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Category: Health

  • "The change has taken place in the head and not between the legs." - Conversation with a PrEP activist

    "The change has taken place in the head and not between the legs." - Conversation with a PrEP activist

    "Only fuck with rubber!". This rule was enforced for many years. For some time now, however, science has shown that safer sex is also possible without a condom - as demonstrated by protection through therapy or PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). The latter prevention option in particular is currently causing a furore. The principle: HIV-negative people take a tablet every day to protect themselves against HIV. What has been officially recommended in the USA since 2012 is currently only possible in the EU via detours. A scandal, says Emmanuel, among others. The 30-year-old Berlin-based PrEP activist with French-Israeli roots can hardly imagine life without the protection provided by the tablet.

    Emmanuel, you moved to Berlin five years ago. What did you think about safer sex in the past?
    Until then, my view of the world was quite simple: we almost all use rubbers. Sometimes an accident happens and an infection can occur, but ultimately everyone knows the risks and gets tested regularly. The only way to be able to fuck without a rubber is in a monogamous partnership, after you have been tested together. Only then can you get the official "stamp" authorising you to fuck without a condom.

    But the world wasn't that simple after all.
    Yes, because it became increasingly clear that the traditional black and white thinking no longer works: "positive" and "negative" or "safe" and "unsafe" - what does that mean today? We now know that an HIV-positive person on successful HIV treatment cannot become infected. On the other hand, there are many supposedly HIV-negative people who are unaware of their infection and are travelling without a condom...

    Emmanuel_3
    Because he finds it unacceptable that access to PrEP is almost impossible in Germany, Emmanuel has become a PrEP activist. (Photo: iwwit.de)

    Time and experience have shown me that a lot of guys don't use rubbers after all, or only under pressure. I was often rejected because I didn't want to fuck bareback. Then there were also two cases where the rubber "disappeared" or "slipped away". - That broke my sense of security and control.

    And what led you to PrEP?
    I came to a point where I had to decide: either I live in constant fear of HIV, which is why I can't enjoy sex without restrictions. Or I give up and accept that HIV is not an "if" but a "when". I've always met young men with this attitude: "I'm going to get HIV at some point anyway. When it happens, I'll just get treatment." But this attitude was out of the question for me.

    Fortunately, I found out about PrEP at this point and knew immediately that this was exactly the third option I needed.

    What did those around you say when you started PrEP? What were their reactions?
    That was very different. Straight people actually liked it very much. Gays, on the other hand, had problems with it and were sometimes quite moralistic. I think this has to do with the fact that after 30 years of the "condom only" message, some gays find it difficult to give up this almost sacred message. After all, we have all learnt that anal intercourse without a condom is a "sin". And now comes someone who thinks that sex without a condom is no longer unsafe?

    Has your sex life changed with PrEP?
    I had a pretty wild time with PrEP at the beginning and tried a lot of things (laughs)... And now I know better where my limits are. The much bigger change ultimately took place in my head and not between my legs. Suddenly I was able to allow and feel a closeness and intimacy that I hadn't known before. My everyday life has also been different since then. The fear of HIV was often at the back of my mind - these constant calculations about who I did what with and where there could be a risk have stopped with PrEP. Before PrEP, I had no idea how much influence fear had on my whole life - and not just my sex life.

    What do you say to opponents who claim that PrEP opens the door to other sexually transmitted infections?
    Everyone who takes PrEP under medical supervision is tested for STIs every 3 months and treated if necessary. Yes, there's plenty of other rubbish. These are mostly smear infections against which condoms only provide partial protection, and half of the cases are often asymptomatic. Anyone who claims that they don't need to go to the doctor for regular smear tests because they always fuck with a condom and have no symptoms is lulling themselves and their partners into a false sense of security.

    PrEP could change the situation - finally, the very men who could benefit most from it would seek frequent medical advice and get tested for STIs! Couldn't this even lead to a reversal of the gonorrhoea epidemic?

    You started campaigning for PrEP as an activist. Why did you do this?
    Because I find it sad that young gay men consciously take the risk of infection when a new, additional protection option has been available for 4 years! And also because I find it unacceptable that access to PrEP is almost impossible in Germany. If the issue wasn't so morally charged, or if HIV was a problem for the hetero community, PrEP would have been available long ago. I want to make access to PrEP easier for others in the community.

    How are you specifically campaigning for PrEP?
    I started a Planetromeo club to spread information about how to get PrEP in Germany ("PrEP-info-DE"). But of course that's not enough. As a next step, we hope to have our own website and a Facebook group soon. There are other activists who are doing a lot - for example the LoveLazers, or PANSY, which is organising a monthly evening about sex and drugs from 28.04.2016: https://www.facebook.com/LetsTalkAboutSexAndDrugs 

    PrEP is already a reality. Let's not miss the chance to use it properly. This is the only way we have a chance of reducing the rate of new HIV infections!

    Emmanuel_2
    Emmanuel has been a "PrEPster" since summer 2015. (Photo: iwwit.de)
  • Sense of security in the arse?

    Sense of security in the arse?

    The whole drama surrounding safer sex is reflected in the "pre-ejaculate"; for AIDS counsellors, the constant drop of lust is the supreme discipline. After all, who believes what they know? A commentary by Holger Wicht

    That's how nice they look before they get wet!

    Nobody has probably noticed it yet, but the male member is somewhat reminiscent of Gremlins: when it gets wet, it gets serious.

