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Let’s just say you read my first journey, “The Lonely Road to Destiny”, you will know how we have come to this place now. Consequentially, it should then be of no surprise where the road began and quite possibly, where I may be heading. I’ve traveled a tough road of challenging turns and learned that wherever it is that I might be heading, a lonely road lay before me. No matter what the case might be, I, like you perhaps, must travel this road through life alone living and dying by the decisions that we make day to day. Some of us will find that companion that completes us and some will not. I, don’t believe in that particular coupling for myself and so my life shall go. Alas, the pain of life itself and those that surround you, consume you, or draw the goodness from you, evolves. The travels of life take you upon journeys. Some of us know not from where we begin, where we are, or where it is that we are to go. For me, my book, “The lonely Road to Destiny” ended August, 2002. I now pick up where we left off. Our last journey was that of an unfolding story. This one shall be different. This time we shall share in ideologies. This time I shall share the lessons and not so much the unfolding story. The pain that comes from traveling the path is different for everyone. If we look through an open eye, we see the purpose that dominates our destiny. I discovered that purpose along the traveled path, circa March 2005. I came to the conclusion why we all do what we do. We do it for love. It dominates our life. We are either looking for it, in it, out of it, hurting from it, hiding from it, or wishing it was more a part of our life. We all feel this way. All of these other things around us are furnishings, furnishings that provide comforts, luxury, and what we perceive to be “happiness” and “success”. In this pursuit for this thing called, “love”, we sacrifice many different things. Sometimes it is our character. Other times it is the values that we hold so dear to us (if in fact we have such a virtue). Still others is our comfort zone that protects us from being hurt from the last encounter, whether we were careless with our heart or someone else was. These matters of the heart are delicate ones. They are to be handled with ‘kit gloves’. The heart is the weak link in a chain of reason and logic. The heart serves no real purpose in our lives short of tempting us with the fruits of what we think or perceive to be the attainment of ‘happiness’. This very desire, the very hunger to attain the ownership of this most prized possession called love, drives us to do the unimaginable. Reprehensible things. At times, it drives us to compromise our beliefs in God, our belief in doing what is believed to be ‘right and wrong’, it drives us to become so insane and miscalculated in our deduction and evaluation of reason and sensibility. But then again, when was love ever a sensible thing? I decided that my path is not the answer to life but more of a message. In my own strange way of reasoning, it is why I was put here. It is why I will die. Perhaps, it will be what I die from. Who can tell? But, the last 2 years of my life has served me to evolve: To evolve into a messenger and a kind of a ‘prophet’. Love warps the mind, the body, and the soul.) It is why great kingdoms have fallen, great men have dropped to their knees, or people of government have gone into disarray. Behind every scandal, behind every action that has driven a man to do maddening things, there is a temptress somewhere pulling the strings. Now this fault and the blame sits directly an squarely upon the shoulders of no one else but us….the men! It shows how weak minded we really are and how easily we can be swayed when under the smell of lust, love, or whatever you would like to call it! Now relax, I don’t hate women. HOWEVER, men have gotten the bad rap and the name for years. And behind a cloak of secrecy and deceit, women have played the same game. NOT ALL WOMEN!!! But look around you. These days, most have succumbed to the world in which we now live. A world driven by the lust and desire to gather material things, items, and worldly possessions, all of which have no place or purpose in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. I see it in my home town all the time. Married women driving around in their husband’s gas guzzling hummers, sipping mocha latte’s and crappuccinos, pushing strollers, buying excessively, and bringing home the receipts to the idiot coming home providing all these ridiculous luxuries. WHY? Are these women really happy? Are these men concluding that they are ‘providing’ for their women? Who the hell knows! Perhaps the reason, above all, that my words reflect an heir of frustration, anger, or bitterness is because of the wrong done to me by the women in my life………..OBVIOUSLY! Why the anger? Why the frustration you ask? Well, it is quite simple yet obnoxiously complex at the same time: The perfect marriage of provable conclusion and illogical paradox. Where logic fails to prove, ‘love’ comes to rear its ugly head, defying all that is logical, reasonable, mathematically sound, or sensibly thought out. Love defies every equation of perfect synergy, irrefutable accuracy, and unimaginable reality. It