Circumcision and AIDS

[laconicsax]

Poll question: Circumcision and AIDS

Inspired by another thread concerning the effectiveness of circumcision in stopping the spread of AIDS.
(link)

Simple question:
-If you are a circumcised man, would you willingly have unprotected sex with a partner you know to be HIV positive?
-If you are an uncircumcised man, would you willingly get circumcised and have unprotected sex with a partner you know to be HIV positive?
-If you are a woman, would you willingly have unprotected sex with a circumcised man you know to have had unprotected sex with an HIV positive partner?

Please ignore any pregnancy concerns for this poll. The purpose is to determine how many view circumcision as an effective method to stop the spread of a disease. Also, if you are HIV positive or have AIDS, assume for the purposes of this poll that you didn't.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Too complicated

No one in their right mind would have unprotected sex with a partner who has HIV. Period. The foreskin/circumcision fascination is a red herring and has no bearing.

[Toucano]

3. Nice rhyming couplet!

And I agree.

[Christa]

5. Exactly.

Yet many in the original link believe it to be the safe thing to do.

[laconicsax]

6. There are those who argue that circumcision is completely effective.

I'm hoping they stop by and let us know if it's good enough for them if it's good enough for people in Africa.

Edit: Looks like some have.

[Bluebear]

2. Answer: Nobody should be having unprotected sex.

[rfranklin]

4. Then we would have very few babies...

and they are so cute and cuddly!

[Bluebear]

7. Well, all red herrings aside...

the poll seems to be implying "sexual partners", not baby-making unions.

[laconicsax]

10. Thank you.

It is.

[geardaddy]

8. This outta be good.

:popcorn:

[xchrom]

9. The word 'effective' is provocative.

The findings about circumcision and HIV transmission
are that circumsized men are less likely to receive/transmit
the virus.

Either those results are true or they are not.

People will fuck -- protected or not.

I advocate condoms -- but I also know unprotected sex will occur no matter.
Liberals are not less emotionally charged when it comes to
cut, uncut dicks or sex than puritans.

[Lilith Velkor]

13. Men who have just been circumsized tend to curtail fucking until the wound heals

Men who fuck less are less likely to receive/transmit anything.

But it sure is hilarious seeing all these liberals ascribe mystical powers to foreskin, or lack thereof. :popcorn:

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. 'mystical powers' my arse - it may be the anaerobic bacteria, or other differences

Circumcision, which substantially lowers HIV risk in men, also dramatically changes the bacterial communities of the penis, according to a study led by scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Johns Hopkins University and published Jan. 6 in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

And these bacterial changes may also be associated with earlier observations that women whose male partners are circumcised are less likely to develop bacterial vaginosis, an imbalance between good and harmful bacteria.
...
"This study clearly shows that male circumcision markedly reduces genital colonization with anaerobic bacteria in men,'' said Dr. Gray, the William G. Robertson Jr. Professor in Population and Family Planning at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"These bacteria, which cannot grow in the presence of oxygen, have been implicated in inflammation and a number of infections affecting both men and women. Our randomized trials have shown that male circumcision prevents HIV infection in men and protects their female partners from vaginal infections, especially bacterial vaginosis. It is possible that the virtual elimination of anaerobic bacteria by circumcision contributes to these benefits of the procedure," Dr. Gray said.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/ttgr-ssw010510.php

[Lilith Velkor]

17. Bacteria transform themselves into viruses...how, exactly?

And for extra credit, you could explain why the anaerobic bacteria found in the digestive tract does not spontaneously turn into viruses.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. If you follow the link, you will find:

"Thus, the reduction in the putative anaerobic bacteria after circumcision may play a role in protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases," the study concluded.

Bacteria that form in the absence of, or lower levels of, oxygen may be associated with inflammation and the activation of Langerhans cells. These cells, which are part of the body's normal immune system, work to capture and degrade the virus when they are in an inactivated state. But once activated, the Langerhans cells become re-directed to assisting HIV infection by presenting the virus to CD4+ cells.

[Lilith Velkor]

19. In that case, the virus is already there.

HIV+ is HIV+ whether one has a foreskin or not.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. No, this is where the virus may enter the body (nt)

[Roon]

11. Thinking that getting circumcised is going to protect you from aids

is playing russian roulette.

[Cronus Protagonist]

12. And since condoms are MOST effective...

If one is going to have sex, condoms are the most effective HIV prevention method known to man. And they cost a lot less than circumcision, both monetarily and bodily, as well as being more effective.

Let's see... should we advocate condom use or circumcision... hmm.... It's a "no brainer".

[Roon]

16. No doubt! eom

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. I don't think your question fits your purpose

I view circumcision as one method that will decrease the spread of HIV in some countries, based on the studies done. That doesn't mean I rely on it entirely myself. But I recognise some men are going to have unprotected sex, and they will spread HIV less if they are circumcised.