Using Birth Control leads to Unnatural Selection of Mates

Most everybody I know began using birth control pills or condoms right around the first year of college, save for a few “experienced” friends of mine who got their first prescription birth control pills during high school. Sure, some of my friends said they took birth control pills to regulate their cycles (me, included), but we all knew the real reason…this was the age where we were all beginning to have more and more sexual encounters so religiously taking our pills was a way to have full control over our fertility. However, a new study is showing that not only did we take control of our fertility, but we also may have been changing the way we picked, wooed and kept our mates.

This study, published in a recent Trends in Ecology and Evolution, shows that the impact these contraceptives have on a woman’s hormones may also have an impact on the partners a woman chooses and the chances of reproduction. It has long been known that women are fertile for only a few select days within the span of a full menstrual cycle, right before ovulation occurs. Past studies and research have shown that the partners both men and women prefer ebb and flow based on the natural fluctuations of hormones during a menstrual cycle. In fact, during ovulation, a noticeable shift occurs in terms of female characteristics and behaviors that is used to lure a prospective mate.

During ovulation, women tend to begin preferring men that have masculine features and men that are competitive and dominant. They also tend to lean towards men who are not similar genetically. In fact, some studies have suggested that couples who are genetically similar may be a factor in infertility. On the flip side, other studies have shown that men may also prefer women who are in the midst of ovulation, especially in those scenarios where women can be compared to other women in terms of attractiveness.

With all this background, it may start to make sense how birth control pills can step in and mess with this natural order of things. When a woman takes an oral contraceptive, hormones are altered to mimic those hormones more associated with a state of being pregnant. Dr. Alexandra Alvergne, the study’s author, states, “Although mate choice studies in humans have routinely recorded pill use during the last decade to control for its confounding effects, little effort has been invested in understanding the consequences of such effects of the pill.” Dr. Alverne and her colleague Dr. Virpi Lummaa also suggest that a woman taking birth control pills may have a negative effect in terms of attracting a potential mate. The reason for this is that the disruption the pills cause in a woman’s natural cycle may lessen how attractive she appears to men.

Alvergne and Lummaa also note that women who are on oral contraceptives do not experience that natural attraction to mates that are not genetically similar during ovulation. Lummaa states, “The ultimate outstanding evolutionary question concerns whether the use of oral contraceptives when making mating decisions can have long-term consequences on the ability of couples to reproduce. If this is the case, pill use will have implications for both current and future generations, and we hope that our review will stimulate further research on this question.”

IUD is an Effective, Underutilized Contraceptive Device

Around the globe, there are several methods for men and women to pick in order to prevent unintended pregnancy. From condoms (both male and female) to intrauterine contraceptives to birth control pills, men and women alike have their choice on whether they want to worry about birth control on a daily, monthly, quarterly or even yearly basis. A recent study emerging from Europe that focused on long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs showed that approximately 10% of European women utilized this type of contraceptive and that most were over the age of 30. This study was recently awarded the National Congress of Gynecology award.

Sergio Haimovich, the author of the study and a researcher at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain states, “Long-acting contraceptives (the IUD, contraceptive injection or contraceptive implant) are still not widely used.” Condoms are the most widely used choice of contraceptive, with birth control pills coming in second amongst European women. In terms of long-term birth control options, intrauterine contraceptives like IUDs are the most popular. Over 11,000 women participated in the study that spanned 14 countries in Europe. Of these participants, nearly 10% of the women utilized the long-lasting methods.

Haimovich states that these longer-term methods are used by “women over the age of 30 who do not want more children and who are looking for a long-term solution." In contrast, younger girls decide to use alternate methods. Hamovich’s research was done as a subset of a larger study that researched the various contraceptive methods chosen by women in Europe. Haimovich goes on to explain that this type of research is necessary and that “the answers to these questions can help us to formulate contraceptive advice that is better adapted to the needs of the users."

The data from the study displays each country’s preferred method of contraception. For example, in Spain, the condom reigns triumphant amongst all age ranges. However, the study also shows that different hormonal birth control methods including the birth control pill are being utilized more frequently. These results “help to explain what users want and enable a more appropriate contraceptive check to be created," states Haimovich. "That is why we must always adapt our discourse to the demands of the users, and work such as this makes us aware of these requirements."

Cheap Condoms are just as good as Fancy Condoms

I found this article in the Daily Titan very interesting. Usually college papers are not that exciting, but this article is something that I think is really topical for college students and passes on a lesson.

Everything is expensive for a college student. You don't have a lot of money, and you have to spend wisely. For that reason, sadly, a lot of people don't spring for condoms all that often. If a deal were to come by in order to save you money on such an important investment in your health - in this example, a dozen condoms at a dollar store - a lot of students initially may question the quality of said condoms and pass the offer up.

The main lesson of the article is that condoms are not expensive. At least, they don't have to be. They are not hard to make - it'll cost a manufacturer maybe 2 or 3 cents per condom to make. The fact that they end up in Walgreens or Rite-aid for a buck each is not due to the inherent expense or a mark of quality - it's because those retail stores want to make some money and they have a lot of overhead costs to cover.

So if you don't have the money to spend, going for the dollar store condoms is not only better than none at all, it's as safe as any other brand of condom. And it's cheaper in the long run, when you think about how much an STI might cost you.

Hitler : The Latest Safe Sex Spokesperson?

There are AIDS and HIV awareness ads running right now in Germany featuring an unlikely star : Hitler. From TIME magazine :

The controversial ad ... shows a couple having steamy sex in a dimly lit room with menacing music playing in the background. The viewer sees only the back of the man's head until the very end, when the camera pans to his face — to reveal that he's Adolf Hitler. Then the slogan flashes across the screen: "AIDS is a mass murderer."

While the obvious attempt of the ad is to demonize AIDS and mobilize AIDS awareness and action - to try and scare people into being safe and proactive - some worry that instead of demonizing HIV, they're demonizing people who have HIV. HIV counseling groups and organizations contend that the ads suggest that people who have AIDS are mass murderers.

Surely there's a better way to open people's eyes to the important topic of safe sex. Though, the ads did accomplish one thing - people are talking about safe sex - though I think everyone would rather have the focus on the safe-sex message of the commercials, instead of the controversy of the commercials themselves.

Sex Education: Does it Work?

It is one of those memorable moments in our middle school lives. Almost like cattle, we get ushered out of class by an administrator as if on some top secret mission. Nobody talks in the line that slowly crawls down the hall; eyes are wide and confused. Teenage boys have their hands shoved down into their pockets and shuffle along with their heads hung low. The girls grip onto their purses tightly smacking their gum nervously. Everyone has heard about it, and now the time has come. It is time for the school to educate the youth about sex. Of course, this was the scenes eons ago when I was in middle school and we still laughed when we heard the word "penis." Nowadays, I am sure the youth would be at a much better place in educating the administration about teenage sexual matters.

So, does sex education still work? According to a new study, the resounding answer is yes. In fact, according to this study, teenagers are more likely to wait a little longer before having their first sexual experience if they have had school-taught sex education. The numbers were a little higher in males, with a powerful 71%, compared to the female 59% in terms of being less likely to have sexual intercourse before the age of fifteen. In addition, young adult men who participated in sex education through school were over two and a half times more likely to use some form of protection the first time they had sex. Unfortunately, participating in sex education for young adult females did not increase or decrease the chances of them using protection for their first sexual encounter.