crosses boundaries of the thinking man’s mind and makes us do dumb things without fear of cause or consequence, right or wrong, logical or illegitimate. And how do you ask, does this all take place? How does this perfect little game, this infinite circle of madness begin? It begins with that single twinkle. That little butterfly that begins to fly around in the darkest corner of the stomach that tells our pee-wee brains that this might be a ‘good idea’. Or maybe, it’s that son-of-a-bitch of a penis that convinces us that we MUST meet this person. Of course, we all know that once you dump the "jerk-off juice" out of the system, logic and reasoning returns. God’s cruel joke on us men! Nearly 2 years ago, I stepped off the path of the lonely road, detouring for what I thought was a pathway to a different ending. But unfortunately and not inconsistent with my expectations, as I’ve known all along, for me the path (my path) is so evident and clear. My path to destiny is a lonely one. Not one that I’ve asked for or have brought about on my own through self prophecy, but one that has been assigned to me by a force in this universe above and beyond a sense of reasoning or understanding. Don’t ask why, I don’t know! It is just one of those things we are born with. One of those things that we know and we know not why! It is one of the those inconceivable truths that we cannot hide from. For me, it is the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It is as non bending as the North Star being in the, well, north. It is what I was born to know and just is. And some things that are will just be. As we ask those universal questions, “Why me” or “What did I do to deserve this”, the forces of nature continue to guide us to and through the outcomes and take us places that we need to go, whether or not we understand why. My latest travels down the path of life caused me to encounter unique lessons that will undoubtedly stay with me for all my life, adding more mystery to that universal question of, “Why”? Now, don’t get me wrong. I like nice things, aspire to gather ‘items’ of value and importance, but NOT at the cost of my character, my integrity, my honor, or my name! I never compromised my beliefs in who I am, what I was put here to do, or put my professional or financial interests above that of the people that seek my help in my expertise area of sciences. And now, through my travels of business, love, and the learned path that I have traveled these past 31 years, I share this wisdom so that together we may learn. (And you didn’t think a 31 year-old-man knew anything!! Shame on you!) To be continued....if you dare to read on! penis enlagement fact magna rx picture testimonials pennis enlargement tip manual penis enlargement exercise prosolution penile enlargement pills penile enlargement surgery cost pennis enlargement surgery penis enlagement tip

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Genital herpes and jock itch are rarely confused, but genital herpes in its early stages may be mistaken for jock itch since both conditions have similar symptoms. They are both uncomfortable, produce red, irritated skin and appear in the thighs, groin or genital area. However, they are usually quite easy to differentiate. This article is designed to help you avoid making the mix-up. Jock itch is caused from a fungus called Trichophyton rubrum. It can grow anywhere on the body, but most often shows up in the warm, moist areas of the groin. Sweaty or tight-fitting clothing and direct contact with the fungus can lead to a case of jock itch. Jock itch may occur in both men and women, but mostly affects adult men. Like genital herpes, jock itch may be contagious and can be passed from one person to the next by skin-to-skin contact or contact with unwashed clothing. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted virus. The virus may remain dormant for some time, but an outbreak will usually occur within 30 days of sexual contact. The first herpes outbreak is usually the most severe but not necessarily. Stages of a herpes infection are as follows: itchiness, a rash, stinging, burning, swelling, blistering, sores, crusts and a return to healthy skin with no scarring. These symptoms usually don’t last more than 3 weeks. Genital herpes symptoms may vary greatly and may consist of only a mild rash that disappears within 10 days and may return occasionally. The confusion in self-diagnosing each condition occurs because both diseases affect the groin area. Both start with a red rash, itching and bumps on the skin. They are uncomfortable and can cause pain for several days. Jock itch usually causes red, raised, scaly patches that may blister and ooze. The patches are often redder around the outside with normal skin tone in the center. This may cause a red ring to appear. The skin may become abnormally dark or light. Jock itch differs from genital herpes in that it usually doesn’t develop on the scrotum or penis. It tends to spread in the inner thigh area instead. However, a jock itch rash may also affect the genitals and areas around the anus, rectum, or vagina. The skin may crack, scale and be painful, but it usually won’t present open lesions like it would with genital herpes. Genital herpes doesn’t cause long-term infections. Healthy