Std Explosion In Progress?

[Ijustwannateach]

It may just be a series of coincidences, but so far in the last 12 months or so I have run into more persons here (Thai and foreign) who have had problems (either exposure or infection) with STDs (minor and major) than in all my previous years of dating combined in any country.

Anecdotally speaking, I believe there is an explosion of STDs in progress which has resulted from irresponsible attitudes towards sex and sex education by public officials and government policy. All the progress which was apparently made when Thailand first realised it had to take HIV seriously may have been lost- in fact, it seems there is a kind of "lost generation," as one of the dividing lines between people who seem to know about safe sex and people who don't is an age line somewhere in the middle twenties. I don't know if there are any government statistics on this, or if they would be reliable considering the tendency of Thais to respond on surveys in the way they feel would please the survey administrator.

If you are an educator, particularly a health educator- please make an effort to confirm that your school's sex education curriculum is up-to-date and comprehensive. If you are dating Thais, please make sure to behave responsibly yourself and- gently, kindly, but effectively- check that they understand what safe sex means and encourage them to practice it in all their relationships. You can get safe sex literature in the Thai language at the Red Cross or in the offices of various other NGOs.

Let's keep it safe out there. Please be aware that some of the more annoying and hard-or-impossible-to-cure diseases are a lot easier to catch than HIV and condoms won't necessarily protect you from them (herpes, genital warts, hepatitis, resistant gonhorrea or syphilis).

"Steven"

[britmaveric]

Wear a condom and be safe.

[farangsay]

It may just be a series of coincidences, but so far in the last 12 months or so I have run into more persons here (Thai and foreign) who have had problems (either exposure or infection) with STDs (minor and major) than in all my previous years of dating combined in any country.

Anecdotally speaking, I believe there is an explosion of STDs in progress which has resulted from irresponsible attitudes towards sex and sex education by public officials and government policy. All the progress which was apparently made when Thailand first realised it had to take HIV seriously may have been lost- in fact, it seems there is a kind of "lost generation," as one of the dividing lines between people who seem to know about safe sex and people who don't is an age line somewhere in the middle twenties. I don't know if there are any government statistics on this, or if they would be reliable considering the tendency of Thais to respond on surveys in the way they feel would please the survey administrator.

If you are an educator, particularly a health educator- please make an effort to confirm that your school's sex education curriculum is up-to-date and comprehensive. If you are dating Thais, please make sure to behave responsibly yourself and- gently, kindly, but effectively- check that they understand what safe sex means and encourage them to practice it in all their relationships. You can get safe sex literature in the Thai language at the Red Cross or in the offices of various other NGOs.

Let's keep it safe out there. Please be aware that some of the more annoying and hard-or-impossible-to-cure diseases are a lot easier to catch than HIV and condoms won't necessarily protect you from them (herpes, genital warts, hepatitis, resistant gonhorrea or syphilis).

"Steven"

Err....

Why not ?

[Jamie]

You are really wondering why a condom will not protect you against things like genital warts and herpes?

[ilyushin]

"Don't be daff, don't be silly always wear a snake skin on your willy" David Coverdale - July 4, 1987 concert I attended in the USA during a short visit. I was exporting snake skins then and his band was " White Snake" so it was understood.

Prevention ( rubber sheath, condom) is the key factor to keep from getting an STD infection. Muff and Dong Divers have a less chance of contracting STDs than intercourse bone bouncers from what the Net says.

[PeaceBlondie]

I think Steven's post is timely and well advised, and if there's an explosion of STD's out there, it may have very little to do with HIV/AIDS. Also, it would be little publicized, and little done for prevention.

Also, there may be an over-reliance on condoms that gives us a false security against diseases that are transmitted outside of condoms, or we're forgetting how often condoms fail or WE fail to use them.

Why don't we each go to a reliable source now and educate ourselves before we have to learn our lessons the hard way? Here's the fact sheet on gonorrhea from the experts at CDC:

http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea/STDFact-gonorrhea.htm

The fact sheet on Hepatitis B:

http://www.cdc.gov/std/hepatitis/STDFact-Hepatitis-B.htm

Fact sheet for genital herpes, which is spread even when condoms are used:

http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm

Fact sheet for clamydia, which affects men as well as women:

http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm

[Gary A]

I don't have to worry about STD's. That's just another benefit of being a faithful husband.

[PeaceBlondie]

I don't have to worry about STD's. That's just another benefit of being a faithful husband.

Also, it's a benefit of having a faithful wife.

[Goldcup]

I've reading about Thailand for some time now and STDs have been a major issue for 30+ years.

Seems like rates of HIV infection are decreasing.

Africa is sounding crazy with HIV infections.

[junkofdavid2]

I don't have to worry about STD's. That's just another benefit of being a faithful husband.

Also, it's a benefit of having a faithful wife.

BOTH partners have to be faithful.

[bkkrox]

I've reading about Thailand for some time now and STDs have been a major issue for 30+ years.

Seems like rates of HIV infection are decreasing.

Africa is sounding crazy with HIV infections.

Africa is sounding crazy with infections. It is important though to look at how these crazy infection rates are determined. Often in Africa, due to lack of funding/infrastructure, an HIV+/AIDS diagnosis will be given symptomatically. ie if you have diarrhea(for a certain length of time),weight loss(a certain amount)and cough (known as the Bangui definition) you will be said to have HIV/AIDS,no test required. It doesnt take a genius to figure out that meningitis,malaria,yellow fever,sleeping sickness, untreated bacterial/viral infections, water bourne organisms etc etc can cause just the same sypmtoms. The cynics amongst us may surmise that ,for funding and donation purposes , all these cases are being lumped together.

The figures achieved through testing are generally performed ante-natally. The figures produced at these clinics are then extrapolated through the population. ie 15% of mothers are testing positive therefore 15% of the population is HIV+. One of the problems with this is that the mothers are being tested with a test called ELISA. This test ,by the admission of the manufacturer,is NOT to be used as a diagnostic tool for HIV infection. It does not look for HIV in blood but proteins said to be from HIV or HIV antibodies.It has a high number of false positives and has been proven to cross react with up to 72 other conditions including,pregnancy! Samples have to be diluted up to 400x as the "positive" rate pre dilution is very ,very high.

A positive ELISA test in the west is often followed by an expensive WESTERN BLOT test.This also looks for proteins(not HIV),but some countires require it to find 1 protein,some 2 and some 3 or 4 in order to diagnose infection.Some require certain combinations in certain concentrations. It is possible to be given an HIV+ result in France,get on a plane and test negative in Australia.All depends on testing criteria.There is no gold standard in HIV testing.

The ELISA is the cheapest of all the HIV tests and therefore the one most routinely used.

It is important to not just accept these figures with blind faith but to look at the facts and motivators for them.

[farangsay]

You are really wondering why a condom will not protect you against things like genital warts and herpes?

Err yes. I'm not too familiar with these problems.

And you are really not telling me ?

[Ijustwannateach]

Farangsay, all of the conditions I mentioned are transmissible via non-penetrative contact in one way or another (chlamydia is, too, but thus far it is not particularly hard to cure- it's just hard to know that you have it (asymptomatic, until it renders you infertile)). Syphilis and gonorrhea can be transmitted through sores or other fluids that are not necessarily on the genitals. Herpes is very contagious through sores that can appear in multiple places. Genital warts can be transmitted through touching an infected area and then touching a vulnerable area. There are various incurable forms of hepatitis which can be transmitted through quite casual contact. I know several persons who have recently contracted one or more of these diseases despite taking precautions with penetrative intercourse.

Of course STDs have long been a problem for all people everywhere, but things get better and they get worse. I am suggesting that at the moment they are getting worse, and there is a direct correlation with the recent Victorian hysteria about sex in the public sector. Public awareness needs to be raised, and not only about condoms.

"S"

[Phil Conners]

I don't have to worry about STD's. That's just another benefit of being a faithful husband.

Also, it's a benefit of having a faithful wife.

Snigger ....

[britmaveric]

FarangSay- genital warts/herpes, can receive at base of your ###### where condom doesnt exactly protect.