Gonorrhoea & Chlamydia
Gonorrhoea and chlamydia are sexually transmitted infections (STIs). They are easily spread through anal sex without a condom and oral sex, and are common among gay and bi- sexual men. They are also known as drop.
You can get gonorrhoea or chlamydia in your throat (from sucking an infected cock), in your anus (from being penetrated by an infected top without a condom) or in your penis (from penetrating an infected bottom without a condom). You can also get them from a partner even if he doesn’t cum in your mouth or anus. Men who also have sex with women can get gonorrhoea or chlamydia from vaginal sex.
Having gonorrhoea or chlamydia makes it easier for you to get HIV, or to spread HIV to your partner if you are HIV positive.
Disclosure
Whether Or Not To Disclose
This is a difficult decision to make because disclosure (telling others about your HIV status) can have significant consequences. Consider the benefits as well as the possible negative consequences that disclosure may have for you as an individual.
Disclosure can help you to accept your own HIV positive status and can also help you to access the medical services, care and support that you need. Openness about your HIV positive status may make it easier to negotiate responsible sex and to prevent others being infected.
Disclosure can cause problems in relationships (with your spouse, partner or lover, family members or friends) and some people may judge you. It can be especially challenging to disclose your status to someone you’ve previously had condomless sex with. They may need to undergo an HIV test themselves.
Anal Health
Many men are reluctant to discuss or even consider their anal health. Your anus is the one part of your own body that you are least likely to have seen. It is also an embarrassing part of your body to…
Alcohol As A Drug
Alcohol is a mood-changing drug and both a depressant in larger doses, and a stimulant in smaller quantities.
Alcohol can lower your inhibitions (make you do things you wouldn’t usually do) and could make you feel affectionate, horny, sexually confident, sexually assertive, or keen to experiment sexually. The numbing effect of alcohol can make it harder to climax (cum), and heavy drinkers can lose both their sex drive (wanting to have sex) and their ability to get an erection (hard-on).
Alcohol affects your judgement which can make you more likely to take risks during sex. It can even make you unable to remember what sex you had, or who you had sex with.
Being Gay and Ageing
Everyone knows life doesn't stop at 45, yet many people think sex does. As we mature, many gay men feel distanced from or unwelcome at some social venues such as clubs or bars that cater to a younger crowd. Even…
Antiretroviral Treatment
Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are pills used to control HIV. Adherence to your HIV treatment means taking your ARV pills correctly, at the right time and the right dose (amount), as your healthcare provider told you to do. Taking your pills at the wrong time, either too early or too late, or missing doses altogether could make them less effective (less powerful to help you) and they may even stop working for you.
Adherence also means not taking other pills or treatments that could cause a bad reaction (mix) with your ARVs. Using alcohol or other drugs can make you forget to take your HIV treatment. Many herbal treatments and other kinds of therapy have not been tested and should be avoided if you take ARVs. Talk to your healthcare provider about taking other treatments or substances with your ARVs.
Why Are We Not Talking About PrEP?
Michael Lucas comes out as HIV-negative, sexually active man on PReP
To tell or not to tell? - Disclosure and you
Whether or not to disclose your HIV-positive status is a difficult decision to make because disclosure (or non-disclosure) is often followed by major and life-changing consequences.
Have a look at the guidelines in this article that may help if you are considering disclosing.