Archive for Sexual Health

White House AIDS Policy Report – Quick HIV Tests + Prevention

by Scientific Health Staff
September 25th, 2012

The Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) works towards raising awareness on HIV medications & treatments, HIV prevention and ultimately an HIV vaccine. Two important short term goals of ONAP include:

  • The approval of the first rapid home HIV test kit that allows people to get results within 20 minutes. As of July 2012, the first over-the-counter home-use rapid HIV test kit is now available, allowing people to easily test themselves in under 40 minutes.
  • Making smarter investments by intensifying HIV prevention in the communities where HIV is most heavily concentrated.
  • Increasing access to HIV screening and medical care, including through implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

In the United States since 2000, HIV infection rates have remained stable at approximately 50,000 new infections each year. But if you look at where the new infections are occurring, it’s in the population of young men who have sex with other men. It’s particularly alarming for the black population of gay and bisexual men. The disease has hit the black population harder: in the poorest parts of Washington D.C., approximately 5% of black men and over 12% of black women have HIV. Many don’t know it, and that’s part of what spreads the disease.

ONAP is working towards preventing the spread of the HIV virus.

  • Condoms – when condoms were consistently used, HIV-negative partners were 80% less likely to become infected than those in similar relationships in which condoms were not used.
  • Antiretroviral treatment / HIV Medications (PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis) – Studies have been done that show a person living with HIV can take medications that reduce the risk of transmitting the disease to their heterosexual partners by 96%. By taking HIV medications, someone can live a healthy, full life while carrying an undetectable viral load of HIV. This lessens the risk of transmission. Also, if the HIV negative partner is on a pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV prevention medication) because they know their partner has it, if HIV enters the negative person’s blood stream, the chance of HIV infecting cells and reproducing is minimized.
  • The discovery of an effective microbicide that prevents HIV transmission to women

It helps to get good information out when you want to prevent the spread of HIV. Part of this is debunking myths about HIV. For example, the risk of contracting HIV from oral sex is close to zero. It’s not impossible (if your gums bleed really easily, or you floss right before performing oral sex), but it’s highly unlikely. But do keep in mind that you can contract other Sexually Transmitted Infections like like syphilis or HPV through oral sex rather easily – HIV is rapidly destroyed outside the body and must break through a mucous membrane to reproduce in the body (the mouth, the anus, the vagina). STIs on the other hand can be transmitted through simple skin contact.

ONAP also want to emphasize that local help is available. Most states have an AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) that help people who cannot afford AIDS medication to get it. For more information on RNA/Viral Load testing and state HIV medication assistance programs, please read the following pamphlet from http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/105626581/HIV-Testing-www-aidsinfo-nih-gov

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Alchoholism Cure: Is Antabuse Worth the Risks?

by Scientific Health Staff
September 14th, 2012

Alcohol is a toxic substance as far as the body is concerned and therefore has long-term health risks:

  • Cirrhosis of the liver
  • Heart disease
  • Increased risk for Type 2 diabetes
  • Pancreatitis
  • Dementia
  • Central nervous system damage
  • Peptic ulcers
  • Early menopause
  • Female infertility via anovulation or menstrual cycle disruption
  • Increased risk of breast cancer
  • Erectile dysfunction in men

Social hazards of drinking alcohol.

Because alcohol lowers social inhibitions, people under the influence exhibit behavior that is more bizarre. Although many times this can be a source of amusement for friends, it can at other times lead to some chilling consequences:

  • Teenagers that drink before the age of 16 are nearly 8 times more likely to be involved in an automobile accident sometime in their lifetime compared to those who did not partake of alcohol early in their lives.
  • It is estimated that alcohol is a contributing factor to 25% of all car accidents, and that approximately a third of all pedestrians who were killed on the road are under the influence of alcohol at the time they were struck by a vehicle.
  • You’re more likely to murder someone if you have been drinking. It’s estimated that the murderer in approximately 50% of all murders has ingested alcohol.
  • Domestic and child abuse cases are often indirectly the result of someone who has been drinking.
  • You’re more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior under the influence of alcohol. This means you are more likely to catch an STD like HIV.
  • People with lowered inhibitions are generally less likely to respect authority figures. This could include a bouncer at a nightclub or a police officer. This means that when someone comes to take you away for acting “badly”, you’re likely to engage in even more belligerent behavior, which endangers you even more.