skin returns after 3 weeks, although slight change in skin color may result. Jock itch and genital herpes symptoms can both recur at any time. Jock itch can be cured after each episode but no cure or vaccine has been found for herpes yet. The only sure way to tell which condition you have is to see a doctor. Doctors can usually recognize jock itch during a physical examination. But at times, they may decide to do a test. They will either perform a swab test if blisters are present or a skin lesion biopsy by scraping the skin. If all else fails, a blood test should remove any doubts. To cure jock itch, a doctor will prescribe an anti-fungal cream or lotion to apply directly to the source of the fungal infection. Doctors can prescribe medication, or if you suffer from recurring fungal infections, over the counter medicine like Tinactin, Lotrimin and Micatin are available. The cream should be used for two weeks, and continued for several days after the rash is completely gone. If your jock itch doesn’t clear up or causes blisters, you should go to your doctor to have a physical examination. Genital herpes can’t be cured, but its symptoms can be treated with an anti-viral medicine, which will help limit the duration of an outbreak. Relief can be found for both conditions by checking with your doctor. Wear loose clothing, breathable cotton and quickly change out of sweaty clothes to prevent jock itch. Once you have contracted genital herpes, you can take measures to prevent outbreaks by eating a good diet, exercising and reducing your stress levels and taking antiviral treatment daily. does penis enhancement work penis enlargement drug best penile enlargement buy pennis enlargement pills penis enlargment forum penis enhancement review do penis elargement pills work enhancement free penis pills sample penis enhancement pills

When a man is suffering from impotence (impotent) he is unable to achieve and maintain an erection long enough to have penetrative sexual intercourse. Many people mistanly believe that a man also loses sexual desire when he becomes impotent but this is not true. Being impotent does not mean the loss of sexual desire, libido or the inability to produce healthy sperm. An impotent man can still achieve an orgasm and does have the ability to ejaculate. The process which creates a healthy erection is as follows: 1. A man feels sexually aroused and the brain receives a message of stimulation but no physical changes take place in the penis. 2. The nervous system responds sending the brain's messae to the walls of the blood vessels in the penis preparing it to enlarge with blood. 3. The vascular response in which the blood flows through into the vessels in the penis causing it to become erect and firm. If any problems develop within any part of this process then there is the chance that impotence will occur. Although men who have reached middle age and older are more likely to be impotent than younger men, impotence can strike at any adult age. It is estimated to affect between 10 and 15 million men in the United States alone. The main causes of impotence are diseases, medication, surgery, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and narcotics. One of the best ways to treat impotence is with all natural herbs. Many men have taken to purchasing 'penis enlargement pills' solely for their herbal ingredients which while the jury is out about whether they actually help enlarge anyones penis do help treat impotence very well. The positives regarding using all natural herbal penis enlargement pills for impotence is that they have no negative side effects and they do not require a prescription. Many men are embarassed about these sorts of issues and would rather take care of it in some way that doesn't involve a doctor. top pennis enlargement pills penis enargement doctor pennis enlargement tip penis enlargement operation com enlarement penis penis pump safe penis enlarement penis enhancement operation free exercise tip for penis elargement penis enhancement pills

Hemochromatosis (HE-mo-kro-ma-TOE-sis) is a disease in which too much iron builds up in your body Hereditary Hemochromatosis is the most common genetic disorder of persons of northern European extraction. Most people with hemochromatosis inherit the condition from their parents. If you inherit two hemochromatosis genes, one from each parent, you will have the condition. These two abnormal genes cause your body to absorb more iron than usual from the diet. The most common gene involved in causing Hereditary Hemochromatosis is the HFE gene. One in seven persons of northern European extraction carries one copy of the mutant HFE gene C282Y. Approximately 1 in 200 to 300 persons of northern European extraction carry two copies of C282Y. In some northern European populations e.g. Ireland, Iceland and Brittany the percentage of persons carrying one copy of C282Y is higher. Predictably countries settled by northern Europeans e.g. Australia, South Africa and Canada have high rates of Hereditary Hemochromatosis. Two copies can predispose to the iron overload disorder hemochromatosis. This may present as chronic fatigue, skin pigmentation, heart irregularities, impotence, diabetes, dysfunction of the liver, cirrhosis or cancer, premature menopause, arthritis