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by Terry_Roll 1606 days ago
So some other points.

Some Sex lubes can make it easier for infections to get into the body. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_lubricant#Water-based

Thing is I wonder if a higher vitamin A and zinc intake can help because all epithelial cells need retinol (vitamin A), zinc is needed to move retinol around the body as Retinol Binding Protein (RBP) for epithelial cells. Alcohol can reduce fat soluble vitamins stored in the liver which can then reduce the VitA stored in the liver, you see this most easily with alcoholics and hypovitaminosis A, but even short term binge drinking can reduce levels enough to increase risks of transmission which probably explains man flu!

I found a cadaver study where they measured vitA content in the livers of dead people but didnt say how they died, knowing that you can die from ingesting too much vitA in one go like some arctic explorers did when eating polar bear livers decades ago and died. In order to get the highest amounts of vitA seen in some of these cadavers, you'd have to consume 30,000ui of VitA every day for at least a year without your body using any! Thats a lot of Vit A!!!

Anyone who paid attention to the Ebola outbreak in Africa a few years back, may remember that some viruses like Ebola can hide in parts of the body where the immune system can not go, namely the eyes and the testes and sometimes the brain, so they may have remembered that blokes testing negative for Ebola but previously had it, could still be passing it on through semen.

The thing with HIV, its typically passed through anal intercourse, not vaginal where there is sufficient lubrication, but its passed more frequently in Africa because they have a tendancy to have dry vaginal intercourse, because they actually try to reduce the wetness of the vagina which then creates microtears and sores and then its easy for HIV to get into the bloodstream, just like cuts and sores in the mouth also making it easy for HIV to get into the blood.

The whole 80's govt advice/warnings on HIV were directed at everyone because they didnt want to stigmatise those engaging in non vaginal intercourse.

The biggest risk from HIV is getting it into the blood, like most things which are pathogenic.

Now you can still have a highly effective immune system which can lock down viruses, but there is always the risk it gets into those parts of a body where the immune system cant go and I dont know what they test now a days.

5 comments

> The whole 80's govt advice/warnings on HIV were directed at everyone because they didnt want to stigmatise those engaging in non vaginal intercourse.

Gay people were so stigmatized at the time that the government did nothing when they thought it was a 'gay disease'; they just let an epidemic spread and people die. Very few in the 1980s worried about offending gay people. Once it was spreading to people who weren't gay, then I'm sure health information was provided to those people.

I'm not going to respond to a good chunk of this even though I'm itching too.

But I just have to laugh out loud at the thought of governments in the 80s not stigmatizing the disease and specifically queer people having anal sex.

Just so laughably the opposite of the real experience of an entire lost generation of gay men.

I had no idea "dry sex" was a thing. I am speechless. wtf?
Its like genital mutilation. These are legacy solutions when legacy forms of govt/social control like religions, royalty or cults were the main educational source for surviving back then. Ironically there still is some truth in things like religious fasting provided your glutathione levels are high enough.

There's no excuse for it in todays day and age, but what can you do? I sometimes think democracy is a soap opera for serious people, whilst the military run the real show.

Some cultures believe lubrication is a sign of poor virtue or infidelity. Women use chalk, cornstarch, etc, to ensure they stay dry and to (supposedly) enhance the pleasure of their partner.
It makes zero sense, but yeah.

There was a thing not long ago where talcum powder, I think Johnson & Johnson, had some asbestos contamination (asbestos being another mineral that can come from the same mines, apparently). And people were suing because it gave them cancer of the uterus and other internal parts of the female reproductive system. Which makes you go: Wait a second. How the hell does that happen?

That's how.

I find it hard to believe. Wouldn't it make more sense that the powder was in contact with the external reproductive parts for extended amounts of time (which is its normal usage) and as a result some parts managed to get inside?
I don't think people are intentionally pushing talc through their cervix, if that's what you mean. But, pack your vagina with the stuff every day, and I imagine you can have all kinds of problems. If I were to go any further than that about exactly how it works I'd be speculating.
OK, I see. Because back in the day it was more or less standard to use powder in the groin area and leave it for hours in order to prevent skin irritation in babies, especially in the summer. So since it was standard usage, people should reasonably expect that the powder sold for this purpose was sufficiently examined and fit for the purpose.

When I first heard about asbestos in children talc powder, I simply thought it was just one of these "bad pharma" conspiracy theories (there was another one - about asbestos in sanitary towels). It seemed so far-fetched - who in their right mind wouldn't make sure to thoroughly check a product designed to have long-term contact with babies' skin against well-known carcinogenic substance? Well, it turns out this time it happened not in China but right in the heart of the USA.

> Anyone who paid attention to the Ebola outbreak in Africa a few years back, may remember that some viruses like Ebola can hide in parts of the body where the immune system can not go, namely the eyes and the testes and sometimes the brain, so they may have remembered that blokes testing negative for Ebola but previously had it, could still be passing it on through semen.

You might find this interesting, the "few years back" might be now again: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03901-9

Nothing would surprise me! I know a mad scientist who works at the UK's Porton Down, we discussed alot, but the systems are not in place to stop people shipping stuff around. Until such times as that happens, any country with the know how can release anything anywhere.

I think this Hollywood film Dont Look Up will be a poignant message to everyone.

> Some Sex lubes can make it easier for infections to get into the body. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_lubricant#Water-based

I would not use Wikipedia for health information with serious consequences.