Cuddling and being dirty can halt HIV?

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soap.jpg

So I’m reading Jezebel, where they wittily illustrate their take on a certain news story with a photograph of a turtleneck…

…and I realize that obviously, what is being discussed there MUST be blogged here, because if there’s anything which is widely relevant to the brown Diaspora, it is the wearing of, ahem, turtlenecks. On your pee-pees. And for those of you who are sporting one such fleshy outfit, take heed– today’s Grey Lady has some filthy words for ya.

A study in Uganda has come up with a surprising finding about sex and H.I.V. Washing the penis minutes after sex increased the risk of acquiring H.I.V. in uncircumcised men.
The sooner the washing, the greater the risk of becoming infected, the study found. Delaying washing for at least 10 minutes after sex significantly lowered the risk of H.I.V. infection, Dr. Fredrick E. Makumbi reported on July 25 at an International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia.
The researchers do not have a precise explanation for the findings, which challenge common wisdom and the teaching of many infectious disease experts who urge penile cleansing as part of good genital hygiene. Health experts have suggested that washing the penis after sex could prevent potentially infectious vaginal secretions from entering the body through the uncircumcised penis.

A lubricious error (and what inspired the picture I chose to go with this post)!

Because of a slip-up, the researchers did not ask details of how the cleansing was done or directly about using soap, said Dr. Ronald H. Gray, a co-author from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Some soaps used in Africa are more irritating than those used elsewhere.

See? That’s why you should take happy little soap’s advice and rub…never mind.So I read the following:

Men who washed within three minutes had a 2.3 percent risk of H.I.V. infection compared with 0.4 percent among those who delayed washing for 10 or more minutes. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases paid for the study.

…and thought, “now cuddling is an actual strategery“. Well, call me the psychic, because the Doctors, they agree!

One message from the study, Dr. Gray said, “is that there ought to be a little time left for postcoital cuddling before you go and wash.”
“Don’t just finish and jump out of bed,” he said.

I don’t know if this is going to thrill women everywhere, since many of the women I know don’t conform to that cuddle-bunny stereotype; they are just as likely to roll over and commence blissful, post-coital snoring.

Anyway, it’s on a bird, it’s not plain..it’s…dun-dun-duh…SUPER VAG!

Dr. Makumbi and other AIDS experts said they did not know why the washing practice increased vulnerability to H.I.V. infection, but offered various explanations. One is that the acidity of vaginal secretions may impair the ability of the AIDS virus to survive on the penis. Delayed cleansing — and longer exposure to the vaginal secretions — may then reduce viral infectivity.

H20 is evil!

Another is that use of water, which has a neutral pH, may encourage viral survival and possible infectivity.
H.I.V. apparently needs to be in a fluid to cross the mucosa to infect cells, Dr. Gray said. If the H.I.V.-contaminated fluid dries, its infectivity may decrease. Adding water could resuspend H.I.V. to make it more infectious.

Jezebel’s readers were especially scornful of these fascinating results; they wondered why the mens in Uganda weren’t wearing raincoats over their turtlenecks. After all, it’s precipitous out there. 😉

58 thoughts on “Cuddling and being dirty can halt HIV?”

  1. Props to Anna for extending an elaborate metaphor without mixing it.

    Come to think of it, a good vibrator should leave you the same way. Shaken. Not stirred.

    By the way, all men of the male gender, I would advise against delaying the washing if you’re in a cold place. (No, I’m not calling your woman frigid). The last thing you want is your gene carriers solidifying in you like epoxy. Even worse if it epoxies you to your woman. That might be a new type of bonding experience, but I don’t think she will appreciate you being so clingy.

    Of course, Star Trek aliens are allowed to Klingon to their partners.

  5. How many condoms can you wear at once?

    Granted some people are not getting any action, but do those people also have to advertise it? 😉

  7. pingpong that was hilarious, but for safe sex makespan:

    Man # 1 wears N condoms, layered one on top of another. He visits the N women in turn, leaving the outermost condom behind with each.

    I think the result above is wrong. the nth condom used by the first man would be compromised (on the inside edge) as it has’nt been used in a double layered fashion.

  8. Of course, Star Trek aliens are allowed to Klingon to their partners.

    you win. your geekier than me

  10. the practice of removing body parts seems odd to me… same with the practice of puncturing the body.

  11. the practice of removing body parts seems odd to me

    removing, me against! alterations on some parts, me ok.

  12. Quoting SRK:

    I think the result above is wrong. the nth condom used by the first man would be compromised (on the inside edge) as it has’nt been used in a double layered fashion.

    My understanding was that even though the Nth condom of the first man is soiled on the inside, every subsequent man has his own condom with him, so only the outside of their condoms touch the inside of the Nth condom. The exception is the last man who doesn’t have a condom of his own, and takes it from the first woman (the inside surface of which is still clean), and from then on that becomes his innermost condom.

    I wonder if this is what they teach in college math classes to make things more interesting.

  13. I wonder if this is what they teach in college math classes to make things more interesting.

    We are desi. You must mean high school. 😉

  14. We are desi. You must mean high school. 😉

    talking aout $ex in high school? sorry, we are desi. no $ex here….