or decreased functioning of the thyroid. Even one copy of C282Y can be associated with too much iron in the liver, high cholesterol, diabetes and the skin disorder porphyria cutanea tarda. Other mutant genes exist and are distributed throughout the world's population. Effects of Hemochromatosis In hemochromatosis, iron can build up in most of your body’s organs, but especially in the liver, heart, and pancreas. When this happens, the iron can poison the organs and lead to organ failure. If Hereditary Hemochromatosis is not treated liver disease may be fatal. Hemochromatosis can lead to enlargement, cirrhosis or cancer of the liver. Heart Problems. Hemochromatosis can cause irregular heart rate or rhythm and lead to heart failure Pancreas. Hemochromatosis can lead to diabetes mellitus. Patient Outlook The morbidity and mortality of Hereditary Hemochromatosis can be reduced by early diagnosis and treatment by phlebotomy or blood letting. Bloodletting or deironing often results in considerable improvement in the health of patients who suffer from Hereditary Hemochromatosis. Early diagnosis and treatment are important. Treatment may be able to prevent, delay, or sometimes reverse complications of the disease Diet can help. When the diagnosis of hemochromatosis is made it is important to adjust the diet so that too much iron is not being absorbed because of an improper diet. The biggest considerations are not to take medications which contain iron, consume too much alcohol or Vitamin C. Excessive alcohol consumption has shown to greatly increase iron absorption in those with hemochromatosis Vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron. It is wise only to consume a moderate amount and not take Vitamin C tablets. Vitamin C has been known to precipitate heart palpitations in those with hemochromatosis. Treatment of iron overload disorder hemochromatosis is critical in order to prevent damage to vital organs and serious complications such as diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver. For people who are diagnosed and treated early, normal life spans are possible. If left untreated, hemochromatosis can lead to severe organ damage and even death. penile enlargment vimax top rated penis enlargement pills vimax penis enlargement pills product prosolution penis enlagement pills cheapest penis enlagement pills penis enargement pills buy pennis enlargement pills penile enlargement surgery penis enhancement pills

Dial 1-800/AIDSNYC Every Monday and Wednesday morning, promptly at 10 a.m., I leave behind my daily life and turn to volunteering as an AIDS Hotline counselor at New York City’s GMHC [Gay Men’s Health Crisis], the nation’s largest social service agency for AIDS. For the next four hours, my co-volunteers and I sit in front of a bank of constantly-ringing telephones, talking to men, women, and teens who call in from across the nation with urgent questions about AIDS, the ravaging disease that has left 13.9 million people dead worldwide. After almost 20 years, a whole generation, families are still facing the heartache of tending the sick, while scientists continue to be confounded by this stubborn, ravaging virus. Although the federal government currently spends$4 billion per year on AIDS research, and $15 billion worldwide, there is no cure in sight for the viral infection and no vaccine available. Small wonder that the GMHC AIDS Hotline, the nation’s first, is flooded with more than 40,000 calls each year. Listening to callers 8 hours each week, I often think the Hotline is actually a direct link to the soul of callers--an anonymous forum that allows each to reveal secrets and fears that they might otherwise never discuss with anyone. A Morning in May This is the way it began: “Good morning, GMHC AIDS Hotline, can I help you?” “Yes...I have a question...[hesitantly] My son...he’s 21...and he just found out...he’s HIV-positive [voice breaking] I’m.....alone, divorced. And I need some help...someone to talk to...” “Of course....happy to talk to you...it sounds like this has been devastating for you....” “It’s terrible. He told me two nights ago....he’s...he’s so young....I don’t want him to die. He’s my only child....why did this have to happen?” [crying] Her son, she explains, had sometimes neglected using condoms, convinced he wouldn’t contract HIV infection from his female partners. “How could he be so stupid?” she now asks angrily. “Why didn’t he know how to protect himself? I don’t understand. What am I going to do?” We talk for 35 minutes, and by the end of the conversation, I notice I’m barely breathing. The distraught woman’s anguish is palpable. Her situation is every mother’s worst nightmare.The life of her child is in jeopardy and she feels helpless and afraid. I can’t imagine anything worse. During the call, I do my best to employ the GMHC Hotline protocol of “active listening,” which involves using silence, empathy and gentle probing with open-ended questions. I’m also having my own emotional reaction to the panic in her voice, and I’m worried about whether I’m doing enough. Toward the end of the clal, when she exclaims: “I don’t want my baby to die,” my heart plummets: “I know....I understand that, but there is hope,” I tell her. I find myself on the verge of tears. The Bad News