jackofallgeeks | AIDs Prevention

From This article on an increasing trend in AIDs infections:

Simply focusing on treatment or politically uncontroversial prevention methods will not suffice. "You can't put all your eggs in the abstinence basket," said Hays. "We need a menu of strategies for real people," he said, adding that condom distribution as well as new methods, such as a vaccine, are needed.

OK, so we all know my personal stance here, but I'm honestly curious: I hear a lot of talk about condoms and the like as a means of 'safe sex,' but I've never seen any statistics on it. Generally I take all statistics with a grain of salt anyways (too many ways to bend the numbers, in my opinion), but I know there's still a chance of pregnancy when using condoms, so I'm just curious what things look like numerically on AIDs prevention.

And I'll be honest, what bothers me the most about the "can't put all your eggs in the abstinence basket" quip is the implication that we as humans generally lack the self-control to not sleep around. I mean, we're not really talking about a religious issue here any more -- the answer to "what's wrong with having sex" is no longer "God doesn't like it," it's "you could get AIDs and die." One would imagine that's a big enough stick to get most people to at least think about who they're sleeping with -- at the very least you shouldn't sleep with someone you know is sick, right? And you certainly shouldn't sleep with someone you can't trust is being honest about their sexual history. So... yeah. That's my thought for the moment.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I feel like the "Don't sleep around" arguement is alot like the "Doc, it hurts when I do this; Then don't do that," response. Sure, in a perfect world, people wouldn't sleep around, but the fact of the matter is that they do. I think the biggest problem is that the general public still isn't educated about HIV and AIDS. We're only just now realizing, "Hey! I don't have to be a black, gay, heroin addict to get AIDS!" so people honestly don't realize how true the "You could get AIDS and die" arguement is.

The really, really scary part about AIDS, of course, is that you don't have to sleep around to get it. Something like 1 in 3 people living with HIV has no idea that they're infected. So, the person you meet and marry at age 30 who slept with one steady boyfriend in college when she was 21 could have AIDS.

I'm not really sure about the statistics of condoms and AIDS prevention, but I know that if they're used properly, they're something like 98% effective against pregnancy, so I would have to assume that the odds are about the same for the transmission of STDs. The virus is transmitted through blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk, and the only way its caught is if the virus enters the blood stream through contact with mucous membranes (mouth, vagina, urethra, anus) or through direct contact (which is why medical needles are now disposable). So, by using a condom to prevent mucous membranes from being exposed, you're essentially cutting off the means of transmission. I'm sure the statistics are out there, but even without them, on paper, it seems like a pretty safe bet.

Very useful information -- that's what I was thinking per the usefulness of condoms, bodily fluids (now I've got that Dr. Strangelove 'vital essence' bit running through my head...)

You're right about people not being educated, but there's a difference between giving people an 'easy' solution and educating them, and I generally think education is the better plan. yeah, people sleep around; I don't really expect them not to, but I've personal experience that shows it's possible. "People can, they just won't" seems like a weak argument to me, and while we should plan for the faults of humanity, I don't really think it's right to cater to them.

Even aside from all that, though, it's a matter of prudence, I think, to at least know who you're sleeping with an what their health is -- and I wouldn't leave it up to good faith, either. Get tested to be sure. Knock on wood, and all (that's the impression that I get, anyways).

And it's notable that your definition of 'sleep around' and mine are ever-so-slightly different, which does at least stem from my religious convictions. Even at that, though, it's been my understanding that blood tests are routine for pending marriages, and if they're not I think they ought to be.

"People can, they just won't" seems like a weak argument to me, and while we should plan for the faults of humanity, I don't really think it's right to cater to them.

I agree with that completely. The real reason I think we need to get with the program as far as AIDS prevention and research goes is because, while in the US it may have a lot ot do with young people not being able to keep their pants on, in other countries, it has much more to do with true lack of education, modern cultural norms, and the like. In Africa, for instance, an unreasonable number of children are born with AIDS. I feel like those babies deserve to be able to be treated for a disease that was completely not their fault, and that they're who we should be planning for. And, if other people can benefit from that, well, bully for them.

Even at that, though, it's been my understanding that blood tests are routine for pending marriages, and if they're not I think they ought to be.
Anymore, that seems to be the exception and not the norm. I know that in Maryland, for instance, there are no blood tests, and that there's testing in DC, but it just makes many people choose to get married in Virginia. I"m still not sure how I feel about that issue, but I agree that it could probably go a long way towards making a difference.

I"m still not sure how I feel about that issue, but I agree that it could probably go a long way towards making a difference.

Mind, I don't think it should be legislated necessarily, but it should be routine. People should quirk their eyebrows in that "oh, well, ok" kind of way when they hear that you didn't or aren't getting blood tests done. More often than not, I really do just want the government out of my hair.

You're right on the African nations, but I'm at even more of a loss on solutions for them as I am on solutions for us. True, condoms will keep children from being born with AIDs, but only because it'll keep them from being born (or even conceived) at all. Until there's some other 'fix', those that are still born will be at the same risk for AIDs (generally speaking -- cleaner parents make for cleaner children, but I'm unsure how much of an impact wider use of condoms would have on that issue).

There's plenty of lack of education in the US, too. Anecdotally, I can tell you that the lack of knowledge about sex shown by some of my friend's students when she taught middle-school (and yeah, the kids are young, but a bunch of them were already sexually active - 14-15 year olds) was shocking. We're talking things like, "oh, you can't get pregnant if you have sex standing up" and "only gay people get AIDS."

I've just spent way too much time tracking down studies for my other comment, so you'll have to trust my anecdote for the moment. :)

Thing is about pregnancy vs. HIV - there are three days per cycle (so roughly per month) that having sex can result in a woman getting pregnant (the egg is only able to be fertilized for roughly 24 hours, while the sperm can live in a woman's body waiting for said egg for those three days). So to get a 2% pregnancy rate on a condom, that condom has to be failing was more often than that, since for 26+/- days out of the month a torn condom will not lead to pregnancy because it can't. There is, however no comparable good or bad time for HIV exposure.

Incidentally, condoms are roughly 98% effective in the US, but that's not with perfect use. Failure rates with perfect use are significantly lower, at least in theory (since no one uses them perfectly) - US laws mandate standards, such as only 1-in-400 (so about .25%) failing a "leak test" (and even condoms that would fail a leak test reduce STD transmission and pregnancy chances).

Data's in the CDC study I cite below.

AIDs Prevention

no subject

Sorry about the Serious Thoughts

Re: Sorry about the Serious Thoughts

no subject

Re: Sorry about the Serious Thoughts

no subject

no subject