I recently went to the Wilde Clinic for gay and bisexual men to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). If you didn't know it already, I have slept with both men and women, but mostly women. I'd had no symptoms of disease but thought it was about time to get tested (it had been around 5 years) as well as my last ex-girlfriend insisting that she wouldn't give me a blowjob unless she was sure I didn't have anything infectious. Unfortunately the relationship ended, but my desire to know didn't.
I rang up on a Monday and was able to get an appointment that Wednesday for a "Sexual health MOT." I was going to get the works. After cycling to the clinic, I filled in a form at reception, which amongst other things let me decide whether my GP could access the results of the test. I ticked the 'No' box because of potential insurance, mortagage and privacy reasons.
Then I sat down and and waited for someone to call my name. While sitting in the waiting room I couldn't help but wonder what diseases the other people around me had, how long they had to live (which in retrospect is a a little melodramatic, especially as many STDs are curable or non-fatal and even if someone is diagnosed with HIV, it doesn't mean that they'll develop AIDS) or if they were still sexually active if they knew they still had certain STDs. After all, in 2005, around "11.6% [of gay men were]...diagnosed [with] HIV" (p.10) in the UK (this is extrapolated from a sample survey). This is the reason why I can't donate blood - I fall within a higher risk category. Admitttedly, this is nothing compared to the estimated 25% HIV prevalence rate in Swaziland for adults aged between 15-49 years (p.11) as well as the estimated 33.2 million people who have it globally. However, in the general population, the adult prevalance of HIV is around 0.3% in Western and Central Europe (p.7), so HIV prevalence is much higher for gay men in the UK.
Anyway, while increasingly feeling nervous, my name was called and I went into a pre-test consultation. The consultant (I'm not sure what his official title was or if he formally was a consultant) wanted to know about my previous sexual history as well as asking questions like: Have you ever been paid for sex? Have you ever paid for sex? Have you ever injected drugs? Thankfully the answer to these questions was 'No'! Everything came out in the interview - no rock was left unturned in terms of my potential risk to STDs. When we got onto my sexual history he asked if I had used contraception for penetrative sex and then if I had used it for oral sex. While the answer was almost always 'yes' for the first question (apart from with my first girlfriend, and we were both virgins at the time, and one other brief lapse before I came to my senses), the answer to the second was pretty much always 'No.'
I later asked the consultant whether he expected people to use condoms while giving and/or receiving oral sex. I mean, no-one I know does, and I just can't imagine anyone wanting to either. Apparently some people use dental dams when giving women oral sex, but even that sounds unappealing, let alone the taste of latex when giving a blow job to someone wearing a condom.
The consultant laughed when I asked this and told me that he used to use condoms when giving and receiving oral sex, but the last straw for him was when he'd given a blow job to someone wearing a curry flavoured condom! He said that he was oblidged to tell me the risks (for example, that I could get gonorrhoea in my throat if I gave oral sex to someone who had it), but ultimately we live in a world full of risks and we often decide to expose ourselves to certain risks for personal pleasure. This is a risk which he himself admitted to exposing himself to.
Then he took a couple of vials of my blood, and after feeling faint for a minute, I went back to the waiting room to wait for the next part of the test.
I was called again, this time into a nurses station, where two beautiful blonde nurses awaited me. They asked how I was and told me they were going to start on the easy stuff first. They first took a swab from my throat, and before I knew it, they'd asked me to drop my pants and lie back on the examination table. I worried for a moment that I might get a hard-on, but unsurprisingly I wansn't in the mood. One of them examined my penis to check for any signs of infection as well as having a look if my balls had any irregular lumps (in her words, if my "balls were smooth") which could be testicular cancer. All good so far. My balls were "smooth".
Then came the part which every man loathes. She wanted to collect a swab from the inside of my penis. So, with the plastic device in hand, she gently put it down the tip (or urethra) of my penis and took what she needed to take. I remember it hurting more last time this happened to me, but it felt more like a pin prick this time and was quickly over.
(Please note that this is not my penis!)