This mother’s story is too common. According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga., 40,000 Americans (half of them under 25) are newly infected with the AIDS virus each year. Unprotected sex and intravenous drug use remain the principal modes of transmission. “Teenagers,” notes AIDS activist Elizabeth Taylor, “are being very hard hit.” She refers to the three million adolescents who contract a sexually-transmitted disease annually. “Heterosexual teenage football players who are healthy and drink milk can get it too!” says the 71-year-old actress, who has singlehandedly raised $150 million for AIDS research. “But teens are very ignorant and feel invincible. They believe there’s an invisible shield protecting them from the virus, when it’s actually aimed right at them.” Taylor believes in addressing the problem head-on: “Tell your teenage son: ‘Maybe a condom doesn’t feel as good, but if it saves your life, it’s better than being six feet under.’ Intelligence must replace random sex.” Although a new generation of AIDS-fighting medications is prolonging the lives of thousands, nearly half of the 900,000 people infected with HIV in the U.S. cannot afford these drugs. Since the virus was discovered in l981, 410,800 Americans have died from AIDS-related complications, and the disease has left 13.9 million dead worldwide. Who Calls a Hotline? Not long ago I took a call from a 15-year-old boy living in a small town who said he feels guilty about his sexual attraction to other boys and is scared to discuss this with his parents. I ask him if there’s a school counselor or relative he might talk to, but he says he’s too afraid to confide in anyone. Being a teenager is hard enough, I thought, without the pressure of keeping this kind of secret. I felt angry and saddened that this child can’t comfortably discuss his feelings with his own parents. I encourage him to call the Gay Community Center Youth Program in a nearby city. In the meantime, I assured him that he could call our Hotline anytime, that we’d be there for him. This call was typical of the many we get from teenagers,whispering from their parents’ homes, confiding their blossoming sexual feelings and concerns. Our Hotline also receives calls from married men who phone from their offices, worried about extramarital sexual encounters; gay men suffering side effects from medications; mothers caring for a sick child or grieving for one lost to AIDS; even health care professionals themselves confused and requiring burnout support. One particular morning, I’m struck by the number of single women who turn to our hotline for help. At 10:15 a.m. a distraught young woman calls, explaining that she had been dating someone “very charismatic,” after a two- year period of sexual abstinence. “At first we used condoms and I was taking the pill to avoid pregnancy,” she says. But after her partner assured her he was HIV-negative, the couple began having unprotected sex. A few months into the relationship, she recounts, his behavior became “unpredictable,” until he finally admitted he was sleeping with other women and was addicted to heroin. Now she has to withstand the “terror” of waiting 3 months before getting an HIV antibody test. To help her cope, I give her the names of three terapists in her area. The call lasts 43 minutes. At 11:15 a.m. I take a call from a woman who is breathing heavily. She says that four months earlier she’d had a brief affair with a limousine driver, “not out of passion, but because I felt lonely. This was so totally unlike me,” she continues. “I come from a traditional Orthodox Jewish family...” Although they used condoms, and she has since tested negative for HIV, she feels deeply ashamed, and has stopped seeing him. And because she has both a persistent vaginal yeast infection and a rash on her neck, she’s convinced she must be infected by HIV. Although rashes, high fever, swollen lymph glands, heavy night sweats, sore throat, or other flu-like symptoms may indicate HIV, they can just as easily accompany the common cold or flu, or other type of infection. I encourage her to seek medical help and counseling, but the calls ends on a down note. “I must have it [AIDS],” she moans. I’m exasperated because it doesn’t sound that way to me, yet I can’t get through to her. The call lasts 22 minutes. It’s 11.38 a.m. when a well-spoken woman, who says she’s an attorney, calls from her office, asking for the names of anonymous testing sites. At first very businesslike, she calmly takes down all the information. I ask her why she’s considering a test. Total silence. Then she begins to cry: “I....I can’t talk....I’m sorry...you see, I have swollen lymph glands....