Strollerderby : herpes

They Say: Circumcision Tied to Lower Rates of STDs

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:02:00 GMT

A new study seems to confirm earlier findings that circumcision may offer men protection against some sexually transmitted diseases. The research is far from clear, though, and will likely not clear up any of the confusion facing parents deciding whether or not to circumcize their newborn sons (once performed at rates approaching 90% in the United States, routine infant circumsicion is hitting all-time lows, with something like half of all boys born in the Western US avoiding the procedure).

The study, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, did not look at infant circumcision in the United States. Doctors followed a group of 3,000 uncircumcized Ugandan men, none of whom were infected with herpes (specifically HSV2, the strain that causes genital lesions). Half were immediately circumsized, while men in the other group underwent the procedure two years later. At the end of the survey, according to the New York Times, "the researchers estimated that circumcised men had a 25 percent reduced risk of infection." A smaller subgroup was also evaluated for HPV, the human papilloma virus that causes genital warts and is a leading cause of cervical cancer in women. In that group, the risk for circumsized men was calculated to be 35% lower.

Critics will doubtless point out that studies of adult men in Africa may not signify equivalent results when looking at children born and raised in the United States. And the trend for the past decade or so has seen a rise in advocacy groups who argue that the procedure is an unnecessary surgery that may be harmful to a baby boy's future sexual life. Partly as a result of this movement, fewer doctors push for the procedure, and now Medicaid does not cover it in 16 states. If studies like this do turn out to apply across the board, then perhaps that pendulum will swing the other way. For parents expecting a baby boy, the decision will always be a tough one; here's hoping that some scientific consensus will emerge to help guide the way.

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Parents Forgo Circumcision to Save Money

Mother with Herpes Unwittingly Kills Baby with a Kiss

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:09:00 GMT

This heart-wrenching story is made bearable by the courage of the mother it involves, who has taken her tragedy as a chance to educate others.

Ruth Schofield contacted the herpes simplex virus (HSV) for the first time when she was in her final term of pregnancy. She was prescribed antibiotics for her mouth ulcers, which were still present when she gave birth to baby Jennifer.

With no warnings to the contrary, Schofield naturally kissed and cuddled her newborn baby. Soon after her birth, Jennifer stopped feeding and seemed overly sleepy, so Schofield readmitted her to the hospital. Jennifer had no cold sores or outward signs of having contracted herpes, but the virus had spread throughout her organs, and she died when she was just a few weeks old.

Doctors believe that herpes was deadly in this case because Schofield had never been exposed to the virus until the very end of her pregnancy, so her body didn’t have time to build up antibodies and pass them on to her daughter.

A few years after the loss of Jennifer—and 15 months after the birth of her second child—Schofield has started campaigning to raise awareness about the potential deadliness of HSV, which kills six babies a year in the UK, where Schofield lives.

“There is not one single sign in a chemist's and nowhere on leaflets does it say not to go near an end-term pregnant mother or newborn baby [if you have HSV]," she says. I have to agree that there is far too little awareness about this fatal, yet avoidable, situation.

Did you know that a cold sore could kill a baby?

Photo: parents.com

Five-Year-Old Catches STD From Dad's Towel?

JeanneSager — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:58:00 GMT

Reasons you shouldn't sleep with a prostitute. A. Your wife will hate you. B. Your name will be all over town for getting caught with a hooker. C. You might catch something and pass it on to your kid.

For one Australia Dad, the answer is all of the above. His then 5-year-old daughter was removed from the family home in 2006 when she was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. He admitted to consorting with a prostitute in Bali, but said he never touched his daughter inappropriately. The dad claims she contracted the disease by using the same towel.

As improbable as it sounds (and it did to the first court who heard the case), a judge has sent the little girl back to her parents - including a mom who is a "less than enthusiastic supporter" of her husband (see above - answer A). Judge Jonathan Williams says there isn't enough evidence the girl was actually abused. He believes the father.

That a judge would put a child back in the home of a suspected molester without being 100 percent certain is creepy enough. But so is the fact that a number of STDs could easily be passed to a child - even, according to reputable health sources, by a shared towel.