Then I had to roll onto my side so that they could take an anal swab (this is only for people who have receptive anal sex). When I'd woken up that morning I hadn't imagined that two beautiful blonde women would be staring up my backside commenting on how it looked. But it was happening and I had to stop myself from laughing out loud about it. They first put a small lubed plastic tube up there so that it was easier to have a look. They said not to worry as I'd barely feel it. I joked with them that they shouldn't worry because I'd had much bigger things than that up there! They had a look for any abrasions in my anal passage and took a swab through the plastic tube. All good this end. I swung my legs off the examination table and pulled my trousers up.
They then asked for a urine sample so I went to the toilet and brought back a filled vial. To finish off they gave me the first shot (in both arms) of a Hepatitis B vaccine. I have to go again in a month and in six months for further shots if I am not naturally immune to it, which they find out through the blood tests. I'll find this out next time I go.
And that was that. Everyone had been very friendly, considerate and surprisingly chatty which had helped me relax. After being in the clinic for an hour, they handed me some condoms and lube and told me to book my next appointment as well as how I'd like to receive the results with the receptionist. I asked for them to be sent by text message and 9 days (or 7 working days) later I got a message saying "All test results negative" while I was at a friends flat. Because I was so relieved I went around telling people about my results (even though I wasn't sure they wanted to hear about it) as well as telling them that they should get tested.
So, that is the end of the account, but what are the lessons to learn from it?
1) Always wear a condom or make sure that your partner is wearing one, unless both of you have been tested for STDs and are in a long-term and monogamous relationship.
2) Get tested regularly. I was told that I should get tested every 6 months if I am sleeping around or don't have a regular long-term partner. Even if you do use protection while having penetrative sex, almost everyone doesn't bother when they're giving and/or receiving oral sex. You could have an STD in your throat, such as gonorrhoea, which is easily treatable. Here is a list of sexual health clinics in Brighton & Hove if you want to get tested.
3) Educate yourself about sexual health. There is endless information available on the internet so have a look.
4) It took me quite a lot of guts to put this account online, especially as I have no idea who is going to end up reading this. There are many taboos still left in our society and this is definitely one of them. Many people still feel uncomfortable talking about their sexuality, sexual health and getting tested. Hopefully this account will help people feel more comfortable to talk about all of this. Only when this subject becomes mainstream in our culture will good sexual health become the norm. Only then will rates of STD infection start to go down (e.g. In the UK, between 1997 and 2006, there was a 1,607% increase in Syphilis and a 166% increase in Chlamydia). So talk about it. Ask your friends and family if they have been tested recently or if they always use condoms. Use your imagination on how to bring it up, but do bring it up.
5) Support keeping the NHS public. All of the tests I received were free at point of use, paid for by our taxes. If it wasn't free at point of use, much fewer people would get tested. The NHS is currently being privatised bit by bit, as this article by John Pilger shows. GP surgeries are being privatised in London. Certain migrants, since 2004, are now being refused healthcare and/or being charged unaffordable rates, which is a public and personal health risk. This is bringing us closer to the US healthcare system where, as shown in Michael Moore's film Sicko (download it here), there are nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance and some 18,000 Americans die every year because they are denied health care or they cannot afford it. We need to try and stop this happening here. Public health must come before private profit.
For some of the history of the NHS and why it is so important to have a Nationalised (or state owned and run) Health Service, have a look at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Health_Service
and
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWbeveridgereport.htm
I'd also recommend the book 'Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine' by Roy Porter
If you want to get active on this issue have a look at the Keep Our NHS Public campaign. Even if you don't want to get involved you can always donate money to it.
6) Organise a public event promoting sexual health. Back in 2003 I helped organise a Battle of the Bands on World AIDS Day, which raised £2000 for AIDS charities as well as raising sexual health issues to the 500 people who attended. It was a great success, and although a lot of hard work, it was very satisfying to have had an impact.
Posted in Cycling | Day to Day Life | Healthcare | Politics | Poverty | Sexuality | Stories ed's blog | 235 reads
Submitted by ed on Tue, 2008-03-11 14:33.