According to lead researcher Tricia Mueller, "Sex education seems to be working. It seems to be especially effective for populations that are usually at high risk." In fact, for African-American females, participating in a sex education course at school made it 91% less likely that they would participate in a sexual activity before the age of 15. Many sex education studies that determined it to be ineffective relied heavily on data garnered from various studies that took place between the 1970s and 1990s. Mueller's study, on the other hand, is much more recent (2002) and boasted over 2,000 participants between the ages of 15 and 19. Different variables, including the household income where those teenagers resided, were also taken into consideration.

The interim director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, Claire Brindis, states that incorporating sex education into a school's curriculum is vital since many teenagers fall prey to strange sexual myths. "Some still believe you can't get pregnant if you're standing up or doing it for the first time or if your boyfriend is drinking a lot of Mountain Dew." She further states that much of the current sex education curriculum focuses on the physical aspect of sex, including how to buy condoms and how to put on a condom. While that is important, she feels it is imperative that sex education also focus on what to do in various settings including when a teenager is feeling pressured into having sex.

As Economy Suffers, Sex Industry Continues to Thrive

With the economy seemingly out of control across the globe, there is one industry that has continued to thrive: the sex industry. Unfortunately, as the industry thrives, so does the transmission of HIV. With that in mind, groups of researchers hailing from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, the University of California at Davis, Northeastern University and several teams across Mexico joined forces to perform a study on female sex workers living in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, Mexico. With the desired outcome of slowing down the rapidly rising HIV and sexually transmitted diseases rates in the border towns between Mexico and the United States, this research team has determined that in order to reduce HIV and STD rates and increase condoms use, female sex workers should receive a short, personal counseling session geared towards impacting their current and future behaviors.

After beginning these 30 minute private sessions, researchers noted an almost 40 percent decline in the rates of new sexually transmitted diseases, including Chlamydia, HIV, gonorrhea and syphilis. This was in direct comparison to a session that involved distributing educational material only to the sex workers. The study's lead author, Thomas L. Patterson, states, "An advantage to the counseling approach is that - instead of simply listening to a lecture - women are taught and can practice skills that are tailored to their personal situations. By working with the counselor, women identify for themselves the barriers to safer sex and discuss potential solutions as part of their goal setting." The study had close to 1000 participants and was geared to those female sex workers over the age of 18 who were not currently infected with HIV but who admitted to having sex with clients without using contraceptives, like condoms. The women were split into two groups with one half participating in the Healthy Woman (Mujer Segura) personalized counseling session and the other half participating in the sessions where educational material was distributed.

According to Patterson, "The major difference in the two approaches is that the Mujer Segura sessions focused on the participants assessing their personal risk factors, such as having unprotected sex with clients, and developing strategies for reducing that risk." Of those who participated in the Healthy Woman sessions, there were no cases of new HIV infections and there was a significant decrease in risky behavior. Those participants in this session were given positive feedback and taught to set and work towards small goals in their quest to practice safe sex. Patterson continues, "In the absence of an effective HIV vaccine in the near future, the urgent need continues for effective, culturally appropriate interventions that can be used as stand-alone programs, or to support existing approaches. Our brief intervention, which counselors can be easily trained to deliver in a variety of settings, is an inexpensive and effective approach to reducing the risk of HIV and other STIs. These are diseases that recognize no borders, and it is critical that we work alongside health providers in Mexico to stem this disturbing trend."

HIV and AIDS: What's the difference?

Many of us, me included, use the terms AIDS and HIV interchangeably, not fully realizing how very different the two are. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that can evolve into AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), while AIDS is the syndrome in which the sufferer’s immune system stops working which often proves fatal to the carrier. Without any type of medication, the average time for HIV to develop into AIDS is approximately nine or ten years. Once a patient is diagnosed with AIDS, the average survival span is just over nine months. So, at what point does HIV spiral into AIDS?

Research from an August 2007 study done by UC Irvine demonstrates how HIV transitions into AIDS and offers a way to perhaps halt this transition in HIV patients. One breakthrough involves how HIV evolves within a patient. Most scientists subscribe to the belief that AIDS develops as the HIV virus begins to evolve and starts spreading at the cellular level in a more efficient manner; however the UC Irvine suggests the opposite is true. Their research indicates that once the virus has evolved into a state where it is spreading less efficiently at a cellular level, then AIDS has the chance to truly develop. In addition, a process called co-infection must occur. What this means is that several HIV units must infect singular cells to turn HIV into AIDS. If only one HIV unit infected a singular cell, more than likely, AIDS will not be able to evolve. What this suggests is if researchers are able to stop more than one HIV unit from infecting a singular cell, AIDS could be stopped dead in its tracks. Dominic Wodarz, a UC Irvine biologist working on this study explains, “If this is true, a new approach to therapy could be used to block the process of co-infection in cells. This would prevent deadly HIV strains from emerging and the patient would remain healthy, despite carrying the virus.”

When a person contracts HIV, there are three phases that occur. The first phase takes place in the initial weeks of infection. At this point, the level of the virus within the infected person’s system spikes and symptoms very much like the flu begin to appear. The second phase is called the asymptomatic phase. During this second phase which lasts anywhere from eight to ten years, the level of the virus in the system begins to diminish. In the third and final phase, the transition to AIDS begins and the infected person’s immune system begins to disintegrate. With no immune system, a person is susceptible to many types of infections and death usually occurs.

Research studies to this point had not definitively determined at what point the asymptomatic state progresses into the final phase of AIDS. As mentioned earlier, many scientists believed that as in evolution, the virus grew stronger and was better able to grow, thereby causing HIV to transition. The model developed by Wodarz, however, counteracts this belief. His model which demonstrates the virus spreading and the speed at which it destroys cells suggests that when HIV turns deadly, the strains that kills are not the ones that are the fastest spreading, but rather the slower spreading ones. Wodarz proposes that with further positive testing of this theory, AIDS researchers may be able to devise a drug that prohibits more than one HIV unit from infecting a cell. Thus, the transition to AIDS would not occur.

HIV Antiretroviral Treatment Improving, with Fewer Side Effects

Antiretroviral drugs have helped those infected with HIV live longer and fuller lives, helping its patients maintain their infection and releasing AIDS of its death sentence status; however, the drugs that comprise the antiretroviral treatment are extremely strong and often carry intimidating side effects, which had some researchers wondering if perhaps newly infected patients should hold off on starting a drug treatment so soon after diagnosis. The debate has gone back and forth, but there may be some hope on the horizon. The pharmaceutical company that has recently had two new HIV drugs approved is reporting that they have fewer serious side effects than the drugs currently on the market.

These two new drugs were approved for those infected patients who were beginning to develop a resistance to their normal drug cocktails and also for any newly infected patients. These claims were made at a conference held in Washington, D.C. for specialists in the field of infectious diseases. Dr. Robin Isaacs, an executive director at Merck & Co, the company that funded the studies, stated, “There was a desperate unmet medical need for those patients who had failed other therapies.” The drugs that were studied were Isentress (developed by Merck & Co) and Selzentry (developed by Pfizer Inc.); they join three other drugs that might be more easily tolerated by patients, including Aptivus (developed by Boehringer Ingelheim), Prezista and Intelence (both developed by Johnson & Johnson). Isaacs went on to say, “They have all these different options now, which they didn’t before, to build new successful regimens.”

