No matter if it’s with a long-term partner or someone you just met five minutes ago — sex can be a lot of fun. The fact of the matter is, though, you don’t know very much about that someone you just met five minutes ago.
Whether you met at a bar, on a street corner, in the grocery store or in an internet chat room, there’s no denying the fact you don’t really know what (or who) they’ve been doing before you met.
They could have picked up anything and might just be walking around infected with an STD that they could unintentionally transfer to you via a casual sexual encounter.
Everybody says oral sex is pretty safe — even without a condom the likelihood of being infected with HIV is minimal. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of HIV transmitted through oral sex.
But a lot of other nasty things can be transmitted through unprotected oral sex.
Herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, intestinal parasites and hepatitis are examples of STDs that can be transmitted during oral sex with an infected partner.
Currently in Mecklenburg County transmission of syphilis among gay men has reached previously uncharted levels.
“Certainly we are overrepresented,” says John Glorioso, a syphillis elimination coordinator for Mecklenburg County. “In 2005 gay men accounted for 35 percent of all cases. During the first quarter of this year we’re seeing a 27 percent increase already.”
According to Glorioso, Charlotte is on the leading edge of an overall increase in syphilis across North Carolina.
“It looks like this problem may be with us for a while,” he continues.
“Fifty-one out of 150 patients were gay men. We’re seeing this with HIV positive and negative men.”
All too often individuals aren’t aware they’re infected because they don’t notice or recognize the symptoms. During the first stage a chancre or lesion may appear on the penis, inside the rectum or mouth, on the tip of the tongue or a finger.
Secondary symptoms include mucous patches in the mouth, skin rashes on the body and particularly icky moist, warty patches on the genitalia or skin folds called condylomata lata.
During secondary syphilis, additional symptoms such as fever, malaise, loss of appetite and swollen lymph nodes may also be noted. This stage is the most contagious stage of syphilis. While it usually resolves within weeks, in some cases it may last up to a year.
“It’s easier to treat primary and secondary stages,” explains Glorioso. “If a person has had it more than a year they’re going to face some challenges.”
Not surprisingly, the increase of STD transmission can be directly linked to internet chat room hook-ups.
“A lot of people are hooking up these days for casual sex encounters over the internet,” says Glorioso. “That’s why I do internet outreach through chat rooms.”
The Metrolina AIDS Project and Glorioso are providing syphilis testing and rapid HIV tests every Wednesday at Charlotte’s Gay and Lesbian Community Center. For more details, call 704 432-TEST. |
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