[otakucode]

There is also a sort-of vaccine for HIV called PrEP or something like that. I'm not sure how you get it but I've seen mention of people using it prophylactically (which is what its designed for). And really without HIV, there isn't too much to be afraid of. HPV has a vaccine for many of the dangerous strains, and the other strains infect the vast majority of the populace anyway so even calling them a 'disease' is arguable. Same with herpes. It's for life, but almost everyone has it. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc, are easily treatable except for the antibiotic resistant forms which are (thankfully) very isolated in their spread.

Aiming for 'less sexual activity' is a very bad goal. Abstinence is harmful. The tremendous health benefits of sexual activity are myriad. The amount of research backing up the idea that modern society is dangerously sexless is huge. One of my favorites was a study of ALL men, across all ages, socioeconomic groups, everything, of an entire town I believe somewhere in northern Scotland (maybe Ireland?)... those who had the most frequent orgasms had a 50% lower chance of having died of any cause over the 15 year period of their study. They also had very significantly reduced incidence of heart disease, cancer, and other health problems. But, of course, such things get reported as 'health benefits of sex' and not 'health dangers of abstinence' because they assume people are abstinent by default which is ludicrous. We'll know if public sentiment is changing when the headlines change.

[allendoerfer]

> One of my favorites was a study of ALL men, across all ages, socioeconomic groups, everything, of an entire town I believe somewhere in northern Scotland (maybe Ireland?)... those who had the most frequent orgasms had a 50% lower chance of having died of any cause over the 15 year period of their study. They also had very significantly reduced incidence of heart disease, cancer, and other health problems. But, of course, such things get reported as 'health benefits of sex' and not 'health dangers of abstinence' because they assume people are abstinent by default which is ludicrous. We'll know if public sentiment is changing when the headlines change.

There seems to be a causality, but to me it is not obvious, what its direction is. The most healthy men, are probably also the most attractive.

[otakucode]

Given the variety and abundance of studies, along with my reading on evolutionary biology, human biological history, and sexuality in general, I think it's a simple matter of 'we are built to be profoundly sexual creatures.' Just look at the facts of orgasm and I personally think it becomes clear that it has to be a critical bodily function. If you refuse to do anything to elicit one intentionally, your body will eventually take over and force one to occur in your sleep. That is not something the body does generally with other things except critical ones. There is certainly an argument that perhaps the purpose is to improve sperm quality in males, but females have nocturnal orgasms as well (though the mess after puberty makes it quite a bit easier for males to recognize it has happened).

We could have evolved to have a 'mating season' as almost all animals have. We could have evolved for females to give visible indication of fertility. We could have saved "wasting" the positively monumental amount of energy we pour into pursuing sex. We could have evolved so that sex was not even pleasurable but driven by instinct. We didn't have to evolve women going through menopause (and living a substantial amount of time afterward). Almost every single facet of human sexuality, if viewed through the lens of "sex is for reproduction", looks nonsensical if not evolutionarily suicidal. But through the lens of "sex is primarily for pleasure and social bonding," every bit of it makes sense. It explains why we stuck together in groups, the only thing that let weak, slow, stupid chimps without fangs, claws, venom, natural armor, or other similar natural advantages (except maybe endurance) survive long enough to have our social environment provide pressure for brain development and development of speech. We stuck together to preserve access to sexual partners, because it was pleasurable, and it made us the most powerful species on the planet. It makes sense that those who 'needed' it more were the ones to pass on their genes the most often.

[esm]

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is Truvada, which is part of the anti-retroviral regimen given to many HIV(+) patients. The idea is that any virions that enter your body are killed before they have a chance to set up shop.

It is a reasonably simple, safe, and effective drug, so it really should be available from any PCP. However, some community physicians do not prescribe it for one reason or another. HIV/STD clinics are almost always happy to see HIV(-) patients who are interested in PrEP.