Stefan is HIV-positive. Fucking with a condom is not for the 46-year-old journalist from Saarbrücken. Fortunately, thanks to therapy, he can do without the rubber. A conversation about protection through therapy and sex without worries.
Health
Let's keep our minds and bodies fit! Here you can find news and articles about gay and queer health.
The Robert Koch Institute has recorded a continuous increase in syphilis cases in Germany since 2010. More than 80 per cent of these cases can be traced back to sexual contact between men. To what extent are these figures also reflected in everyday medical practice? An interview with the Berlin general practitioner and infectiologist Dr Christoph Schuler
Nobody likes going to the dentist, even if it's "just" a routine check-up. After all, who knows what the doctor might discover, tartar or plague, and then there's an embarrassing reminder to brush your teeth better in future. Or, in the worst case, in the case of caries: "I'm afraid we'll have to drill".
If no viruses are detectable in the blood, an HIV-positive person cannot infect their sexual partner. Successful treatment is therefore considered just as reliable protection as a condom. Nevertheless, sex remains a source of guilt for some positive people, such as 29-year-old Vlad. Steffen* (46), on the other hand, feels liberated from an old shame. We interviewed both of them and summarised their answers.
At CROI, the world's most important HIV medical conference, the first well-documented case of someone contracting HIV despite taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection) was presented at the end of February. Trenton Straube spoke to the "case" - who only wants to be called "Joe". Here is the abridged interview
Florian, 37, has been reporting on his drug experiences on ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU for four years. He wants to help other drug users to reduce their risks. To mark the current debate, we spoke to him about crystal meth.
A few days ago, three men told us what the condom means to them. After all, there are now more ways to protect yourself against HIV, such as protection through therapy, PEP and PrEP. You can read about their attitude to the rubber. Here are three more statements.
For a long time, the condom was the only method of protection against HIV. However, there are now more: protection through therapy (in the case of successful HIV therapy), PEP as so-called "post-risk prevention" and PrEP, "pre-risk prevention", in which HIV-negative people take HIV medication as a precaution, extend the protection options.
As I was thinking about my life the other day, a question suddenly occurred to me: Am I actually a happy gay man?
My over-analytical mind couldn't immediately give me a clear answer. So I started looking for clues and scrutinised my gay friends. They say that you are reflected in the people you surround yourself with. And lo and behold, I discovered a pattern ...
Ruaidhri is 26 years old, comes from Ireland and has lived in London for a good five years. He was diagnosed with HIV in August 2014. In this "open letter to the community", he reflects on what it means for HIV-positive people to have a viral load below the detection limit, what the gay community thinks about protection through treatment and wonders why the scene itself is full of prejudice and stigma.
