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Preventing Herpes Transmission
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Preventing Herpes Transmission Since 70% of adults carry some form of the herpes virus, it’s likely that at some point you’ll encounter someone who has it. Herpes is not life-threatening, but it is an annoyance and embarrassing if you’re a responsible person and you tell prospective partners that you have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Most people don’t even know they have it, especially men. They’ll just figure it’s "jock itch" and ignore it. That’s why it gets spread because many would prefer to deny having an STD than be responsible about it. An interesting thing to note is that most people stop breaking out entirely after age 50. The prevalence of the virus is why it's important to know how to avoid transmitting it if you’ve got it or how to avoid getting it if you don’t. Here are a couple things are very safe sex when dealing with someone who has genital herpes: • All manner of stroking, touching and massaging the other person as long as you don't touch your own genitals, eyes or nose after touching the infected genitals without washing first with soap and water • Tantric practices for sharing energy without genital contact: breathing, chanting, visualizing chakra energy and spooning together • Mutual masturbation. Following are my suggestions for safer sex: Note: It’s called "safer" rather than "safe sex." If you want to have absolutely safe sex, masturbation is the way to go. 1) The first rule is use a condom every time for intercourse. Supposedly, the skin on the genitals and anus of a person with herpes is always shedding the virus. So, an infected person is always potentially contagious. There is a much lower risk when no lesions are present. Herpes survivors usually know when an outbreak is coming on because their genitals will itch for a couple days in advance and then the small bumps appear, about the size of a thumb tack head. How often "H" people break out depends on the person's general health. It takes a week or so for them to go away completely. For the uninfected partner to be 100% safe, he or she needs to use a condom every time for intercourse. The latest generation of the drug acyclovir, called Valtrex, according to the website herpes dot org, reduces the asymptomatic shedding by 70%, cutting the risk of contracting the virus by 50%. I complained to a friend who is the Queen of All Sexual Knowledge about condom discomfort, and she clued me in to the FC Female Condom (made of polyurethane rather than latex from Mayer Laboratories, mayerlabs dot com, in a rectangular box with red and yellow type in the drugstore next to male condoms; sometimes a little hard to spot) and an innovative way to use them. Rather than put them on myself, she suggested I pull out the plastic ring that keeps the female condom in place on the cervix and put lube on the guy’s dick before sliding the female condom onto him. Then, I cover the exterior of the condom with more lube, and we’re good to go. The advantage of the female condom is that it doesn’t squeeze the penis so uncomfortably and it moves just a little. Actually, it’s still like fucking with a plastic bag between you, but at least it doesn’t rub painfully the way other condoms have. The one hitch is that the guy needs to hold it on to avoid cum spillage when pulling out after coming. Because if he spills his fluid on your yoni it’s the same as having had unprotected sex. Hmmm…I’ll have to test and see if the difference with these condoms is using a silicone lube that isn’t absorbed into the skin. Maybe that’s why there’s better glide. More testing is needed to compare standard condoms with silicone lube versus the very expensive FCs. They’re about $2 a pop so he’d better be damned good and help me get my money’s worth! 2) Be aware of hands and where they’ve been. Don't move your hands from the genitals of the infected partner to your own without washing your hands with soap. It might be simplest to dedicate your right hand to your partner and your left to yourself I also typically have gloves available as I use them every time with the women with whom I exchange G-spot massages. 3) Oral sex has the lowest risk of STD transmission, according to the counselor at the county's disease control prevention office. In 20 years of dealing with the virus, I have not seen any cases of genital to oral transmission among the dozens of friends and who have the virus. Genital herpes really like to hang out in the genital hot spot. Who can blame them? 4) The lube or massage oil bottle is one of the prime sources of transmission. Therefore, in a setting with one STD and non-STD people, one bottle is for use with the person with STD. Put a condom on the one for the STD person to mark it and to keep from getting the virus on the bottle. And then keep the hand thing in mind. 5) Wash your genitals immediately after sex with a warm washcloth, soap and water. It's a lovely nurturing ritual that can help greatly to prevent transmission. 6) Don't share sex toys without a condom. I have a whole range of butt plugs and dildos and like them quite a lot. If men are open to it, I'm pretty handy at stimulating the prostate gland in the ass, sometimes called “The P Spot.” It feels really good if one relaxes into it. There's a reason gay men like lots of sex! Liking anal stimulation does not make you gay. It makes you smart! But, it’s a good idea for each person to have his or her own sex toys. I recommend silicone butt plugs with bulges that gradually get smaller further from the base which needs flange on the end (to keep it from journeying up your asshole, never to return). And remember that silicone toys do not mix well with silicone lubes. For some reason, the lube eats them up, so use a water-based lube on silicone sex toys. There, that about covers it. It requires discipline to avoid transmission of the herpes virus if you have delightfully uninhibited sexual play that goes on for hours, but it is possible. (c) 2007 AskAphrodite |
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4/24/2007 3:35 pm |
Silicone lube damages silicone toys because silicone has one strange property, it bonds to itself. I assume if we were to do some kind of chemical formula, there is a free electron or something.....so they meld when they come in contact with each other.... Later! {=} ~~"I can scream as loud as your last one, but I can't claim innocence."~~
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