~~Public~~ Pubic lice (that's the real name for crabs, folks), can be transferred by sharing a bed with someone (and who hasn't slept with their child in the bed at one point or another) or that shared towel. The same goes for scabies. And oral herpes, it turns out, can be transmitted, well, orally. So next time you have a cold sore, you might want to refrain from showing off how good those pureed pears are by licking their spoon.

Image: Superior Water

They Say: Dads Cheat, but Not for Sex

Party with the Pox, but Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

JeanneSager — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:04:00 GMT

I can’t help feeling like a freak of nature. “Nobody gets chicken pox twice,” they all say. Umm, sorry to disagree, but I did.

In fact, I’m one of a relatively large group of Americans who scratched their way through two bouts of the scaly spots. A 2006 report by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed some 13 percent of us have double the suffering.

Which is why Madeline’s post about the germ-sharing “pox parties” really creeped me out. Parents are purposely exposing their kids to the varicella virus rather than queuing up at the pediatrician’s office for the vaccine.

I hate to burst their bubbles, but you might not be protecting them from all that much. The secondary infections are rare, according to the CDC, but they ARE possible. I present myself as Exhibit A . . . and Exhibit B. I was 2-years-old when I came down with my first minor case, which I then passed on to my poor mother. What is true is the rumor that it’s better to get chicken pox as a child. I was itchy and lethargic. My mother was deathly ill, with a sick child to boot.

Then it all came back.

So what’s the scoop? Dr. Jane Seward of the CDC told Reuters Health back in 2006 that some of us just don’t develop enough antibodies the first time around. Not every case of chicken pox is a true pox – there are other diseases masquerading as the varicella virus (gives me a great idea for this year’s Halloween costume). Those who truly do suffer twice usually develop a mild case first, at a young age (yup, that sounds about right).

Another little pin in the bubbles? Twenty percent of people who went through chicken pox once will have it come back in the form of shingles as adult, an activation of what they call the herpes zoster virus – which is related to varicella. Just think, a little party today, inflammation of the spinal column down the road.

Still want to party?

Image: Spud

Down with “The Herp”: 1 in 4 New Yorkers Has Herpes

Cole Gamble — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Hey New Yorkers, I got a fun and quick game for ya. Gather up three of your friends. Now take a good look at the circle of you. One of you has herpes. See, wasn’t that fun? According to the New York Health Department, over a quarter of the Big Apple’s denizens has got the magic touch.

Now you might be saying, “Oh they must be including cold sores as herpes.” Nope, that 26% number is all gential herpes. This is compared to a national average of 19%. Wait, what? Almost 1 in 5 people in America has Herpes? What is this, the seventies?

Whenever news of increased STDs or teen preganacies comes out, you find two opposing reactions. On one side, and I might add the side I reside on, people believe this is proof we need to be educating and encouraging our kids to seek protected sex. On the other hand, there is that constituency that clamims the only solution is to preach abstinence—a strategy that has been shown to increase STD and teen preganacy rates.

So c’mon New York. Give your kids the safe sex talk. And hey, NY, I still love you. I just wish I could wrap a big condom around you.

Photo: AP

Pre-eclampsia Linked With Herpes

Madeline Holler — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:09:00 GMT

In today's continuing coverage of STDs, this next report should raise plenty of eyebrows from now on whenever a new mom discusses preterm birth or high blood pressure during her pregnancy.

Researchers in Australia have linked exposure to viral infection -- especially the herpes type -- to both.

From Science Daily:

The research discovered the presence of viral nucleic acid in heel-prick blood samples from 1326 newborn babies, taken over a 10-year period. More than 400 of these babies were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

High-blood pressure during pregnancy has been an enduring mystery for medical researchers, so these findings are exciting.

Now, of course all herpes viruses aren't of the STD variety. Chicken pox and shingles are also brought on by herpes. Which brings up plenty of questions besides, like the chicken pox vaccine or women who had chicken pox.

But finding a connection is good news in any case. Pre-eclampsia is a difficult and serious condition. Again, Science Daily:

Pregnancy hypertension (high blood pressure) occurs in up to 10% of first pregnancies throughout the developed world, such as in the UK, the United States and Australia. When untreated, it can lead to uncontrolled epileptic fits of eclampsia with loss of baby and mother. It is a common cause of maternal death in Third World countries.