After Creaigslist experience number three, I began to get very worried about Sexually Transmitted Disease. I had little to no education to these matters, and was pretty sure this risky behavior had already left me with a nasty bug.
I called and made an appointment. Walking into that office was just a little less scary than walking in the door of the first dudes house. In other words, I was scared shitless.
But soon I was in the exam room with the "nurse." (I actually don't know if she was a nurse, doctor or Technician) She was calm, and professional. She was also friendly, non-judgmental and polite. She helped explain some of the risks, and offered solutions. Much to my surprise, blowjobs weren't very risky, as far as HIV transmission goes. (by the way, don't take my word for it, please do your own research if you are going to engage in this sutff.) There are other bugs that can get transmitted by oral sex that are easier to catch, including Hepatitis C, but thank god, I hadn't caught anything.
The HIV test results were given to me right there. Negative. The results of the Chlamydia, Herpes, Gonorrhea, Hep C, and other battery of tests could be obtained in a week, by calling back and giving them my anonymous number.
I did call back and I was clean on all accounts.
One caveat, in case you're new to this. It can take three months for HIV to show up on a test. What I mean to say is if one is infected with the HIV virus, it may not show up on a test until three months later, so just being tested and getting a "negative" result, doesn't mean your out of the woods. A second test 3 months later would be needed to be absolutely sure.
Of course this would mean 3 months of abstinence for me. Not sure if I have that kind of will power, now that I have tasted this forbidden fruit.
Jack, even in the early years of the epidemic - before effective treatment would lead to suppression of the virus to undetectable levels, oral sex was conclusively shown to be the route of infection in a tiny fraction of cases, and those were overwhelmingly in men who were sucking, not being sucked. These days, oral sex is almost totally risk-free for HIV transmission if the HIV+ partner is successfully treated. This is also true of anal sex, though this statement is more controversial.
ReplyDeleteHep C can be transmitted orally, but here almost entirely by rimming (or sharing needles), and the risk of transmission is to the rimmer, not the rimmee. I know of no documented Hep C transmission from oral/genital contact; not saying it's impossible, just that I don't know of any.
Public health people always present a worst-case scenario with regard to infection transmission, for entirely understandable reasons. Whether that should exclusively guide one's behavior is a matter of individual choice, comfort with relative risks, etc.