Merck & Co are hoping that Isentress will be granted first-line approval very soon; being an integrase inhibitor, it is the only one of its kind currently being offered. The drug works by stopping the integrase enzyme; this enzyme is responsible for putting HIV’s DNA within a patient’s cells and multiplying the virus. The study sponsored by Merck & Co surveyed over 550 patients. One half of these patients were given Sustiva (developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co) and the other half was given Isentress. Both sets of patients also took the Truvada drug as part of their treatment. While both sets of patients had similar levels of the virus after 48 weeks, only 44 percent of those patients that took Isentress reported serious side effects compared to 77 percent of those patients taking Sustiva.

Pfizer Inc had its own study done for its drug Selzentry. In this similar study surveying over 400 patients over 48 weeks, half of the patients received Selzentry and Combivir and the other half of the patients received Sustiva and Combivir. Again, the virus levels were similar, but of those patients receiving Selzentry, only 4 percent reported side effects serious enough to stop the drug treatment compared to 14.2 percent of those taking Sustiva. The Selzentry drug helps patients protect their immune system from the virus by essentially inhibiting or “closing the door” known as the CCR5 co-receptor.

African Fertility Clinics for AIDS Patients

For decades, AIDS has spread across the globe, leaving devastation and death in its path. However, no continent has been harder hit than Africa. Of the roughly 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS today, approximately two-thirds of those reside in Africa. Glancing over the statistics, especially those dealing with children who are infected with the virus, is eye-opening and saddening. In South Africa alone, over 250,000 children are suffering from the virus; close to 2 million children live with HIV in all of Africa. It is enough to make the heart break. Now, there is a tiny glimmer of hope in Cape Town, South Africa. A fertility clinic located in this region has recently begun offering the chance for couples who are infected with HIV/AIDS to have healthy children.

This clinic, the Cape Fertility Clinic, is the first of its kind of Africa. It allows would-be parents who are infected with HIV (either both parents or just one) to use measures like in-vitro fertilization to have the opportunity to give birth to children who are free from the disease. Klaus Wiswedel, a director at the clinic, states, “HIV is no longer seen as a death sentence but a chronic disease. And people with chronic diseases are entitled to have fertility treatment. We can safely deliver an HIV negative child and, with the right treatment, the parent can live a long life." While the clinic caters to those couples who can actually afford these procedures, they still have at least five couples coming in and paying for the procedures each month. Some critics would argue that this is small beans in comparison to the number of children born each month with the disease, but many who support the clinic see it as a reflection of the strides Africa is making in protecting both adults and children from HIV.

Consider the fact that only five years ago, 100,000 people in Africa were on AIDS drug treatments. Today, that number has grown dramatically to roughly two million people. In addition, due to increased funding and donations, infected pregnant women receiving AIDS treatments to help shield their unborn children from the disease has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2003, only five percent of infected pregnant women in Malawi were receiving treatment and that number has grown to 32 percent only 4 years later. Other success stories can be seen in Mozambique (three percent to 46 percent), South Africa (fifteen percent to 67 percent) and Zambia (eighteen percent to 47 percent) over the same timeframe. The executive director on UNAIDS, Peter Piot, states, “The prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is not only effective, but also a human right. We are seeing good progress in many countries, especially in parts of Africa, but we need to significantly scale up HIV testing and treatment for pregnant women."

The new fertility clinic feels that anybody who wants children should have the opportunity to have a healthy child and should not be denied that right. The clinic utilizes artificial insemination when the mother-to-be is HIV-positive; if the father-to-be is HIV-positive then the sperm is cleansed of the virus. Once the couple has conceived they are monitored by a specialist and then deliver by C-section so that the infant is less likely to have the virus transmitted to them. Wiswedel states, "We jumped into the deep end of the pool because more and more patients want to receive treatment. We saw a huge need for this."

3 Myths about Condoms

Condoms have become a big part of life today, but there are still many people that refuse to see the benefit these particular contraceptives bring to the marketplace. People that are against condoms for political or religious reasons tend to perpetuate myths about them. For that reason many people are confused through no fault of their own when it comes to considerations regarding this product. In order to help clear the air a little bit, here are some of the more common myths perpetuated about condoms.
Myth #1: They make sex less enjoyable
This used to be true when condoms first came out onto the market, but the free market being what it is, this was ratified by the condom creating companies when they realized that it was indeed something that was starting to impede their sales. There are now condoms that are ribbed to increase the sexual pleasure a woman can get out of the act as well as ones that are ribbed on the inside to provide that same stimulation for the man. There are flavored condoms that make oral sex a lot more interesting. There are in fact a multitude of different options available for condoms nowadays that really have turned this partial reality into a complete myth.
Myth #2: They do not work
This used to be the biggest myth that was perpetuated regarding condoms, but as the general public has become more knowledgeable regarding matters of contraception, this myth has really collapsed. For this reason, people against the use of condoms will usually resort to myth #1 before this one nowadays. Condoms are one of the most reliable products around and this statement has been continually backed up by facts on a regular basis. When used properly, condoms are usually over 99.9% effective on average. In other words, condoms are basically foolproof when they are employed as the instructions indicate. If condoms are combined with other birth control methods however, they are even more effective.
Myth #3: They are expensive
Expensive is a word that is really a matter of opinion and for this reason one can not entirely call this a myth. There are probably some people out there that would view the cost of condoms as one that is far too expensive. That having been said however, when the packages are purchased, the individual condoms within them usually work out to something like pennies per condom, with individual packages often being sold for something like twenty-five cents per package. For this reason, most people that have experience with the full range of contraceptives would regard condoms as being relatively cheap to purchase.
Conclusion
For all of the reasons stated above in the debunking of those three myths, it is quite clear to anyone that has experimented with different safe sex methods that the condom is one of the most reliable and most cost effective methods out there. This is why in spite of the development of other methods over the years, this particular method has endured for such a long time.

Condoms - The Successive Steps of AIDS Prevention

AIDS has long been a source of intense concern on the international scale, but as time has gone on there have been many advances both in sociological changes and in behavioural changes that have helped to neutralize this particular illness in many areas of the world. AIDS prevention is therefore a successful endeavour if done correctly and while more permanent and better AIDS prevention methods are being developed, it behoves us as a population to try and utilize the AIDS prevention methods we currently have in order to try and reduce the spread of this illness as much as possible. To that end, there are several steps that you can take in order to help the AIDS prevention cause.
The first and most obvious step in terms of AIDS prevention is to simply abstain from having sex altogether. This is of course an activity that few people have the ability to do, but there are some for which sex is really not that big a priority and those people can protect themselves to a larger degree by making sure they avoid sex whenever they can. Avoiding sex alone will not make you 100% immune to catching AIDS, but it will go a long way towards helping ensure that your AIDS prevention efforts are successful in some way, shape or form.
For people that are simply not going to be able to avoid sexual activity for one reason or another, a much more reasonable step to take might be to cut down on the number of sexual partners that you have. The number of times you have sex with a different person can drastically contribute to an increased chance of contracting AIDS and for that reason ensuring that you are in a monogamous relationship or at least taking measures to reduce the number of sexual partners you have can go a long way towards helping you cut down on your chances of contracting AIDS.
If you decide to cut down on the number of sexual partners you have however, you will need to do something else in order to help your AIDS prevention efforts along. A good idea would be to wander into the realm of contraceptives and start utilizing them as a way to augment your protection against the AIDS virus. Condoms, diaphragms or any other contraception method that prevents the mixing of fluids would be suitable if your main goal is AIDS prevention. There are other birth control methods on the market such as pills that are not effective for preventing STD transmission for the simple reason that they do nothing to prevent the mixing of fluids which is where all of these diseases come from in the first place.
Preventing the spread of AIDS is something that everyone should be interested in if for no other reason than to ensure a higher standard of living. Smart sex and safe sex rather than unprotected sex is such a small price to pay for something as important as preventing the spread of AIDS.

