Yo! I'm gonna feel really stupid for asking but can someone clear this whole topic with me? Starting with how STDs are passed, what to do, etc. I'm pretty sure my school never covered this with me, they just had assemblies saying, "Don't have sex! Use a condom!" Like Mean Girls. lol. I'd also like info on a healthy gay sexuality and what not. Like if you and your partner do not have any viruses, can you have all the unprotected sex you want? I mean if you were gay and didn't have to worry about pregnancy. Can you start a new virus? I'm so confused and this topic has been kind of hidden from me from people who think I'm not ready to learn all this or I'm too young. Thanks for the messages if any! :icon_bigg
Uhm... Google for it? Seriously... I'm sure there are lots of good sites online. Here are some I found: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/sexuality/safe_sound_sexy_a_safer_sex_how_to http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/stds-hiv-safer-sex/safer-sex-4263.htm http://www.lgbthealthchannel.com/stdmsm/index.shtml As for your question re: both partners not having anything: that's a really risky assumption because often STIs (sexually transmitted infections) have no visible signs, plus, as Dr. House teaches us, people lie. So it is ALWAYS advisable to have protected sex with people. Always always. Much easier to get into the habit of being safe(r) rather than trying to gauge each and every situation. Don't be naive and assume that just because someone tells you they are "clean" (hate that term--people with STIs are not "dirty"), that they definitely are. Can you start a new virus? No... viruses can mutate, of course, but that would require one or both of you to have one and usually happens over an extensive enough period that individuals generally don't have to worry about being involved. There are different strains of HIV and there is some fear that people who have one strain could get infected with another even though they are already HIV positive but that's not something you need to worry about unless (a) you are HIV positive and (b) you are having unprotected sex. (I.e., some guys who are HIV positive feel they don't need to worry about having protected sex with other guys who are HIV positive because they're both positive so what's the worry, right? Well, the worry is that either they'll pass other infections back and forth or they'll pass different strains of the virus back and forth.)
Don't have sex or you will get pregnant and die! but anyway, previous and future posters will have real (good) information for you...
There is a very good Sticky thread for you http://www.emptyclosets.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2506 Read and enjoy. It has the different types, how they're spread etc etc.
I think that the best advise is already here! So why waste energy, i have noothing beter or new. Good luck!
You sound pretty stressed out by the whole sex thing. Sex is meant to be fun and pleasurable for both parties. If you have doubts and worries this will not be the case. Read up on all the information given above but basically if you ALWAYS use a condom whatever the situation then the risks are nil, you can just have fun and forget about the rest. From my point of view (as a girl) bareback riding is very much over rated for the risks you run.
There's also a good resource section here at EC that has many of the answers that you're looking for: http://emptyclosets.com/home/pages/resources/stds.php
The BEST way is to use condoms.If you use them properly you can be safe anytime.Aids is a very dangerous disease and if you don't want to use condoms,you must know your partner perfectly.If you have confidence in him,you don't have to be afraid.But think about it,homosexual Aids group is the biggest...
Actually I think that it's afrikaan and african american women. But that's beside the point. USE A CONDOM. NO GLOVE NO LOVE.
Seriously, like Vampyrecat was saying. Use a condom. I know I'm beating a dead horse, but let me give you some statistics. Male Condoms have a 10% fail rate. That means that out of 100 condoms, only ten will fail. That fail rate is a lot lower than the rate of getting a STD if you 'ride bareback'. AIDS is only spread through 4 fluids. Semen, breat milk, vaginal fluid, and blood. If you're careful, you won't contract AIDS or HIV. So, don't go drinking breast milk, okay? Other STD's are mostly bacterial infections. Or, like genital herpes, spread through a virus (the HPV virus). Don't assume you're safe until you KNOW you're safe.
I'd just look at the links provided by Vampyrecat or KaraBulut above. They both lead back to info put on EC by KaraBulut's predecessor as EC Medical Expert Jayhew (who sadly passed away early this year). They are very comprehensive and accurate - and should answer any questions you might have.
the only thing i think i can add to is is to say that always wear a condom as others have said, but if you feel like you wish to have unprotected sex then take your partner to a health clinic which offers tests for all STD's. if they all come back negative then you are more than likely free to do whatever you wish, as long as you both remain faithful and don't sleep with any one else as they may have something unpleasant, but the tests will never be 100% accurate so there may still be a slight risk. also if one of you doesn't come back negative then take the recommended treatment and before you know it you will both be as clean as can be =]
I'm pretty sure your 10% figure is WAAAAAY high. If condoms were only 90% effective, we'd see a significantly higher number of seroconversions (people becoming HIV positive). Plus a much huger number of unwanted pregnancies. If you look at wikipedia (not perfect but a good starting point), they throw out some figures that are nowhere near as high as 10% (0.4% to 2.3%). Particularly, it's stated that HIV infection is reduced 85% when condoms are used (which is not the same as 15% failure rate), which changes HIV infection rates from 6.7 per 100 person years to 0.9 per 100 person years. (I had to look up person-years: The total sum of the number of years that each member of a study population has been under observation; e.g., years of treatment with a certain drug. I also downloaded the study to which these figures are attributed.) Which means that if you randomly follow around say 200 people who use condoms ALWAYS for 6 months, 0.9 will become HIV positive. Or basically 1. And one assumes that's people with random sexual patterns (i.e. some won't have sex for the period, some will have lots with a few people, some will have lots with a lot of people, some will have a bit with a lot of people, etc.) HPV (human papillomavirus) causes genital warts, not herpes. Herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus type I or II. It's also worth noting that herpes is incredibly more contagious/hardy than HIV, so while condoms offer you some protection from being infected with herpes, it offers you less than the protection you get from HIV infection. Like HIV, herpes is (so far) incurable. So there are other infections to consider when thinking about having sex. This is why it's generally referred to as "safer" sex and not "safe" sex anymore, because all sex has an element of risk.
It's comprehensive but it's very American... I mean please, abstain and be monogamous are the two first recommendations? Monogamy won't help you if your partner is cheating on you and we all know how effective abstinence advice is. Well okay, maybe we don't all know, but it's pretty crap if someone is planning to have sex to say, "well don't." One might suspect it's particularly crap for authorities to be telling teenagers this. And strangely enough, places with abstinence-based sex ed programs show higher teen pregnancy rates and higher STI occurrence. Which is why a lot of US states are refusing federal funding for sex education that requires an abstinence approach, because they know it doesn't work. So I would read it for the medical advice, not for the social/behavioural advice. And my personal opinion is that it's much more important to protect yourself at all times than it is to only ever have one partner.
I heard that unprotected sex with another man can still cause many problems. First off, there may be no STDs, but check anyway. Can't hurt. Second, remember that a person's bowels is crawling with bacteria (even after enemas and douching). You can easily contract it through your penis, and it can cause some serious problems. Having unprotected anal *could* be deadly, but if you choose to practice unprotected sex, that's a risk you and your partner have to take. Have some condoms and antibacterial wipes/soap if you wanted to practice it safely.
Dammit, about the genital herpes, it's summer break....mixed my facts up, I apologize. Thanks for pointing that out joeyconnick. And I should have stated this in my post, all of my statistics came from health class and we didn't cover 'gay sex' just 'straight sex'. So, some of the info might be out of date or it might not be. I can only go on what that class told me.
