June 16, 2011

Prostitutes and swingers all have STD's! an unfortunate & common misconception

While driving to work yesterday I heard a local radio personality announce that all prostitutes have STDs.  This statement immediately hit a raw nerve.  That is quite a blanket statement to make on the radio from someone who obviously is a bit ignorant to any type of lifestyle outside of her own (and yes I did just say prostitution is a lifestyle). 

If you think about it logically, if prostitution is your job, your income, why would you risk riding bareback and catching a disease that would eventually put you out of business?  I'm sure this particular female identifies prostitutes with the women hanging on the corner of Nebraska at 2AM looking rather haggard.

I am asked quite frequently if I worry about STDs.  Do I worry about catching them, how do I know if a potential partner has them, and on and on.  I use the same line of defense as every other health conscious individual - condoms.

About a year ago a study was published about aging swingers being at a high risk for STDs.  The article stated that "In our clinical practice and field work, we started to note that there were several persons who called themselves swingers, who seemed to have STDs more often than other heterosexuals," but the article negelected to state that swingers are most likely more conscious about their sexual health and will be tested regularly.  They call the other goup heterosexuals.  So because I am a swinger I am not hetero? That statement alone shows the ignorance of the writer. The noun should be sudo-monogamous (I will talk about that in another blog).

Since I have been a writer I have come across a multitude of people who find me interesting.  Besides the expected dirty old men, there are tons of swingers, single men and women, couples and working girls.  Some are just looking for another person with a sex positive attitude that lends to a commonality. 

I'm sad to hear another public figure announce erroneous information to the public.  After 10 years in the swinger lifestyle I am proud to say that I have remained STD free!  Please comment on this blog with your thoughts and let me know if you fall into either category - prostitute or swinger!

• STD doesn't just stop by wearing condoms. Genital ulcer diseases can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered. This is true, you can contract a STD (herpes specifically) through skin to skin contact without an active/visible lesion. But it requires the Virus must come in contact with mucosa surfaces or abraded skin for infection to be initiated. For information click here. There is the possibility of transmission with reactivated cutaneous virus (lesion that has not erupted and showing vesicles or blisters) but in my evaluation of the research, we only have studied partners without protection. Obviously, the vaginal canal is a mucous membrane can hide active and inactive lesions...a condom would protect you from these contacts. So you are left with the possibility that skin to skin contact would occur outside of the mucous membranes and allow for transmission through abraded or damaged skin. Seeing there is no clinical evidence that I can find that addressing the likelihood of transmission in patients wearing condoms through condom use you are significantly decreasing the risk of infection. For more information click here. As a medical professional i find it very hard to believe that after 10 years of weekly swinging you never got std. Or did you mean you treated your stds? As a medical professional that has treated straight, gay, bi and transexuals I think I understand a bit about STDs and who is infected in Tampa. Usually the excuse is "the condom broke" AKA "I forgot to use one just once". The majority of these are singles that fail to make the right choice...or vanilla couples where one partner cheats. If you are someone that is sexually active with multiple partners, you have a significant risk of STDs...unless you use protection 100% of the time. Swingers are people that are sexually active with multiple partners, but anyone that has sex with multiple partners has risks...so use a condom! I have treated 13 year-olds (too regularly!!!) and 65 year-olds for STD's and every age in between, the most common denominator is arrogance, ignorance or a philandering significant other. The fact that a medical provider would question someone and demean their lifestyle is a hint that they are blatantly incapable of attending to their patients needs. Don't follow the ignorance of any medical provider that is oblivious of the science behind his profession, trust a provider that will listen to you as a person and not bring judgment to your care...we do exist!
  
• Stay classy, doc! I bet you play golf and have shitty handwriting! (How about those stereotypes, huh?)
  
• sounds like he's presuming no use of protection is involved
  
• wow you would hope he would have done some research before sticking his foot in his mouth.

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