Scouts Given Condoms to ‘Be Prepared’

The British Boy Scout Oath pledges that a Scout will perform his duty to God, his country, his fellow scouts and other people in addition to keeping himself “physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” He also lives by the motto to always “be prepared.” In an effort to help scouts live up to these goals and always be prepared for anything, the Scouting Association of Britain is urging that young Scouts between the ages of 14 and 18 add outings to sexual health clinics to their yearly trip agenda.
In an effort to get young Scouts to open up and be more at ease in discussing sexual topics with other members of the Scouting group, the Scouting Association is recommending these visits to health clinics. The association feels that by visiting the clinics, it may help “break illusions of what these services are and improve the uptake of advice.” Peter Duncan, a Chief Scout, is realistic about the situations young teenagers face in their daily lives, “We must be realistic and accept that around a third of young people are sexually active before 16 and many more start relationships at 16 and 17. Scouting touches members of every community, religious and social group in the country so adults in Scouting have a duty to promote safe and responsible relationships and, as an organization, we have the responsibility to provide sound advice about how to do that."
The association has stated that leaders of Scout troops may distribute condoms - Durex condoms, to be precise - to Scouts only on the condition that “they believe the young person is very likely to begin or continue having intercourse with or without contraception.” If the Scout leader feels that the “physical or mental health are likely to suffer” for one of their Scouts, they can go forth and distribute condoms to that particular Scout. Furthermore, the association urges Scout leaders to “encourage young people to resist pressure to have early sex.” If necessary, the leader can open up a dialogue with the Scout’s parents or guardians to discuss any concerns; however, the leaders “should be prepared to offer appropriate information” to the Scout if he is asked.
Duncan states, "I firmly believe that the confidence, skills and self esteem young people gain through the incredible range of activities Scouting offers is the best way to equip them not to feel pressured into a sexual relationship before they are ready." In addition, Beverly Hughes, the Minister for young people, has voiced her support of the association’s new policies, “While our teenage pregnancy rates are coming down and are at the lowest rate for over 20 years, there is much more to do to ensure young people have the knowledge of safe sex and they need to prevent early pregnancy and look after their sexual health."

The Best Condom for Your Relationship

We’ve all heard of the importance of condoms when it comes to safe sex, and most of us know what we need to think about when it comes to choosing condoms that are perfect for our own needs. Condoms are the leading method of aids prevention next to staying abstinent, so if you’re going to do it, you should know the importance of doing it smart. AIDS, STD’s, and unplanned pregnancy are all results of not using condoms, but you don’t need me to tell you that. So what it all boils down to is choosing the best condoms for your needs, which can be done by taking into consideration your lifestyle, your budget, and your overall taste. For those who are in a sexually active relationship, the choice of what condoms are used is a decision that should involve both partners equally. Something that satisfies both partners’ needs is crucial, and likewise something that both partners are comfortable with is important.
Because condoms come in a variety of brands, colors, flavors, textures, and specialties finding the right one for you and your partner can be a little confusing and on occasion can bring up many unanswered questions. The most important thing to know is how crucial it is for your partner and you to be able to discuss this openly and honestly. Discussing condoms can sometimes be a little awkward and intimidating depending on the type of relationship your partner and you have established. The more communication skills the two of you have the better off you will be.
Because choosing a type of condom involves a lot of research, first you should establish what is most important to you. Most standard condoms are equally safe, so choosing what is important to you is as simple as asking yourself a few questions. Are you and your partner both satisfied with your sex lives? What could improve it? Are you looking to try something new and creative, or do you want to keep it traditional? Another thing you should ask yourself is what brand is best for you or do you prefer? Lifestyle condoms, Trojan condoms, Durex Condoms, they are all good brands. You should find a preference and that preference is usually based on cost and satisfaction so do your research and take advantage of free condom samples to find out what you like.
For those of you looking to spice up your love life with a condom, or just to add a little heat in the bedroom, textured condoms and vibrating condoms are a great start. They not only enhance pleasure, but they can make for a unique experience. If you were thinking more along the lines of incredibly diverse, the flavored condoms and different colored condoms could make for an interesting night. Your partner and you would be best off trying different things, and seeing which is the best and most satisfactory for you. If you want to keep it more traditional, things like sensitive condoms, lubricated condoms, and ultra thin condoms are great.

Size Really Does Matter

Don’t panic, we don’t mean that size matters when it comes to the amount of enjoyment during sexual intercourse with your partner, after all that is a personal preference. However, when you are purchasing condoms size really does matter. Condoms, despite what you may think are not one size fits all and most often finding out your size is the last thing on a guys mind. Many men don’t even understand the importance of having the right size condom on hand and using only the correct size condom. By using the incorrect size condom, a person is cutting down the effectiveness of the condom dramatically which can make things like STD’s and unplanned pregnancy become more likely; some of which can even be fatal if contracted.
So if size really matters and you are aware that condoms aren’t as effective when they aren’t the right size wouldn’t the next logical course of action be to find out what size you are? The average penis size among adult men is six to seven inches during an erection. Because this is the average, most standard condoms come in this size. If you are bigger or smaller than those numbers, don’t worry anything between three inches and ten inches is common and there are condoms made to fit all of those sizes so there is a size out there that is perfect to fit your needs, and it really is worth the looking in order to get the perfect size for you.
If you are below the average size while erect, which is six inches, you should look for a snugger fitting condom. If you buy a condom in the standard size and you are below six inches while erect, your condom can fall off inside of your partner, or sperm can still escape. Even the best condoms won’t do you much good if you aren’t wearing the correct size. Lifestyle condoms are a great brand to look into, like many other major companies such as Durex condoms and Trojan condoms, these condoms come in various styles and sizes. Most condoms do offer more sizes than standard, but this is specifically true for larger name companies which are offered in more variations at more stores, where as smaller companies are harder to find in various types and sizes.
For those of you who are above average, there are many different alternative condom options available. You may have noticed your condom feels much too tight, some people even say it hurts. If this is true, you need to go up a size. A condom should fit snugly but it should not hurt, if you moved up a size or two and the condom is fitting loosely and still uncomfortable, talk to your physician about perhaps being over-sensitive. The most well known condoms for sizes above average are Magnum condoms, and Magnum XL Condoms, which are best bought in wholesale condom lots as it will be cheaper. This is only true if you know you will use them all though, condoms do have an expiration date and that should be kept in mind.