  16. good piece, ANNA! any idea what the washing does for those without turtlenecks? i also suggest for uncut men who want to wash immediately after – maybe you can use something acidic – like orange juice? or coke?

    they wondered why the mens in Uganda weren’t wearing raincoats over their turtlenecks. After all, it’s precipitous out there. 😉

    is it even moral to conduct a study where the participants are essentially required not to wear a condom?

    Of course, Star Trek aliens are allowed to Klingon to their partners.

    just terrible, pingpong 🙂 i suggest you don’t use this sort of humour in bed – there might not be any post-coital clinging at all…

  17. just terrible, pingpong 🙂 i suggest you don’t use this sort of humour in bed – there might not be any post-coital clinging at all…

    im an uberdweeb…and even i have limits…

  18. i also suggest for uncut men who want to wash immediately after – maybe you can use something acidic – like orange juice? or coke?

    Creative solutions. Coke is it. 😉

    I still want a female super hero called “Super Vag”

  19. Creative solutions. Coke is it. 😉

    hmm…the effervessence would be interesting….

    I still want a female super hero called “Super Vag”

    id watch that. or you can have a male superheero called supervag.

  20. id watch that. or you can have a male superheero called supervag.

    Puli, you feminist, you. 😀

  22. Won’t a guy get told off if he gets up straight away for a wash?

    You just reminded me– there’s an episode of SATC involving Miranda which deals with this (though in that case, he was washing away Catholic guilt vs. laundering his turtleneck). They break up.

    See? Cuddling prevents heartbreak AND the spread of HIV. 😉 Everybody wins.

  23. See? Cuddling prevents heartbreak AND the spread of HIV. 😉 Everybody wins.

    yes…always remember to cuddle with your aids infected partner after sleeping with them..

  24. for gods sake, use protection next time you all have anonymous sex in etheopia.

  27. i was invited to one of those cuddle parties. I spent the next month in trauma thinking about strangers hugging me.

  29. ANNA have you heard of/been to one of these?

    seems like the perfect venue for ANNA’s inappropriate hugs 🙂

    for gods sake, use protection next time you all have anonymous sex in etheopia.

    uganda, puli…

    ANNA, i was thinking of that SATC episode when i read the post! but that guy was uber-freaked out – sometimes people do feel the need to just wash 🙂 maybe all SMers should keep a copy of this study at their bedside to whip out post-act.

  30. 🙂 maybe all SMers should keep a copy of this study at their bedside to whip out post-act.

    that would be (only slightly less dorky) than post coital star trek pillow talk.

  32. two words Wet Wipes

    the first word might kill that plan. if its the removal of vaginal fluid, and in inclusion of moisture that increases aids risk, wet wipes might also be a problem. not sure though.

  33. I put up a porntastic post like this and you guys are pondering if wet wipes will exacerbate a problem in Uganda? 🙂 You don’t deserve opportunities for debauchery. 😉

  35. What % of desi guys born in the US are cut?

    We should set up a facebook poll and find out. . . . . . I keed, I keed.

  37. You don’t deserve opportunities for debauchery. 😉

    well…its hard to think of debauchery when im thinking of aids and a bar of soap up my undu (kundi).

  38. But seriously who uses soap bars anymore???

    I was thinking of switching back to bar soap to go with the rest of my old school toiletries.

  39. What % of desi guys born in the US are cut?

    I don’t know, but some seem to be cut more than once.

    Also, what is it with all the anti-Star Trek vitriol? It’s surely not as bad as Kirk asking McCoy and his twin brother “Which of you is the real McCoy?”, or TV Guide summarizing the episode “Amok Time” as “Spock succumbs to a Vulcan mating urge and nearly kills Kirk” or Picard telling Crusher, “Here, see the Captain’s log”.

    Some of those events may not have happened. The TV Guide one really did.

  40. I was thinking of switching back to bar soap

    I dont know if you have room partners or you stay with family but think about the last thing they wash with that bar in shower and the first thing you’ll wash.

  41. a bar of soap up my undu (kundi).

    Insert joke about dropping the soap in prison and its consequences.

  42. i was invited to one of those cuddle parties. I spent the next month in trauma thinking about strangers hugging me.

    Idea for next NYC SM Meetup!!!

  43. I dont know if you have room partners or you stay with family but think about the last thing they wash with that bar in shower and the first thing you’ll wash.

    oh…thats why im thinking of switching back. i live in my own little place.

  45. Idea for next NYC SM Meetup!!!

    i thought a regular meetup was ackward. that would put me into a semi catatonic state.

  46. I dont know if you have room partners or you stay with family but think about the last thing they wash with that bar in shower and the first thing you’ll wash.

    Ah. I was wondering about the reason you mentioned that. I share my bar of soap only with those folks I’ve shared bodily fluids with, so no such concerns as you mention. 😉

  49. since many of the women I know don’t conform to that cuddle-bunny stereotype

    what..no..cant be..seriously? naahiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnn