Mind Games

9:22 PM

Our emotional wellbeing can effect whether we f*ck with condoms or not. Things such as loneliness, depression, poor body image, and low self-esteem can mean abandoning condoms for reasons including needing human contact, trying to prove attractiveness, fear of rejection or feeling you don't deserve to protect yourself. All these issues can be treated with counseling. Talking to a counsellor about personal stuff may feel like talking to a stranger, but it may be worth overcoming some shyness to avoid HIV or an STI being the result of your last bout of the "blues."

An unhealthy relationship can also be the source of emotional problems. Physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, social and financial abuse are all characteristics of an unhealthy relationship. A partner can use any of this abuse to force or manipulate the other into having sex without condoms. Abuse is unacceptable in a relationship. You are worth more.

Source: Victorian AIDS Council/ Gay Men's Health Centre, Victoria, Australia

Comments (0)

Pulling Out: Protection or Not

9:05 PM

Some guys think that pulling out before they come is an effective way of avoiding passing on or getting HIV. However, this is NOT a reliable way to reduce the risk of sex without condoms. This is because:
  • Pre-cum (the fluid that leaks from the tip of the penis during stimulation) can also contain HIV and can pass it on long before anyone has come.
  • The guy doing the screwing may accidentally come before he has a chance to withdraw.
  • A casual hook-up may not honor an agreement to pull out before he comes.
  • If you're screwing without condoms, just because the top doesn't come, that doesn't mean that the bottom couldn't pass on HIV if he's HIV-positive. HIV can pass from the bottom's anus into the top's cock via the opening at the tip of the cock or through the skin of the cock in tiny abrasions cause by friction during sex.
Source: Victorian AIDS Council/ Gay Men's Health Centre, Victoria, Australia

Comments (0)

PEP

8:42 PM

PEP (POS-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a four-week course of anti-HIV treatment drugs you can take if you think you may have just been exposed yourself to HIV through unprotected sex or by sharing a needle. PEP can, in most cases, stop HIV from establishing itself in the body and prevent you from becoming HIV-positive, if the PEP treatment is begun within 72 hours of exposure to HIV and taken correctly over the next 28 days.

PEP is a combination of two, or sometimes three, of the anti-HIV treatment drugs that HIV-positive people take daily to minimize the virus's ability to multiply in their body.

PEP is NOT a morning after pill that makes it easy and safe to have unprotected sex. PEP is no picnic; you have to take two or three drugs every day for 28 days for it to work. These often cause very unpleasant side effects such as nausea and headaches. The easiest way to avoid having to take PEP is to wrap it up i.e., use a condom and water-based lube.

Source: Victorian AIDS Council/ Gay Men's Health Centre, Victoria, Australia

Comments (0)

Rectal Douching: Is Keeping Clean Risky?

9:40 AM

Studies of men who have sex with men have demonstrated that douching increases the risk of HIV infection. Because douching can cause minor abrasions in the anus and washes away the protective mucous cells from the rectal lining, it facilitates the movement of HIV into the bloodstream when exposed to infected body fluids during unprotected anal sex. Also, douching after sex only pushes semen or blood further into the body. However, if you do douche, it should not become a daily routine. Many experts contend that douching or enemas too often can cause bowel problems.

Comments (0)

Labels:

What to Do With a Mouth Filled with Cum

11:48 AM

Performing and receiving oral sex carry very low risk of HIV infection. However, you can get other STDs such as Syphilis, gonorrhea and hepatitis A. Although HIV risk is low, the presence of gum disease, oral lesions, cold sores, ulcers, resent dental work or STDs such as gonorrhea increase risk by providing routes for HIV to enter the bloodstream.

So far, there is no evidence that shows that swallowing semen is high risk for HIV transmission, although there have been a few case reports over the past 25 years of HIV being transmitted this way. Some researchers believe that it is less risky to swallow semen than to spit. They reason that stomach acids would kill any virus swallowed, while spitting might rupture something in the mouth causing open wounds and transmission in blood. Others suggest that both spitting and swallowing are acceptable ways to handle cum in your mouth as long as either is done quickly. Still others advise that you pull out to prevent contact between semen and your gums.

For more information check out the following:

http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/sexual.html#oral

Comments (0)

Labels:

HIV Risk: Tops vs. Bottoms

11:29 AM

In anal sex, a top is the insertive partner and a bottom is the receptive partner. Numerous studies have shown that a bottom is at much greater risk for HIV infection than a top during unprotected anal sex. The reason for this is that the lining of the rectum is more likely to come into contact with more HIV infected fluids and is more vulnerable to infection than the urethra.

However, the risk is still very real for even the most devout tops. During unprotected anal sex, the rectum is prone to microscopic tearing that could expose the top to infected blood. Additionally, any sores on the penis dramatically increase risk, and may be evidence of an STD that needs attention. The risk for HIV infection is higher for uncircumcised tops since semen, rectal fluids and vaginal secretions can get trapped beneath the foreskin and create a place for prolonged contact with the penis.

To learn more, check out the following:

http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/sexual.html#anal


Comments (0)

Labels:

What is SERO-SORTING?

7:52 PM


SERO-SORTING

Sero-sorting is the practice of identifying social and sexual partners based on their HIV status. This can be controversial for being used to engage in sexual activities without regard to safer sex practices as either participants were free of HIV or were already carriers. Although sero-sorting has been around for years, it's become more prevalent because the way we socialize has evolved in the technological age. Some health professionals will cite sero-sorting as a harm reduction method for gay men to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV infection.

BUT sero-sorting is not risk free. For people who are negative there are many concerns such as people not being sure of their HIV status, or lying about it. Even a recent negative HIV test may not be valid, if they are still within the window period after a recent possible exposure. Another consideration is that just because someone does not have HIV does not mean that they are free of other sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis or hepatitis B.

For HIV+ people, having unprotected sex with a positive partner puts them at risk of becoming infected with another strain. The risk is that someone with a less aggressive, drug susceptible strain of the virus, who might be managing their infection with available drugs, could be exposed to an aggressively, drug-resistant strain.It is important to always make an informed decision about your personal life and your sexual health.

Check out these articles if you would like to learn more about sero-sorting:

From About.com
What is sero-sorting? How Does it Decrease HIV Infection Rates?
By Mark Cichocki, R.N., Updated: May 10, 2007
http://aids.about.com/od/hivpreventionquestions/f/serosort.htm

From The San Francisco AIDS Foundation
http://www.sfaf.org/beta/2007_win/serosorting.html

From AIDS Map
Serosorting, HIV optimism and gay men in Sydney
Michael Carter, May 17, 2006
http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/6872D4C3-1FA8-48A7-B006-64BAE8D38FEC.asp

Comments (0)

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)