Buying Condoms for Beginners

Most men reach that point, when their girlfriends look at them and tell them to make sure to have some condoms soon. It’s like an earth shattering moment, knowing that your relationship is about to fall into the next level, and you couldn’t be happier. Some guys are stoked and eager, ready to dominate while others are scared and confused wondering what to do or where to turn. If you are young during this time, you most likely will be lost. Buying your first package of condoms is scary, there are so many different brands and colors and even styles, what to do? You are faced Lifestyle condoms, Durex Condoms, and even Trojan Condoms among a ton of other brands. You’re probably wondering, what is the best condom to buy? Well, don’t panic, buying your first condoms however scary can be fun and there’s no need to feel as overwhelmed as some people may. Instead, relax, take it easy, and think about what it is that you need.
How to choose a condom that is right for you in the beginning may seem tough as well, but if you are just beginning, it’s best to stick to the basics. The basic choices you should most likely be thinking about are whether or not to buy lubricated condoms, and if you do use lubricated condoms then you need to decide whether to use the spermicidal lubrication or just get regular standard lubricated condoms. After doing a little research you should be able to decide which one you want to try, when in doubt grab one of each. You can never be too safe, buying a few will give you more options as well as more back-ups incase one rips, or you ejaculate more than once. Remember, every time you ejaculate, you need to use a new condom before continuing with another round.
On the same note, buying condoms should be done wisely. Many men feel they need to buy condoms in bulk or buy bulk condom sets when they shop for their first condoms. This is not only expensive, especially when buying the best brand of condoms, but it’s not necessarily your best bet. You should keep in mind that all condoms have expiration dates, and this means that if you aren’t sure you are going to use them all before that date buying condoms in bulk would be pointless.
The last concern I have found most beginners have is the other various options. After all, when you’re faced with colored and flavored condoms, and even textured condoms it can seem a little tricky. However, for your first time you will probably want to stick with something a little more generic, and as you become more comfortable with the use of condoms you can progressively move on to different variations and see what you like the best. So do your research, find a cost effective condom brand that you like and are comfortable with, and remember that safe sex is the best way to go.

Condom Considerations

When you go out to buy condoms, chances are pretty good that you aren’t really thinking in basic consumer terms. When people buy computers, television, furniture or anything else for that matter, they usually think about the quality of the product and how it will fit into the rest of their lifestyle. In the case of a condom however, people that buy condoms are really just looking for a safe sex mechanism and aside from a few accessory choices, people that buy condoms are generally not looking to make a big and complicated decision regarding the condom that they purchase. There is nothing wrong with this way of thinking, but there are certainly some considerations that could be made in regards to the purchasing of a condom.
Length
The length of a condom is perhaps the most important consideration regarding the condom that could be made by anyone that wants to buy condoms. The reason for this is that the length of the condom has a very direct effect on how effective that condom actually is. If you end up buying condoms that do not roll down most of the shaft of your penis, what you will find is that there might be times when the volume of the ejaculate is so great that a tiny portion of it might spill out over the rim of the condom. Such happenings are rare, but why be sorry when you can be safe? Simply make sure that when you buy condoms the length is appropriate and you should have no problems whatsoever.
Width
Another consideration that you need to make when you buy condoms is their width. This issue is similar to the length issue and for that reason there is no reason to dwell on it any further than pointing out that when you buy condoms, make sure the length is appropriate enough that rolling the condom onto the penis will not be such a tight fit so as to cause pain or potentially a rupture within the condom itself. Both of those would be bad outcomes of the purchase.
Additional Options
Nowadays, condom companies are very diverse in the different products they put out onto the market. For example, there are ribbed condoms which have surfaces which are full of bumps so that the friction against the vaginal wall is increased and therefore the pleasure of the woman is increased along with it. There are other condom products are flavored condoms, used in order to make the oral sex experience a lot better for someone that is performing oral sex on a person that is wearing a condom. These are just two of a number of different options available with condoms these days and while these additional options are less pressing than the length and width concerns, they are certainly worth looking into in order to make the sexual experience as positive as possible. In the end, these options eliminate the myth about condoms making the sexual experience less pleasurable.

Safe Sex Educational Sources

As sex has started to become a topic of discussion amongst progressively younger populations, there has been a lot of discussion recently regarding the sources of sex education. This is perfectly valid discussion material as questions regarding best condoms or where to get the best condoms might be questions that would be answered differently by a health scientist and a person that is against the idea of utilizing any kind of birth control even if they are the best condoms on the market. For this reason, people are starting to realize that sources do matter and for that reason here are some suggestions as to which sources might be good ones to consult insofar as the sexual education issue is concerned.
Teachers
Generally speaking, one would have to say that teachers are probably the best traditional source for good information about sex and sex education. Teachers do not have the same authoritarian view about sex that most parents by default have and in addition to that teachers can usually be relied upon to put their political views aside and recognize with a level of pragmatism that information regarding safe sex is essential for many teenagers in order to prevent unwanted pregnancy as well as the spread of disease. If teachers advise kids on buying the best condoms for example, it can be trusted that they do this out of experience or knowledge rather than any particular agenda. At the same time however, a teacher needs to have a trusting relationship with a student before this type of conversation can be had, which usually makes them a good, yet implausible source as most students do not have close relationships with their teachers at the high school level.
Parents
Parents have to be included in this list because of the fact that they are the primary caregivers to children regardless of how old those children happen to be. That having been said however, there are many circumstances where going to parents for advice on safe sex, where to get the best condoms or which birth control methods to use is not really something that can be done. This is because parents might be draconian in their measures, because they have a particular political viewpoint or because they follow a particular interpretation of a religious creed. All of these are reasons as to why getting safe sex information from parents might not be plausible, but there are still many circumstances in which they are the best source to go to for that type of information. If for no other reason, this is true because of the implicit trust that exists between parents and their children.
The Internet
One final source worth mentioning is the internet, but this source needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There are many fantastic websites on the internet that have high quality information regarding sex education, safe sex and the best condoms. However, there are many sites that have terrible information. The tone used in the discussion is usually a good indicator, but for the internet to be a useful source you need to be able to tell the good from the bad in terms of quality.