    Perhaps that needs explaining: The 1984 film "Gremlins - Little Monsters" was about adorable cuddly toys that could quickly turn into biting beasts. If they came into contact with liquid, disaster took its course.

    Now, as we all know, a penis doesn't bite if it is covered with ... let's say ... Saliva comes into contact with the penis. However, as soon as fluid comes out of the penis during oral sex, it is not uncommon for the wind player to withdraw in horror, as the drop promises disaster. This is due to 30 years of HIV prevention: "Get out before it comes!" - most people have deeply internalised this message. We have learnt that anyone who puts semen in their mouth is at risk of HIV infection.

    Now, according to Dr Sommer, the pleasure drop can occasionally make you pregnant, but it is not sperm. Science and prevention have found a solution for the - as the saying goes Pre-liquid was issued with a clear special licence from the outset: The virus concentration in it was not sufficient for HIV transmission during oral sex. To put it more lyrically: You don't get sunburn from the first heralds of spring.

    Sperm no, pleasure drops okay? Who has ever swallowed this message so easily?

    So it could be as simple as that: sperm no, pleasure drops okay. But let's be honest, most of us have never swallowed this message, or the noble drop itself, without a second thought. For many people, the lust drop is a love killer. And from the beginning until today, it has been the supreme discipline of counselling. Because this droplet of bodily fluid reflects the entire universe of safer sex, all the knowledge of transmission probabilities and all the fears and eventualities that leave people with no peace of mind.

    … aber dann!

    In other words: We know that nothing can happen - but does that give us peace of mind?

    In reality, it looks like this: As long as we can't see or taste anything, everything is okay and the little bit of liquid won't kill us. However, as soon as the drop of pleasure enters our perception, however small it is, it can wash out landslide-like worries.

    It starts with the fact that it's not always just one drop; you are confronted with very different quantities. And if it's not just a drop of pleasure, but a drop of lust or even a stream of pleasure - isn't that perhaps the exception to the safer sex rule? Don't the extremely few viruses per microlitre then add up and exceed the dangerous limit?

    Is that still pre-liquid at all? Or is it perhaps already sperm? There are men with a lot of pre-cum and men with sparse semen. Consistencies vary. Both fluids come out of the same orifice in quick succession. Pleasure drops and ejaculate - for the practitioner, these are terms with little discriminatory power!

    And let's be honest: the fact that a "low virus concentration" is not sufficient for an infection is a very shaky construct anyway. Now we're also hearing that a drop of lust in the rectum is very dangerous. The feeling of safety is definitely fucked!

    And anyway: I bit my tongue last night, sabred my gums with dental floss after dinner and mucous membranes are not to be trusted anyway. In this specific case, isn't the door now open to the virus?

    Make friends with the pleasure drop?

    It is a series of irrational fears that are fuelled by the drop of lust, and they are all the more difficult to deal with because they are accompanied by a few justified doubts. That's how it is with safer sex: while we strive for full devotion, we secretly calculate in probabilities - and always with the worst in mind. Residual risks have to be accepted - but they are inflated to the fore because fear is one of the most skilful illusionists under the sun.

    You can't always beat fear out of the field with information, but at least you can limit it. Fortunately, we now know that even a full load of semen in the mouth is only a small risk compared to unprotected anal intercourse. Perhaps this will help us to make friends with the drop of lust?

    If not, I recommend the counselling services of Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe. They are already familiar with the topic.

    The truth about the pleasure trough from research

  • Good drop? Bad drop?

    The pleasure drop is not a problem when giving a blowjob, but it can be enough for an HIV infection when fucking

    Pleasure drops
    Now it's coming out: various risks in the mouth and arse (Photo: Wikipedia)

    "I've heard that the pre-drip, i.e. the pre-juice, is extremely viral. Others say the exact opposite. What is true?" A man recently put this question to the Health Support in Gayromeo. Generally speaking, the pleasure drop is one of the most frequent topics in HIV and safer sex counselling.

    Can you get infected via the pleasure droplet when blowing or fucking? In the new HIV Report of the Deutsche AIDS-Hifle provides detailed answers from the department for medical questions. Here is the summary for practitioners:

    "The old phrase from concrete adverts applies to the pre-drip: it depends what you make of it," says DAH medical consultant Armin Schafberger. "An infection is virtually impossible when giving a blow job, but it's a completely different story when fucking."

    In oral sex, "get out before it comes" is therefore still an excellent method of protecting yourself against HIV. The pleasure drop contains HIV only in a very low concentration, which is not sufficient for transmission. In addition, the oral mucosa is a pretty good barrier.

    However, caution is advised if you have open sores in your mouth. These can spread to other sexually transmitted infections which greatly increase the risk of HIV infection.

    "You don't have to go crazy over every little injury in your mouth," emphasises Armin Schafberger. "It can be dangerous if you have herpes blisters or a syphilis ulcer. Then you should refrain from blowing - for the sake of your partner too, of course. So pay close attention to changes in your mouth and ask your doctor if in doubt!"

    At the Anal sex is generally different from giving a blowjob. It there is a considerable risk of becoming infected with HIV even without squirting. However, it is unclear whether the risk for the "passive" partner is caused by the pleasure drop or by other factors.

    (schaf/tau/howi)

    Sense of security up your arse? The gloss on the topic of the day