad campaign to get the monkeypox vaccine, yet the supply, and appointments are in such short supply it’s nigh impossible to gent. I actually know more gents living here who have gotten the vaccine outside NY than those that have gotten it here in the city. 
 

BBD 

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1 hour ago, FrankR said:

I hear this all the time - folks confuse smallpox vaccine with chickenpox vaccine. Smallpox vaccine will provide protection for monkeypox, chickenpox vaccine won’t. Please do consult with a medical professional - I am not one. Ive just been reading up. 

Well then, I'm certain we've all gotten the smallpox vaccine. . . However, many years ago.  Can we be hopeful that it may offer some protection from the monkeypox?

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38 minutes ago, Redwine56 said:

Well then, I'm certain we've all gotten the smallpox vaccine. . . However, many years ago.  Can we be hopeful that it may offer some protection from the monkeypox?

They stopped giving the smallpox vaccine to infants in the US sometime in 1972. 

 I have been trying unsuccessfully to find out when in 1972 they stopped, because I turned 1 in the first quarter of that year, so I may or may not have had the shot.

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Even if you got the vaccine in 1972, that was a looong time ago.  50 years.   Immunity doesn’t last that long.  My gay doctor in nyc who sees all kinds of stuff pop up and is super preventative  just gave me shots a few years back for all the stuff I got as a kid, like measles mumps rubella. When I told him, “but I got these already” he laughed and said, “yes. But they don’t last forever”.   Haha.    Bitch.   

Edited by Jdy718
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15 hours ago, Jdy718 said:

Even if you got the vaccine in 1972, that was a looong time ago.  50 years.   Immunity doesn’t last that long.  My gay doctor in nyc who sees all kinds of stuff pop up and is super preventative  just gave me shots a few years back for all the stuff I got as a kid, like measles mumps rubella. When I told him, “but I got these already” he laughed and said, “yes. But they don’t last forever”.   Haha.    Bitch.   

Exactly. Immunity wanes over time. From what I have read we don't know how long the immunity from the small pox vaccine lasts. Though all of us who were vaccinated probably carry some immunity, it may not be strong enough to afford what is called "sterilizing immunity", which is prevention of infection from the smallpox virus, which is considered effectively extinct. It's the same concept why people over 50 are recommended to get the shingles vaccine even though we all had chicken pox as children.

Also, articles I have read say that the smallpox vaccine is 85% effective at preventing infection with monkey pox. So with only ~85% protection under optimal ("fresh") immunity conditions multiplied by the factor of waning immunity over the decades since receiving the smallpox vaccine, our protection from monkey pox infection probably isn't great.

As of July 15, there are 461 cases in NYC, up from around 336 a week on July 13 (this ramp up surprises even pessimist me), and none of the 336 individuals identify as women. So odds are that it's still spreading in the population in NYC (and other cities that have recently had events that promote/lead to lots of body-to-body contact, such as Pride in San Francisco).

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/monkeypox/data-daily-cases-demographics-071522.pdf

Chances are that we are only at the beginning of the outbreak. The New Yorker had a good article on the situation a couple of days ago.

https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/whats-at-stake-in-the-fight-against-monkeypox

For me (and acknowledging that everybody has their risk acceptance levels), these are scary numbers. So now, after well over a year off massage tables because of COVID, I am again abstaining, at least until I can get the monkey pox vaccine.

Edited by musclvr
typo
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