Frequently Asked Questions about Condoms

Q: How effective are condoms ?
A: The answer to that question varies depending on the particular brand name and type of condom you are talking about. However, it is reasonable to state that all of the condoms that are worth using are more than 95% effective and that the vast majority of them are 99%+ effective. There is a vast myth going around at the current moment in time that this particular method of contraception is actually not that effective, but the truth of the matter is that condoms are one of the most reliable products around. That is why they are central to most of the contraception campaigns that are run within the political realm.
Q: Is it possible to wear condoms and still end up with problems?
A: Unfortunately, the answer to this question is yes. The reason for this has to do more with the way in which condoms work however than any particular design deficiency in a particular product. The basic goal of a condom is to catch all of the ejaculate before it can enter the woman’s vaginal cavity while at the same time shielding the penis from becoming covered in any of the woman’s sexual fluid. The dual purpose of the prevention of fluid mixing in this case is to a) prevent pregnancy and b) prevent the transmission of any diseases. Since the sex cells of both men and women are microscopic however, it is possible for one to penetrate the condom either way and in doing so potentially cause a problem. This is why most condoms companies state that their products are 99.9% effective, since the odd event can happen otherwise.
Q: Is there anyway to make sure that condoms can be effective 100% of the time?
A: In practical terms, the answer to the question is yes. If you combine the use of condoms with other methods of contraception (such as birth control pills, a diaphragm or both a male and female condom being used at once), you will significantly decrease the chance that anything will happen as a result of the sex. While condoms are nearly perfect on their own, combining birth control methods can make it all but impossible for something to happen during sex. For legal reasons, companies that manufacture contraceptives will still state that their products are only effective 99.9% of the time, but it is extremely unlikely that something could happen when two or more contraception methods are in play at once.
Q: Is there any particular brand of condom I should purchase?
A: Ultimately, this is a private matter that you need to decide on your own. There are statistics available regarding different companies and the success of their condom products, but in the end all of the reputable companies put products out on the market that are extremely good. That having been said however, whether the condoms you choose are Trojan, Durex, Lifestyles or another brand of condoms, there are differences in terms of flavour, accessories and material, which is why you need to make a preferential decision on your own.

Relationships and Sex

The biggest areas of advice that men look for help in are actually not areas of advice that deal with contraceptives. Within the field of contraceptives, it is reasonably obvious that whether they know about contraceptives or not, men are going to keep that information to themselves and not solicit advice on the topic. That having been said however, the area of sex in general does get a lot of discussion amongst both men and women, far more than the specific area of contraceptives receives in relation to safe sex. The advice that people seek however is not about the use of contraceptives or safe sex, but rather about sex and timing. People want to know how much pressure can be put on the other partner to have sex or even when the timing might be right in order to try and initiate a sexual act. The answers to these questions are not easy, but if you start with some ground rules you should be on safe ground when it comes to having sex with your partner.
Always be Prepared
The single most important piece of advice that anyone can give you when it comes to relationships and sex is that you should always make sure that you are prepared for sex one way or another. Condoms should always be available in your house when your partner is over so that if sex does happen, you will be ready for it. If you do not have any contraceptives available and sex does happen, you run the risk of unwanted pregnancy or illness, both of which can be effective at derailing any future attempts at sex that you or your partner might attempt to initiate. For this reason, always being prepared with some contraceptives so that any sex you have is safe sex is always the best piece of advice that you can get.
Read your Partner’s Feelings
The next thing you need to do when it comes to sex is read your partner’s feelings. Regardless of whether you have contraceptives or not, the sexual act is one that needs to be wanted by both partners in order for it to be truly fulfilling. It is legitimate to a certain extent to be a little pushy when it comes to initiating sex with a partner, as there are nerves that come into play that can quickly be dispelled by actually engaging in the act of sex. That having been said however, there is a big difference between nervousness and a genuine lack of interest in having sex at that point and as a loving partner, it will be your job to ensure that you are able to understand this difference within your partner. When in doubt, err on the side of not having sex just to be safe, just as you would be purchasing and keeping condoms around just in case.
Conclusion
When it comes to relationships and sex it is always better to be safe than sorry. This is analogous to the use of contraceptives during sex as contraceptives help promote the idea of safe sex. If you keep this in mind, you’ll be fine in your sexual endeavors.

Safe Sex Methods, Part III

Method #6: The Birth Control Pill
As you can probably guess from the title of this particular method, it is a method that has to do with preventing pregnancy rather than preventing disease. For this reason, if you are interested in something like AIDS prevention, the birth control pill is really not the method for you to choose. You should choose one of the other methods that have been noted as ways to prevent the spread of disease and the mixing of fluids, as both of those things are central to the idea of AIDS prevention. The birth control pill is something that is taken by the woman after engaging in sex. It has the ability to alter the woman’s menstrual cycle and in doing so prevent the possibility of an egg being fertilized in any way, shape or form. Of course, the pill is not 100% effective, which is why it should be combined with some other form of safe sex such as male condoms. Such a combination would also deal with AIDS prevention as well as other problems stemming from risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
Method #7: Diaphragm
This particular device does not refer to anything that has to do with the diaphragm that is a muscle in your stomach, but rather the device that can be used as a form of birth control if it is inserted into the woman’s vagina before she engages in sex. This is a dual purpose safe sex method which means that it has the ability to protect both against unwanted pregnancy and also against sexually transmitted disease. For this reason, the diaphragm is an effective AIDS prevention tool. The main problem with the diaphragm for these purposes is that it tends to be quite expensive. A woman has to undergo an examination and have the device fitted to her particular biology and for that reason it can sometimes be out of reach of many people. For a woman that can afford to have one however, it is usually a better method than condoms as over the course of time the condoms will be used and disposed whereas the diaphragm can be used an unlimited number of times after it is acquired by the woman.
Method #8: Sponge
One final method that is worth mentioning in this series of methods dealing with safe sex is the sponge. The sponge used to be a very popular method for birth control and AIDS prevention, but it has since become less popular in favour of other methods such as the use of a diaphragm. The sponge is a small sponge that is inserted into the vagina before sex takes place and contains a large amount of sperm-killing substance on it. Therefore, it blocks and absorbs the semen before it can enter the cervix and kills all of the sperm cells before they can get by. For this reason, the sponge was an older method of AIDS prevention and birth control that was very popular, but its relative expense and disposability soon found it losing ground to the female condom when that particular product was made reliable.

Safe Sex Methods, Part II

Method #3: Withdrawal
The withdrawal method was perhaps the first real birth control or safe sex method to be developed as part of the sex education curriculum and the reason for this is a very simple one. The withdrawal birth control method is really the only one that does not utilize anything else in a material sense and for that reason it is quite easy for different couples to utilize this method for their birth control needs. The withdrawal method is simply a method that has the man pull out of the woman before orgasm and in doing so prevent the sharing of fluids that is where the problems can start both in terms of unwanted pregnancy and in terms of sexually transmitted disease. This method is a cheap and effective one if used properly, but it does require discipline on the part of the man to pull out before any ejaculation occurs. For this reason, many people prefer the other methods available. That having been said however, withdrawal is a foolproof safe sex practice if two people with discipline practice it whenever they happen to engage in sexual activity.
Method #4: Male Condoms
Perhaps the most popular birth control method currently available on the market is the male condom. It was the first one to be created on a manufacturing basis and ever since its creation, birth control has become a big part of the safe sex curriculum as tools have become available that have the ability to actually help in curbing the exchange of fluids that is the main causal element in disease transmission and pregnancy. A male condom is essentially a sheath that is placed over the man’s penis before penetration occurs. The man can ejaculate while still penetrating the woman and all of the fluid will be contained within the condom rather than spread out into the woman’s vagina. It is a simple principle yet one that has been effective enough for condoms to be utilized all over the world in campaigns to help stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases as well as to stop unwanted pregnancy from happening. Male condoms are disposable after a single use however and over time can end up getting expensive if the couple has sex often.
Method #5: Female Condoms
Hot on the heels of the release of the first male condom was the release of the first female condom. Female condoms function in the same way as male condoms do essentially, but are created with the female anatomy in mind. This particular birth control method, rather than forming a sheath around the man’s penis, instead forms a protective barrier around the interior of the woman’s vagina. In doing so, it prevents any sperm from entering into the vagina and potentially causing any harm. Both female condoms and male condoms are 99%+ effective on their own but when the two are combined, the end result is that a practically foolproof birth control method is created. The price concern with male condoms is also present with female condoms however, which is probably the main drawback to this particular method.

