I’m always amazed at the way sexually active gay men want to ignore any talk about STDs. More often than not they think having an STD is a dirty nasty thing. I see profiles online all the time that say “clean”, or “ looking for STD Free”.  What I find is that most of the time when guys think having an STD is a dirty thing, they lack a basic understanding of STDs, including the ways to protect themselves and what to look out for.

I think that’s why in some cities we are now seeing increases in syphilis, as well and chlamydia and gonorrhea.  And remember, you can get these STD’s in your butt as well as in your throat. (Yeah – you can get them in places other than just your dick!)

So I decided to share a few of my personal Do’s & Dont's on sexual health and STD prevention.

DOs:

- If you are sexually active (that means having sex with more than your monogamous partner) think about making a routine testing commitment to yourself. Every 3 months for common STDs is not too frequent.

- Ask your local STD clinic or medical provider to swab your throat, ass and take a urine test. If your provider doesn’t offer throat & butt swabbing for chlamydia and gonorrhea, ask why! You need to take an active part of your own health care.

- If you are HIV positive – make sure your medical provider makes this part of your routine blood work up. Don’t expect that it’s already happening.

- Syphilis affects both HIV positive & HIV negative men, and can have very subtle symptoms that often go unnoticed – so make sure any routine blood work includes a blood test for syphilis.

- For most of us sucking dick with a condom just isn’t going to happen, so pay attention to any open sores (painless or not) in your mouth, or on you or your sex partner’s dick. These sores can create an open door for infections such as HIV, Hepatitis C and Syphilis to get into your system.

- If you are told you have an STD – get it treated immediately. Remember to ask your nurse or doctor how long you should hold back from sex under treatment. As with any medicine – take all of it – even if the symptoms go away.

- Do tell your sex partners. You have a few options;

- You can tell them yourself, ask a provider to help or (my favorite option) use the free and anonymous website www.Inspot.org. This online tool lets your partners know you were exposed and that they should  seek testing and/or treatment as well.

- Read up and be aware. Lots of good websites exist that have solid, reliable information on STDs. Some of my favorites include: www.Shotworthy.com, www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/disease_info.htm and here in San Francisco www.SFCityClinic.org.

DON’Ts:

- Don't put off getting tested regularly.  Just because you don’t have (or see) any symptoms, doesn’t mean you aren’t infected with an STD.  Some 85% of some STD’s don’t show any signs. That’s why routine testing is important, so you can catch any infection early.

- When you call sex partners to let them know you have an STD, don’t blame or accuse. Simply explain you have tested positive for X and since you have had sex with him the time that exposure may have occurred suggest that they get tested as well or use www.inspot.org.

- If you are the guy being called – don’t be a jerk about it. You were just as interested in the sex at the time it happened and he most likely didn’t know he was infected at the time. If you find yourself getting mad- maybe you might want to think about who you are really mad at.