[crying]....And my doctor wants to rule out HIV...I feel overwhelmed...” Then, abruptly: “Where can I send a donation?” She thanks me and hurries off the phone after just 3 minutes. These were one-time callers, but, as in any epidemic, an element of panic prevails, and our hotline also attracts an army of “chronic” or repeat callers who are intensely fearful no matter how benign their risk, many revealing continued misconceptions and paranoia about a disease that can be effectively prevented. We do our best to help them, but often they’re impervious to counseling. Most poignant are calls we get from AIDS patients, phoning from their hospital beds, attempting to navigate the exhausting labyrinth of insurance and health care matters. One man, in hospice care, said he craved companionship and missed the “good old days” when he was handsome and healthy. That call was a tough one for me as just the day before a close friend of mine, Joe, who had battled HIV for 16 years, had finally succumbed. Although at the end Joe was a mere skeleton, he was nonetheless at peace. “I’ve done what I wanted to,” he told me on our last visit. An avid gardener, he insisted on a final trip to his country house to see his garden one last time. For a moment the caller’s reality and the memory of my deceased friend blurred in my mind and I was overcome. Time for a break. Face to Face One of the most and unique services GMHC offers is called “A-Team Counseling,” a one-time, in-person session that’s free and anonymous. Recently, I was on an A-Team counselling a 26-year-old HIV-infected mother from the Midwest. She had traveled to Manhattan by bus to find her estranged boyfriend, who, she recounted tearfully, had kidnapped her 7-year- old son. Disheveled, painfully thin, the woman was a disturbing sight. She’s learned that the two had already returned home where the boyfriend was, and the child put in his grandmother’s custory. custody of his grandmother. Meanwhile she’d run out of money for the return trip, been refused a loan by her family, lost her ID, gone hungry and spent two nights on the street. Fortunately, this woman was registered at a local AIDS organization in her town. I telephoned her caseworker and persuaded him to buy her a one-way Greyhound bus ticket for $115.00. I also gave her subway tokens, a basket of food, juice and coffee. Smiling shyly, she thanked me for caring. Shaking hands good-bye with this woman was a bittersweet farewell. What will happen to her? I wondered will her health deteriorate or improve? Will she gain control of her life and be able to provide for her son? I’ll never know. One thing I do know: She’d appeared with the sorrow of a difficult life in her eyes, but when she left, she was elated at the thought of being reunited with her child. It seems that with faith and a helping hand, almost anything is possible. * * * * * 10 BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT AIDS AND HIV (This list would probably be most effective when presented in a vertical chart, the misconception on the left, the correct answer on the right.) 1)The AIDS virus can be transmitted through saliva, sweat, tears, urine or feces; also through deep kissing. 1) HIV can ONLY be transmitted through four bodily fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk--and can also be transmitted from a mother to her child before birth, during birth, or while breast feeding. The exchange of saliva through kissing is no-risk, unless the saliva has blood in it and both you and your partner are bleeding in the mouth simultaneously. 2) HIV may also be transmitted through casual contact with an infected person. 2) You can’t get infected from toilet seats, phones or water fountains. The virus can’t be transmitted in the air through sneezing or coughing. You can’t get HIV from sharing utensils or food or from touching, or hugging. HIV dies after being exposed to the air. Therefore, touching dried blood on a shaving blade, a toothbrush or a bathroom counter top is no risk. In any case, unbroken skin is impermeable, like a rubber raincoat, and cannot absorb the virus whether it’s alive or dead. Blood transfusions and medical procedures in the U.S. are safe. Giving blood is completely risk-free. The chance of getting HIV from dentists or other health care providers is too low even to measure.You can’t get it from mosquitoes or other insect or animal bites. 3) Oral sex is just as risky as vaginal or anal intercourse. 3) Although not 100% risk-free, oral sex is considered a low-risk activity,except if: you have bleeding gums, recent dental work, open sores such as a herpes lesion, any cut, blister, or burn in the mouth, or if you’ve just brushed or flossed your teeth. Also, oral sex with an infected woman is riskier if she is having her period, since menstrual blood can contain HIV. Overall, latex barriers, (such as condoms or dental dams) used during oral sex reduce the transmission of not just HIV, but other sexual transmitted diseases. 4) Animal skin, latex and polyurethane condoms are all equally effective in preventing HIV infection and you can use ANY lubrication on the condom desired. 4)Only latex or polyurethane condoms may be used, as HIV can pass through an animal skin condom. With latex condoms, only water-based lubricants--like K-Y jelly or H-R jelly--may be used. No lubricants with oil, alcohol, or grease are safe.Petroleum jelly,Vaseline, Crisco, mineral oil, baby oil, massage oil, butter and most hand creams can weaken the condom and cause it to split. However, with polyurethane condoms, petroleum-based lubricants can be used. 5) Women have to rely on men using condoms during intercourse to protect themselves against HIV. 5) Women may employ the “female condom,” a plastic sheath that can be inserted in their vaginas and used for protection against HIV. It can be inserted up to 8 hours before sex, has rings at both ends to hold it in place and can be lubricated with oil-based lubricants that stay wet longer. In addition, women can carry conventional condoms for their male partners’ use. 6) If a woman is HIV-positive, her offspring will automatically be born infected with HIV. 6) With no medical treatment taken, about 25% of HIV-positive women will give birth to infants who are also infected. However, the use of anti-HIV medications has resulted in a significant decrease of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in utero and during delivery to less than 5%. (NYT 10/19/ 99]. 