When and How to test for Syphilis
Phew. Finally found the time to sit down and pen this long awaited entry. I have been getting questions about Syphilis testing and would like to set the record straight. First of all a few basic facts. Syphilis is a bacteria. It is transmitted via direct skin contact with contagious Syphilitic lesions. What are considered contagious Syphilitic lesions you say? Well, they are ulcers caused by Syphilis (known as a Chancres) and the skin rash that occurs in secondary Syphilis. The ulcers are generally single and painless (except in HIV positive...
read moreHow effective are Condoms, Diaphragms and Circumcision in preventing HIV transmission?
Condoms 87% effective in preventing HIV. Scientific studies have shown that proper use of the condom can provide anything from 60% to 95% reduction in risk of HIV transmission. The most often quoted study involved more than 3000 HIV 1 sero-discordant couples. Self reported use of the condom reduced the risk of HIV transmission by 78% per sex act. The US CDC’s condom report published in the year 2000 estimated that consistent condom use reduced the risk of HIV transmission by 85%. Diaphragms and Female Condoms No evidence that...
read moreAntibiotic Resistant Gonorrhea
Looks like there is even more bad news on the horizon with regards to treatment for one of the most common STDs in the world: Gonorrhea. One of the world’s top medical journals JAMA, recently published a study that found up to 7% resistance of Gonorrhea to Cefixime. Cefixime is one of the last oral antibiotics available to treat Gonorrhea. Treatment failure was not limited to urethral infections but also applies to pharyngeal (throat) and rectal infections. The US CDC has in fact already taken this into account and since last year has...
read moreGardasil HPV Vaccine – Go get it!!!
It is not often in medicine there comes along something so revolutionary that makes Doctors go ‘This is great! Everyone should get this!’ The Gardasil HPV Vaccine is one such thing. By the end of this article, I hope you are so convinced that you are running out the door to get vaccinated. Let’s start by understanding what HPV is. HPV is a virus that is spread through direct contact. i.e. skin to skin contact, sexual contact including vaginal sex, oral sex, anal sex, even handjobs. Basically any sexual contact and condoms offer zero...
read moreApologies and the Practice of Medicine
My Dearest Forum, First of all let me apologize. Ever since the Chinese New Year, we have been on a bit of a roller coaster ride. As most of you already know, we were having problems with the hosting of the wesbite with constant issues regarding insufficient bandwidth. We have resolved the issue for now. The new forum should be up by February and that should put and end to the web hosting problems. Furthermore, the new forum format will allow me to follow up better on individual cases. The problem with the WordPress platform that I am...
read morePlease Read this before Posting
Dear Forum Users, This is not the usual legal mumbo-jumbo. This is serious and I appeal to you to read this carefully before posting a question on this forum. There are 3 crictical take home messesages: 1. See your Doctor. This forum is for myself and my team or doctors to share our opinions on your medical issues with you. In no way and at no time should you take this as a medical consultation. You must always defer to your own doctors for proper medical advice. If what we say differs from your doctor’s advice, you must always...
read moreOur Chief Medical Officer
