Life Power Now - for gay men

In the heat of the moment, who wants to think of risk and disease? I recommend you don't. It's much better to plan ahead with a cooler head and understand what you are comfortable doing with a partner and where you draw the line. That answer is most like different for you than it is for the hot guy your are about to bed. If you can, talk about it. That way, you'll make sure you don't wake up a few weeks later wondering where that rash came from or whether that cold is really just a cold. And because it is often hard to tell, please get tested and get treated, if necessary.

Information and Resources on HIV/AIDS

• Center for Disease Control on HIV/AIDS. CDC's HIV mission is to prevent HIV infection and reduce the incidence of HIV-related illness and death, in collaboration with community, state, national, and international partners. CDC’s programs work to improve treatment, care, and support for persons living with HIV and to help build capacity and infrastructure to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv
• Gay Men’s Health Crisis is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS.http://www.gmhc.org
• In SPOT LA. Internet Notification Service for Partners or Tricks. Includes comprehesive information on STDs and condom use. Regional sites for San Francisco, Los Angeles, California and Indiana. Free download of iTrick, the little black book software for gay men. http://www.inspotla.org
• The Body. The Body's aims to Use the Web to lower barriers between patients and clinicians. Demystify HIV/AIDS and its treatment. Improve patients' quality of life. Foster community through human connection. http://www.thebody.com
• The Black AIDS Institute is the first Black HIV/AIDS policy center dedicated to reducing HIV/AIDS health disparities by mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront the epidemic in their communities. Our motto describes a commitment to self-preservation: "Our People, Our Problem, Our Solution." http://www.blackaids.org

Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) publishes a comprehensive website on sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The table below summarizes some of the most relevant information for gay men and includes shortcuts to targeted information from the CDC.
Go to the CDC website on sexually transmitted diseases.

• Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). Hepatitis A can affect anyone. In the United States, hepatitis A can occur in situations ranging from isolated cases of disease to widespread epidemics. About 15% of people infected with Hepatitis A have prolonged illness or relapsing symptoms over a 6-9 month period.
  Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. The virus, which is called hepatitis B virus (HBV), can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death.
  If you are a man who has sex with men, get vaccinated. There is no treatment for Hepatitis A, and the available drugs for Hepatitis B are only effective in up to 40 percent of the cases.
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis
• Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called "the great imitator" because so many of the signs and symptoms of syphilis are similar to those of other diseases.
  In the United States, health officials reported over 32,000 cases of syphilis in 2002, including 6,862 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis. In 2002, half of all P&S syphilis cases were reported from 16 counties and 1 city; and most P&S syphilis cases occurred in persons 20 to 39 years of age.
  The incidence of infectious syphilis was highest in women 20 to 24 years of age and in men 35 to 39 years of age. Between 2001 and 2002 the number of reported P&S syphilis cases increased 12.4 percent. Rates in women continued to decrease, and overall, the rate in men was 3.5 times that in women. This, in conjunction with reports of outbreaks of syphilis in MSM, suggests that rates of syphilis in MSM are increasing. CDC Fact Sheet on Syphilis and Men who have Sex with Men
• Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix (opening to the womb), uterus (womb), and fallopian tubes (egg canals) in women, and in the urethra (urine canal) in women and men. The bacterium can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea/STDFact-gonorrhea.htm
• Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2. Most individuals have no or only minimal signs or symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection. When signs do occur, they typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur. Typically, another outbreak can appear weeks or months after the first, but it almost always is less severe and shorter than the first outbreak. Although the infection can stay in the body indefinitely, the number of outbreaks tends to decrease over a period of years. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm
• Genital warts are single or multiple growths that appear in the genital area. They may be raised, flat, or cauliflower shaped. Genital warts are caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV).
  In men, genital warts may appear around the anus or on the penis, scrotum (testicles), groin or thighs. Even men who have never had anal sex can get warts around the anus. Warts may appear within weeks or months after sexual contact with an infected person, or not at all. A person can have the type of HPV that causes genital warts, but never develop any warts. http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV-and-men.htm