Programs to treat alcohol addiction

Most people with alcohol problems start off by going to either a 12-step program (Alcoholics Anonymous) or to a rehab clinic. Usually these two programs are used in conjunction: someone goes to a rehab clinic to “dry out” from alcohol. This is a chance for their body to rid themselves to the physical addiction to alcohol. At the same time, they can attend a 12-step program or group therapy sessions to help wean them off the psychological craving for alcohol.

Antabuse

It should be stated outright that if you’re considering taking Antabuse (generic name: disulfiram), you’re already pretty far along in your alcohol addiction. Antabuse helps alcoholics by interfering with their body’s ability to metabolize alcohol. Antabuse helps signal to your body that alcohol is indeed poison, and you will feel very sick. There are a few things to keep in mind before you go down the Antabuse route:

  1. Combining Antabuse with alcohol can kill you. This includes the alcohol found in cough syrup, mouthwash and other assorted food products, so you have to be diligent about everything you put in your body. Because of this danger, and abuse should only be used in cases of severe alcoholism and your doctor should closely supervise it.
  2. Although combining alcohol and Antabuse can kill you, it will usually just make you feel really sick. If someone were to try drinking a beer while on Antabuse, they wouldn’t feel a buzz and would start getting an instant hangover-effect right away.
  3. Antabuse takes approximately 3 days to reach full potency (after taking it daily) and has a half-life of approximately a week. That means if you stop taking Antabuse on Friday and start drinking Sunday night, you’re still going to get the Antabuse effect.
  4. If you have epilepsy, diabetes, thyroid problems, kidney diseases or liver disease, then Antabuse may not be for you as it can exacerbate these conditions.
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Truvada, First HIV Prevention Drug, Has Its Detractors

by Scientific Health Staff
September 6th, 2012

Truvada is one of the first drugs to be developed to fight the HIV virus that ultimately causes AIDS. The promise of anti-HIV medications like Truvada is to reduce the chances of individuals becoming infected if they are exposed to the virus. Truvada will be used by healthy individuals as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent healthy individuals from contracting HIV infection. It thus becomes the first drug being used to prevent the HIV virus.

There have been clinical trials of using Truvada as a PrEP. The Partners PrEP trial in Africa studied the daily Truvada administration to the healthy partner (where the other partner in the couple was infected with HIV). It ended up reducing HIV infections by 73 percent among heterosexual couple. Efficacy was 90 percent among those who stuck with their daily drug regimen.

Concerns with Truvada

  • The evidence is there for people who stick with their drug regimen, but the real worry is when patients end up struggling to stay on the pill every day. In the clinical trials, those patients who did not take Truvada daily ended up not being protected.
  • Will people using Truvada stop using more effective means of HIV prevention such as condoms? People who “skip days” while taking Truvada as a preventive measure will lose the protective effects of the drug.
  • Truvada is a powerful drug that has side effects, most prominently: side effects: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, liver and kidney toxicity.
  • Truvada is expensive. A one-month supply will cost around $1,200. Truvada does have a program where they will cover copay expenses up to $200 a month. But if you don’t have insurance, this is out of reach.
  • If someone with HIV starts taking Truvada, their virus could end up developing a resistance to the drug and making it even harder to treat. It’s safest to use Truvada for HIV prevention in healthy adults without HIV. The long term effects of Truvada usage in people with HIV are not well studied.

