@Ivy

Coming back to the point. Mycoplasma is the top of the heap when it comes to complex. Most people don’t even know they got it or that the dry cough that nagged them for a couple weeks could have killed them within hours hence my mantra seek appropriate guidance.

Let me know if the time comes when your interest gets to a place that makes it worth using the offer of my longstanding relationship with the experts for an introduction.

@lurkingreader Oh that does sound super fascinating, and sounds personal so I created a burner account just for you. Contact me at [email protected]

@Ivy

It’s special to us because it’s in our ‘thank God our child survived pile’ if you decide this oddity is worth exploring in depth I can pass on the names of eight doctors who have stayed in touch with us since the Spring of 1996 when one of them drew the short straw for the duty of trying to penetrate glazed over parental faces to explain their magic bags of Doctor tricks was empty and what out of medicine means. Ten weeks ago four of them kept up their tradition of singing Mustang Sally to celebrate another milestone with the birth of her first child.

@lurkingreader yah its the standard textbook they use for entry level biology, not sure what the other advanced courses would say. (Advanced chemistry would have covered the virology more indepth) We did have a biologist specialized in virology, and he was still publishing as far I understand it. The guy bored me to tears, so if there was any extra info from lectures or slides, I have no idea because that’s in my “thank god i passed that pile”. I would be fascinated to hear you explain it better, I am very curious about what else makes it so special.

That’s correct if your biology professor asks but standing firm insisting mycoplasma is more properly classed a bacteria will get you in hot water with many learned virologists who prefer to claim the oddity as their own pet 🙂

@lurkingreader I really had to go back and reread a couple of chapters, so I hope you are proud of yourself, miss, for encouraging my education lol bio is not my strong suit. Very clever of you to ask that question. The only mention of Mycoplasmas is in one page of the entire textbook.

Gram-Positive Bacteria
“Gram-positive bacteria rival the proteobacteria in diversity. Species in one subgroup, the actinomycetes (from the Greek mykes, fungus, for which these bacteria were once mistaken), form colonies containing branched chains of cells…..Mycoplasmas are the only bacteria known to lack cell walls. They are also the tiniest known cells, with diameters as small as .1 microns, only about five times as large as a ribosome..have small genomes- Mycoplasma genitalium has only 517 genes for example…many are free living soil bacteria, but others are pathogens.” And on another page a mention study, comparing Mycoplasma capricolum with wheat and 4 other bacteria species.

Lol Ivy nice to see a current edition cited does it clear up the ambiguous ‘mycoplasma’ classifications?

TY Ivy,

Complex is an understatement with over thirty common STI the variables a performer might consider in their initial and hopefully ongoing risk assessment process to define personal limits is truly infinite.

If you have concerns SEEK appropriate medical care/guidance was like a mantra within so many of my rambling tirades of outrage it seems to go without saying. Lots of trustworthy docs have massive brag walls cluttered with dozens of certifications, degrees and professional associations that don’t amount to a hill of beans if performers opt to DIY with a dab carmex on dick lesions the doc would have recognized as secondary syphilis and treated accordingly.

Duke lead the FSC from a position of arrogance, one of being able to tell everyone what to do and expecting them to do it. Potentially this was supported by money from certain industry members. It has lead the FSC to stray far from it’s initial goal (protection of free speech, the rights for porn) and into a much more contentious role as a self-selected industry spokesgroup.

FSC I think lost the plot around the time of the initial 2257 legal issues. Rather than backing a good case (that eventually won) they sort of went off on their own, spending tons of money to try to prove something that was mooted with the arrival of the Obama administration. Nobody is out there actively checking 2257 documents, no more raids, no more surprise inspections. That whole department of the DoJ went away. The victories if any are hollow, like scoring a touchdown when the other team has already left the field.

The FSC has a chance to become relevant and important. They just have to choose the right people to lead them. Mike, you looking for a job? 😉

@lurkingreader excellent post as always. The fact is, STI’s and disease are a really complex thing, one that requires a lot of school to absorb the knowledge. I know for sure I trust a person who went to medical school for this stuff, versus just burying your head in the sand and saying “F it, everyone has this I’m not even gonna worry about it”.

At the end of the day, industry standards should conform not only the latest of scientific study, but also allowing for the reality of sex work. Fluid exchange is gonna happen. Bareback is gonna happen because workers need the money. The medical community can wag its finger and say, “do X, Y, Z” (whether that be condom use, medicine use, abstinence while healing, ect) but also understand that the sex industry cannot heed the same advice as the civilian population, cause people gotta make money. I understand that. But there has to be a way to minimize risk to performer, client, and the civilian world. I’m hoping really smart people have a grip on that, now that Diane Duke’s gone. We will see.