Have you gotten an STD through swinging?

[havefuninsun]

I've set this up as an anonymous poll ... we've touched on this subject a lot, but what I'd really like to know is, have you contacted an STD (NOT a yeast infection, or something that can happen if you're swinging or not) from swinging activities?

Some people think that the risks are low; others feel they are high. I just want to know how many folks have had to deal with an STD because of choices.

I bet other folks would like to know, too

[BiloxiCouple]

How about a never been checked? That might be a surprising answer also.

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by BiloxiCouple

How about a never been checked? That might be a surprising answer also.

I added the option.

[havefuninsun]

Originally Posted by BiloxiCouple

How about a never been checked? That might be a surprising answer also.

That's scary, but important.

Here's a possibly stupid question though: wouldn't you know if you had/have contracted something? Especially the women?

(am I that naive?)

[rpu3]

Originally Posted by havefuninsun

That's scary, but important.

Here's a possibly stupid question though: wouldn't you know if you had/have contracted something? Especially the women?

(am I that naive?)

Not all STDs are symptomatic, even for women. Way too many women find out the hard way that they had an undetected infection or issue in the past that has compromised their ability to conceive/carry.

ETA: The NIH, etc. have published studies on their websites regarding the fact that "most" (per the NIH) bacterial STDs are asymptomatic in both men and women. Some of the asymptomatic diseases include chlamydia and gonorrhea - both which can have negative effects on women's reproduction health if undetected and untreated. I'm sure one of the med experts on this board can go into far greater detail.

[SW_PA_Couple]

Originally Posted by havefuninsun

wouldn't you know if you had/have contracted something?

HPV is another that does not show.

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by SW_PA_Couple

HPV is another that does not show.

And Herpes for many.

[havefuninsun]

So far 45 folks have said no, three folks have said yes, and one answered they didn't know.

So -- out of the number of respondents, almost 10% have contracted an STD through swinging.

Does that number seem high? Does anyone know the percentage of people (of any flavor) contracting a STD?

[BiloxiCouple]

Any percentage or numbers used/quoted here will probably be wrong. This is not a scientific study by any means. Not meant to put a downer on anything, just a reality check.

In my opinion common sense will say that the majority of people will answer no.

Those who have got something will probably not answer and so on. For multiple reason. Don't want any chance of being identified for one. Yes it is anonymous but would you say it anyway?

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by havefuninsun

Does that number seem high? Does anyone know the percentage of people (of any flavor) contracting a STD?

According to the CDC website 20% for Herpes, 50% for HPV, If you check the CDC website you can get specific numbers for each specific STD, but it's hard to find a good number for overall.

Somewhere I saw a number of 80% of sexually active people will acquire an STD at some point (this would probably include things like yeast infection and Bacterial Vaginosis).

Another thing that your poll doesn't take into consideration is those that may already have an STD before they start swinging.

[des1re06]

This was a discussion topic at the recent convention with Ms. Hartley, who I found to be very intelligent. She discussed everything from a medical perspective regarding swinging.

Synopsis of her speech: Generally swingers take care of themselves and would stop if they had any knowledge they were carriers. Swingers tend to get tested more often.

In my case, I'm a worrier, so I go for tests after every house party and generally every three months. Just because we tend to repeat with the same couples doesn't mean I stop getting tested.

When I went last week, my gyn warned me about public hot tubs, especially after shaving the pubic area. She's seen alot of infections recently. Must be all those wild swinger parties.

Mrs. D

[Ellyanne77]

We actually found a couple about a month ago on Swing Lifestyle and were so disappointed to find out they both had herpes. What we were impressed with is that they openly admitted it and let couples know on the front end.
We personally would never swing with someone who was nice enough to let us know of an std but would appreciate the heads up.

[rpu3]

Originally Posted by Ellyanne77

We actually found a couple about a month ago on Swing Lifestyle and were so disappointed to find out they both had herpes. What we were impressed with is that they openly admitted it and let couples know on the front end.
We personally would never swing with someone who was nice enough to let us know of an std but would appreciate the heads up.

Did they advise you of this before you met or discussed meeting? Or was there infected status part of their profile?

[BiloxiCouple]

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

According to the CDC website 20% for Herpes, 50% for HPV, If you check the CDC website you can get specific numbers for each specific STD, but it's hard to find a good number for overall.

Somewhere I saw a number of 80% of sexually active people will acquire an STD at some point (this would probably include things like yeast infection and Bacterial Vaginosis).

Another thing that your poll doesn't take into consideration is those that may already have an STD before they start swinging.

If swingers who have contracted a STD while swinging and have stopped swinging may not be on this site to provide their input also.

[dayhiker]

I've been reading sexual message boards on the web for 15 years or more. Consistently there hs been a very big descrepancy between those to are having many sexual partners and what the CDC says the numbers are. I recently asked a guy in his 50's who has been sexual swinging for 30 years. His wife does a lot of BGs and he said he and his wife has always used condoms when swinging. He said he has never got an STD. He seems like a very honest guy from how he runs their GBs.

When I went into a free STD clinic in the Boston area to get tested a while back I didn't seen one else there getting tested. Later when I went to get my results there was one other there to get tested. I was STD free after quite a few partners.

If Swinger clubs were a commom place for the passing of STDs, they would be sut down like the gay baths were 2o some years ago. But to my knowledge not one club has been shut down for this reason.

The very very limited experience I have had says that CDC numbers are rounded up. I suspect groups involved in STD research get more funding for more cases. Only thing that fits the very very small data set I have.

dayhiker