not to be Cap'n Killjoy

[suckseed]

I've gotten active again in my search to meet up with The Girl with something extra. The other day in that Savage Love column, he talked about new strains of HIV that don't respond to drugs, and a new form of chlymydia that causes 'bleeding rectal ulcers' (ouch!), an item that has never been on my christmas list! Then there's good ol' Hepatitus, a fun little side dish that can be present in with semen. I'd be so much more likely to have fun without the worry that this brings. My question is...how are you folks out there that are hooking up dealing with all of this? Denial? A quick peek and a condom? Does anybody know someone (a 'friend' mind you, certainly not you) who has been careful but gotten nailed anyway?
It would be an entirely different ballgame (another unintentional pun)
without all these nasties out there.

[castabyss]

I think this topic has been discussed extensively in other threads, but I will say that I don't know anyone personally who has gotten "nailed" when using protection. I "hear" about people contracting genital warts and herpes even when practicng safe sex or gonorhea when performing uncovered oral sex, but again I don't know them personally or had any conversations with them regarding this.

It always appears the big topic of debate is uncovered oral and its possible perils. Microscopic tears in gum tissues caused by brushing your teeth and gum disease may leave people open to possible infections, I have heard. At my last HIV test (which went well) the nurse informed me that she had recently seen a case of someone who had contracted HIV and claimed he always had covered intercourse, but never used condoms for oral sex. Who knows? Just be as careful as you can be. Look both ways before you cross the street. Don't smoke. Excercise regularly. Don't wrestle alligators. It's all the same stuff. There are no hard and fast (no pun intended) answers to human biology. We're big petri dishes and bacteria and viruses look at us like we're waterfront property. Anything's possible.

And, IMHO, you should never, EVER, "peek".