PSA for Men: Washing (too soon) after sex can kill you!

Two years ago, I was accused of peddling a “barbaric Jewish practice” as scientific fact when I heralded the finding by Ugandan doctors that circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV infections dramatically.

But since then peer reviews have compelled every reputable medical and health organization in the world to endorse circumcision as “the most potent intervention in HIV prevention” available today.

Therefore, it is with even greater confidence that I share this public service announcement, which is based on another pioneering finding by Ugandan doctors:

Washing the penis minutes after sex increases the risk of acquiring HIV in uncircumcised men.

Of course, I fully appreciate how counterintuitive this is. But it would be foolhardy (and potentially deadly) to intellectualize, or impute cultural biases to this surprising finding. Instead, I implore men – especially those living in regions where HIV infections are prevalent (like Sub-Saharan Africa) – to take heed and “delay washing for at least 10 minutes after sex” as the doctors recommend.

For the scientifically curious amongst you, however, here are the explanations lead researcher, Dr. Fredrick E. Makumbi, offered for this extraordinary finding at an International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia last month:

One is that the acidity of vaginal secretions may impair the ability of the AIDS virus to survive on the penis. Delayed cleansing — and longer exposure to the vaginal secretions — may then reduce viral infectivity.

Another is that use of water, which has a neutral pH, may encourage viral survival and possible infectivity.

Nevertheless, it might prove illuminating and instructive for me to cite an article I wrote last year entitled How sex makes smart men do stupid things. Because in it, I lamented the fact that Jacob Zuma testified at his trial for raping a woman (who he knew was HIVpositive) that:

…after having sex [he had] taken a shower because this would minimize the risk of contracting the disease.

Clearly, this statement exposes Zuma as a suicidal sociopath. But who amongst us would have thought that jumping out of bed to wash after getting off could kill us…?

But consider the fact that Zuma is not only the deputy leader of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, but also the country’s former deputy president and former head of its anti-AIDS campaign. Consider further that South Africa has more people living with HIV and dying from AIDS than any other country in the world; and, moreover, that Zuma is most likely to be elected its next president in 2009.

Because only after considering these facts can you begin to appreciate why Zuma and South Africa loom so ominously in this context.

Finally, notwithstanding this finding, let me hasten to remind all “promiscuous” men and women that condoms remain the best defense against contracting HIV (and other STIS). Indeed, this is why I utterly condemn religious groups for lobbying the US government to make humanitarian aid to poor countries conditioned on recipient governments preaching abstinence instead of providing sex education and condoms to combat this pandemic.

That said, let me also hasten to disabuse men everywhere of the suspicion that this finding is nothing more than an elaborate ruse concocted by women to get us to stay put and cuddle after sex….

Related Articles:
New HIV/AIDS Vaccine: An old Jewish ritual
WHO agrees – To briss or not to briss: that is the question
How sex makes smart men do stupid things
South Africa condemned at annual AIDS conference
Why Zuma – a morally-bankrupt rapist and thief – will be president

HIV/AIDS prevention