Safe Sex Methods Part 1

Introduction

Sexual exploration and sexual activity are starting to become more prevalent in younger ages in the current generation. With the oversexed society that we live in today, the simple truth of the matter is that teenagers are going to be exposed to sex at younger ages and for that reason plans need to be made for when teenagers inevitably decide to have sex one way or the other and whether to use condoms or not. There are many plans that can be put in place either for prevention or for dealing with sex and one of those plans is known as the safe sex approach. The safe sex approach is built around a number of different potential methods that can be used and for that reason it has really become the most popular method for sex education in the world today. With multiple methods to choose from, each person can pick the one that they feel would be best for them in their current life situation.

Method #1: Abstinence
One of the most controversial methods of safe sex that is utilized today is simply the method of abstinence. This is not really a safe sex method when you consider that the basic premise of this method is to avoid sex until a point in time where the consequences or potential consequences can be dealt with appropriately, but at the same time it needs to be discussed in any safe sex discussion for the simple reason that abstinence remains the most taught method around as far as sex education is concerned. The argument made by proponents of this method is that abstinence is the only sure fire method for birth control and to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. This is technically true since sex is avoided entirely and with other methods a 100% success rate is a theoretical impossibility, but studies have shown repeatedly that for practical terms, there are many other safe sex methods that are just as good as abstinence that allow teenagers to explore their natural sexual impulses.

Method #2: Monogamy
When teenagers are engaging in sexual relations, there is the impulse on the part of many teenagers to attempt to do this with more than one partner at the same time. Why this impulse exists is a question for sociologists to tackle, but scientists can already show with startling clarity that multiple sexual relationships at once increases the chance for a negative side effect such as a sexually transmitted disease. AIDS in particular is a disease that has been shown to have logarithmic increases in the transmission as the number of sexual partners gets larger. For this reason, one reasonably smart alternative to abstinence is monogamy. Monogamy means having just one sexual partner at a time and it is the foundation for the deeper and more meaningful relationships that tend to develop around sex as well. While it too is not really a safe sex method in the modern sense of the word, it is nonetheless taught as such in most of the sex education classes that do not deal with abstinence.

Condoms and Pregnancy

Most teen girls are curious when it comes to sex in general; this means curiosity about condoms as well as other forms of birth control and types of sex. A question that can be heard all over the place among girls in wide variations of age is “Can you get pregnant if the guy wears a condom.” A lot of people are under the impression that you are one hundred percent safe as long as there is a condom present, but is it true? Do condoms always protect you one hundred percent of the time? This answer as shocking as it may be is no, even if the guy wears a condom you can still become pregnant and are still susceptible to STDs.

Condoms are usually ninety seven percent to ninety eight percent effective when used correctly. However, doing things like purchasing the wrong size condom can drop the percentage of condom effectiveness dramatically, enabling you to get pregnant even if the guy wears a condom.

When a guy buys a condom that is too small, and tries to use it anyways, the condom may roll downwards allowing semen to come out of the condom into the female’s body. If a guy is wearing a condom that is too big, semen can spill out of the edges into the female’s body. Both of these circumstances can lead in AIDs, STDs, as well as unplanned pregnancy. These things can all endanger both the male and female from having a normal life.

Condom companies like Durex condoms, Trojan Condoms, Lifestyles Condoms, and Crown Condoms among others do their best to prevent accidents with their condoms. All of these condoms make various sizes and types of condoms to enable the best protection possible and even include directions. Making sure you and your partner both know how to put on a condom is important too, it is not only the guys responsibility. If a girl doesn’t know how to put on a condom, she won’t be able to catch it if her partner does something wrong, creating a greater risk for AIDs, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and unplanned pregnancy. By making sure you both know the proper way to put on a condom, you are insuring the safest sex possible.

Safe sex shouldn’t stop at condoms though, condoms may break and mistakes do happen. If you are a sexually active female you should also look into other forms of birth control to use, aside from just condoms and this way you are protecting yourself from becoming a mother before you are ready. The same thing goes for males, condoms are not the only way to safe sex, so educating yourself on all forms of birth control is very important. Birth control includes any type of preventative measure from getting pregnant this includes spermicidal lubrication, sponges, male condoms, female condoms, as well as other various methods and knowing all of them are really important is key. Knowledge is power when it comes to being sexually active, so make sure to keep yourself educated.

HIV in Hetrosexual African

As a Hispanic woman, I can say that as a race, we have a culture all our own. Weddings are usually huge with cousins of cousins attending and aunts making brisket and rice and beans in the back kitchen. Gatherings, whether they are for holidays or birthdays or graduation parties are always enormously food-centric, so instead of asking the host what you should get as a gift, you are usually asking what food and how much you should bring. All races have their own cultural norms, so it is not surprising that research studies would focus on race as a factor for behavior. A study published in the journal “AIDS” in June 2008 by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) demonstrates that HIV prevention techniques geared towards changing the behavior of heterosexual African Americans needs to consist of many distinct characteristics in order to be effective.
Lynae Darbes, a professor of medicine at UCSF’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies and Global Health Sciences and the lead author of the study states, “Peer education, skills training and cultural tailoring were critical factors we found in interventions that increased condoms use, reduced HIV risk behaviors and led to lower rates of sexually transmitted infections. It is important to recognize the diversity that exists within the African American community, and we are not recommending 'one size fits all' types of interventions. Successful interventions honed in on specific aspects of the target populations." The study was comprised of roughly 14,000 participants in a series of 38 controlled trials that were randomized in terms of social norms. Some examples of the norms that were focused on include how one person might perceive their risk factor for contracting AIDS, how to reduce sexual partners, their use of condoms, how to delay the first episode of sex with a new partner or a compilation of these norms. Results from the study point towards members of the African American community educating their peers in order to be more effective.
Darbes goes on to say, “Cultural tailoring was crucial and in effective interventions was derived from activities such as formative research within the target community using a 'ground up' approach as opposed to a top down or 'parachute' approach. Understanding the community was important in developing efficacious interventions." The study analyzed the controlled trials and quantified with measurements of condom use, percentage rates of unsafe or risky sex and the number of sexually transmitted diseases reported. George W. Rutherford, a co-author of the study, states, “This study shows how the technique of meta-analysis can be used to understand an entire literature and to find subtle but important associations that single studies simply can't find."