7) AIDS is fundamentally a gay disease contracted by white males. 7) Recent data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that young gay Hispanic and African-American men and heterosexual women are the fastest growing segment of the population being infected with HIV. Women now account for 43% of all HIV infected people over age 15. [NYT 11/24/98] African-American and Hispanic women account for more than 76% of AIDS cases among women in the U.S. 8) Heterosexual men are not really at risk for contracting HIV, even if they don’t use condoms. 8) The inside opening of the penis is composed of highly-absorbent, sponge- like mucous membrane tissues, which can provide a route for HIV-infected vaginal secretions or blood to enter the bloodstream. Proper condom use protects men from infection. 9) The AIDS epidemic is largely over because new AIDS medications like protease inhibitors and others have turned AIDS into a chronic, not a terminal disease. 9) In the U.S., AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death for people 25-44 years old. Roughly half of all those infected with HIV in the U.S. are not receiving any medications or medical care. AIDS now kills more people worldwide than any other infection, including malaria and tuberculosis.[NYT 11/24/98] In 1998 alone, 2.5 million people died of AIDS worldwide. 13.9 million people have died since the virus was discovered in 1981. 10) If you think you’ve been exposed to HIV through unprotected sex, you can take an HIV antibody test 2 weeks later and get an accurate result. 10) The standard “window” or waiting period remains a full 3 months. However, because the widely-used HIV antibody tests (The ELISA and Western Blot) have become so sensitive, about 95% of people will procure an accurate result 4-6 weeks after a possible exposure to the virus. * * * * [Note:The information stated above was reviewed for medical accuracy by Dr. Todd J. Yancey, an infectious disease specialist practicing in New York City and affiliated with New York Presbyterian Hospital, NY, Cornell Campus.] THE CHILD LIFE PROGRAM “Mommy takes a lot of medicine and Mommy’s really tired sometimes and she can’t take you to the park as much as she used to. It’s not that I don’t love you...and that I don’t want to...but Uncle Jack’s going to take you to the park today.” --A mother living with AIDS, a client at GMHC, talking to her 6-year- old son. In New York City alone, 28,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS since the epidemic began [NYT 12/13/98] GMHC’s unique Child Life Program serves HIV-infected parents and their children--who may, or may not, be infected with the virus. “We help families strengthen their ability to cope, relieve the pressure of parenting with support services, and teach parents how to talk to their kids,” says Child Life Program Coordinator Alison Ferst. “Unfortunately, should a parent or child be sick enough to be facing death, we also help them walk through it with grace and dignity---as opposed to feeling alone, isolated and frightened. “We also encourage sick parents to make stable legal plans for their children who may be left behind,” adds Ferst, “and to have disclosure conversations with the children in advance, so you don’t have a child standing at her mother’s funeral, not sure where she’s going next.” When an HIV-infected Mom arrives at GMHC to have lunch, attend a support group, consult with a lawyer, or access the acupuncture clinic, she can leave her children in a spacious playroom, decorated with fanciful murals and a giant tree hand-painted by the famed children’s story writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, who donated his art. [see photos] The program provides: child- sitting, nutrition services, a food pantry, art and magic classes, and recreational trips--church picnics, seasonal apple-pumpkin picking, amusement parks, zoos, museums, beaches. Also: homework help sessions, holiday parties, hospital visits, summer sports and weekly support groups for HIV- positive parents and their HIV-negative children. This unique program also features: Cooking classes for kids who sometimes prepare meals for sick parents; Pediatric Buddies, GMHC adult volunteers who play with sick children and also assist with family chores; Fun With Feelings Support Group, Friday Evening Family Time, Birthday parties, and a Holiday Gift Drive. “Children infected or affected by AIDS,” concludes Ferst, “want to be like other kids: They want to play with their friends, want to know that someone will always take care of them, want to know they’re not alone, and often wonder if it’s their fault when Mom or Dad gets sick.” These children need a helping hand and any of us can provide one.