Truvada is actually a combination of two older HIV medications: Emitriva and Viread. The final FDA approval for the HIV-prevention drug Truvada is slated for June of 2012.

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Trichomoniasis STD Screening and Treatment

by Scientific Health Staff
August 28th, 2012

Trichomoniasis is one of the more common of all sexually transmitted diseases. It may be passed by poor hygiene in addition to sex. Many people are simply passive carriers of the disease and do not experience any symptoms. For those who experience trichomoniasis symptoms, these can range from genital discharge to pain while peeing. There are drug treatments available for the STD that effectively kill the disease.

Trichomoniasis:

This STD is caused by trichomonads that are roughly the same size as white blood cells. There is an increased prevalence of this STD in black women. It is estimated that 15% to 20% of all black women older than 30 years of age carry the disease, compared to 2% in nonblack women. The health impact of this STD is still unknown, although studies of pregnant women with trichomoniasis showed an increased incidence of premature delivery. There is a correlation between having trichomoniasis and having an increased risk for HIV infection.

Testing for trichomoniasis: There no current screening recommendations and trichomoniasis is not part of most STD testing programs at sexual health clinics. A vaginal wet mount (vaginal smear) is the most frequent method of diagnosis in the United States. A doctor can also perform an enzyme immunoassay test within their office. This test requires a laboratory culture taken with a special swab, and requires 5 days before the test results are known. This test must be taken in a doctor’s office because it is more sensitive than a vaginal smear.

Treatment of trichomoniasis: A single-dose of oral metronidazole has a cure rate comparable to treatment over 5 to 7 days. Affected individuals should have partners get treatment as well. Unfortunately, there are now metronidazole-resistant trichomoniasis cases becoming more prevalent. The effectiveness of the treatment is generally not monitored, but a reappearance of the STD may mean reinfection or re-exposure to an infected partner. Nonadherence to treatment is another problem with effectively treating the disease as some people may be unable to tolerate some of the side effects. For these people, tinidazole is a newly approved drug therapy that is just as effective but more expensive. It may be better tolerated than metronidazole in some people, and those with metronidazole resistance may respond better to tinidazole.

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Getting Syphilis Treatment at a Sexual Health Clinic

by Scientific Health Staff
August 23rd, 2012

Syphilis affects men more than women and its effects appear between one and two weeks after first infection. The disease presents itself as small chancre sores that appear in the genital region. These are generally painless and disappear quickly, but then the disease reappears a few weeks later. This stage is more serious, with the individual experiencing fever, itching and swollen glands. Luckily, syphilis is not the death sentences that it was in earlier eras as treatments are available.

Getting treated for syphilis.

  1. A sexual health clinic provides testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and is staffed by doctors, nurses and other medical staff. Syphilis and other STDs are a serious public health concern which is why many cities have free sexual health clinics that are available to all citizens.
  2. You can get treated at sexual health clinics anonymously, which is a plus for people who don’t want their regular primary care doctors to know about their diseases. They also generally have sliding scale fees for peoplw with limited financial means or who don’t have medical insurance.
  3. Testing usually consists of blood tests which are drawn and tested for various STDs.
  4. Treatment for syphilis is through prescription medication. Usually a single shot of antibiotics like penicillin can be enough to kill the syphilis. If a person has had the syphilis for less than one year, then a single shot is usually sufficient. If the patient doesnÕt know how long theyÕve had the disease, or if they have had the disease for longer than a year, then usually a series of 3 penicillin shots will be given. No resistance has ever been documented for penicillin. For people allergic to penicillin, doxycycline is also an effective antibiotic for syphilis treatment. Another treatment option is cephalexin (Keflex).

Preventing the transmission of syphilis

Condoms should be used to protect yourself and your partner from STDs including syphilis. If any digital stimulation is performed of the erogenous zones (such as vaginal fingering or anal fisting), then a latex glove should be worn. Condoms should also be worn during oral sex, as syphilis is also transmitted through oral sexual intercourse.

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