Elite AIDS Case

Being elite spurs images of crystal champagne flutes, first-class airline leather recliners, private jets ready to take their passengers to whatever city their whim fancies and five star hotel suites. However, for one woman in Baltimore, being “elite” is quite a different scenario. This woman was diagnosed with HIV ten years ago and yet one would never know it as her body has never displayed one single symptom of the virus.
The Baltimore woman and her husband were both diagnosed with HIV at the same time; however, while it is necessary for her husband to take antiretroviral drug treatments daily, she has never had to take these strong HIV drug cocktails as her body naturally combats the virus. Researchers are studying this woman’s immune system very carefully as she may literally be the key to developing an AIDS vaccine. A team of researchers at John Hopkins University describe this woman as an “elite suppressor.” Joel Blankson who is heading the research team states, “This is the best evidence to date that elite suppressors can have [the] fully pathogenic virus. The feeling was initially that they had [a] defective virus.”
The woman’s immune system is different than that of her husband’s, which is apparent considering they both contracted the same virus strand. Blankson goes on to say, “That’s a good sign in terms of developing a therapeutic vaccine.” While the developed vaccine would not be able to prevent a person from contracting the virus, it would be very helpful in its treatment. With 33 million people suffering from the virus worldwide and 25 million people who have succumbed to the disease, AIDS is still a very dangerous adversary. New studies have estimated that over 55,000 in the United States alone contract the virus; facts show that the disease is usually highest in the gay and bisexual population, and among those who do not use condoms; but it can also be transmitted through drug use, heterosexual sexual encounters without safe sex, from mother to unborn child and through blood transfusions.
Blankson and his colleagues ran tests on the Baltimore woman’s immune system and discovered that her immune cells (CD8 T-cells) were able to stop the virus from replicating by almost 90 percent; meanwhile her husband’s own T-cells were only able to stop the virus from replicating by 30%. In addition, while the virus has grown weaker in her body, her husband’s virus has maintained its strength. Blankson states, “Elite suppression offers clues to vaccine researchers on many fronts: how CD8 killer T-cells can attack HIV and how a stronger immune response can force HIV into a permanent defensive state. We are trying to figure out exactly how the T-cells work in her to inhibit viral replication.” Some researchers in the study have pointed to the fact that the woman has high activity in her HLA (human leukocyte antigen) system. This system is responsible for recognizing harmful foreign bodies, like bacteria and viruses. Only time will tell what more data the researchers can garner from this woman’s case in order to help them in their quest to create an AIDS vaccine.

Is HIV / AIDS Overfunded ?

Just like we all instantly know the pink ribbon is the symbol for the fight against breast cancer, we automatically think of the global fight against AIDS when we see the red ribbon on lapels, hanging from buildings and on the bottom corner of AIDS/HIV campaign posters. Countries and organizations funnel millions upon millions of dollars a year into the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic which currently afflicts approximately 33 million people around the globe. In fact, according to data provided by the Global Health Council, about 80% of America’s aid earmarked for population issues and health issues goes towards the fight against AIDS. Now, what some researchers, scientists and politicians are asking is whether too much aid is being provided for this one global disease. Especially when the disease can be prevented 99.9% of the time by simply wearing condoms.
Researchers and critics have begun asking this question as they worry that AIDS is sucking money away from other pressing, but less publicly exposed, health issues around the world. With the exclusion of Africa, AIDS/HIV has become a manageable disease as some experts point out. One critic of the money being spent for AIDS/HIV is Jeremy Shiffman from Syracuse University whose studies focus on health spending, “AIDS is a terrible humanitarian tragedy, but it's just one of many terrible humanitarian tragedies.” Even more vocal on the subject is Roger England from the Health Systems Workshop. England is calling for UNAIDS to be disbanded and states, “The global HIV industry is too big and out of control. We have created a monster with too many vested interests and reputations at stake... too many relatively well paid HIV staff in affected countries, and too many rock stars with AIDS support as a fashion accessory."
Responding to England’s statements is Paul de Lay from UNAIDS, “We have an epidemic that has caused between 55 million and 60 million infections. To suddenly pull the rug out from underneath that would be disastrous." De Lay insists that while it may appear the epidemic has been managed with drugs and multiple HIV campaigns around the world, this line of thinking could not be further from the truth. England feels that the annual budget of $200 million for UNAIDS would be better suited to address more pressing health issues like pneumonia which claims more children’s lives each year than AIDS, measles and malaria altogether. England states, "By putting more money into AIDS, we are implicitly saying it's OK for more kids to die of pneumonia."
Many critics also cite the fact that health and financial resources often get misallocated. One example is demonstrated in the country of Rwanda where, in 2006, close to $50 million was allocated for the fight against HIV/AIDS, $18 million was allocated to the fight against malaria (the number one killer in Rwanda) and only $1 million was allocated to fight various childhood diseases. Activists and researchers for health issues other than AIDS fight to get any financial resources but often have a hard time drawing attention away from the popular AIDS/HIV global battle. John Oldfield from Water Advocates (an agency that campaigns for clean sanitation and water) states, “Diarrhea kills five times as many kids as AIDS. Everybody talks about AIDS at cocktail parties. But nobody wants to hear about diarrhea." With a recession currently in place, the focus of correctly allocating money for various health issues is even more pressing. States Shiffman, “I do not want to see the cause of AIDS harmed. For AIDS to crowd out other issues is ethically unjust." More money should be spent on the prevention of HIV/AIDS through safe sex education and promoting the use of condoms.

Condoms, Contraception and Women

Literally moments ago, I had an e-mail conversation with a friend who had an appointment to get birth control pills this afternoon. After having a longer than normal lunch with her husband, she lost track of time and realized she would have to reschedule her appointment with her gynecologist. Normally, for most women, this would not pose any problem, but my very good friend has had two oops moments that resulted in two precious babies born fifteen months apart because she had done exactly what she did today…miss her appointment for birth control. Birth control is one of those things that you don’t really want to mess with…ask my friend. According to recent research out of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, however, women see birth control as more than just a way to prevent pregnancies; the method a woman chooses to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STDs also helps determine how pleasurable and satisfied she is sexually.
The new study reveals that many women feel that condoms actually decrease the pleasure felt from sex, but that those women who utilize both condoms and some type of hormonal contraception like birth control pills actually feel that they are more sexually satisfied. The researchers understand that the findings sound inconsistent but they believe it is an indication that women think of sex in two different arenas: sexual satisfaction (overall) and sexual enjoyment (each encounter). When women were asked about the satisfaction they felt overall about their sexual lives (which consists of how a woman feels about the relationship she is in and her sexual self-esteem), those women who utilized a hormonal birth control method combined with condoms ranked the highest in terms of being satisfied sexually. However, when these women were surveyed on how their choice on contraception (whether it was a hormonal method or condoms) affected their enjoyment of sex, those women who utilized condoms (alone or combined with alternate forms of contraception) seemed to feel that they made the sexual encounter less pleasurable. Women who simply used hormonal birth control did not feel that this type of contraception took away from their sexual enjoyment.
Those researchers who involved themselves with this study did so largely in part because the link between the contraception a woman chooses and her sexual enjoyment and satisfaction is an area that has not been studied thoroughly. Stephanie Sanders, one of the co-authors of the study, states, “The public health community has paid little attention to women's sexual experiences with contraceptive methods, especially condoms. If women think condoms detract from sexual pleasure, they may be less inclined to use them consistently." The study determined that of those women who used only a hormonal type of birth control, 4% of them felt that it decreased their sexual pleasure; these women were also the ones who felt the least sexually satisfied of the bunch. Of those women who utilized both condoms and a hormonal type of birth control, 23% of them felt it decreased their sexual pleasure; however, these women felt the most sexually satisfied of all the respondents.