THE FDA SAYS ONLY 1% OF LATEX DEATHS ARE REPORTED
Delayed contact dermatitis from chemicals in rubber has been recognized since the 1930s.4 But except for rare early reports, clinicians did not appreciate systemic allergic reactions to latex proteins until 1979, when case reports began to appear in Europe. 5
Latex allergy erupted in the United States shortly after the Centers for Disease Control introduced universal precautions in 1987. By late 1992, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received 1133 reports of serious allergic reactions and anaphylaxis occurring to patients and health care staff associated with 30 classes of latex medical devices. There were 15 patient deaths associated with latex barium enema catheters.5,6
The FDA estimated that the reports represented only 1% of actual occurrences.6
Today, researchers hypothesize that the latex allergy outbreak is the result of multiple factors including deficiencies in manufacturing processes, increased latex exposure, hand care practices, immunological cross reactivity, and changes in latex agricultural practices.1,7,8, 45
Latex allergy affects between 8%-12% of workers in all health disciplines. Latex allergy also affects up to 51% of children with spina bifida, and approximately 1% of the general population.
http://www.nursingworld.org/readroom/position/workplac/wklatex.htm
____________
New US government website attacked for comments on sexuality and effectiveness of condoms
The wording of information about condoms on the site is also potentially misleading (they mean factual). US abstinence education programmes usually only mention condoms when referring to their potential for failure.
The 4parents.com site suggests that condoms offer only moderate protection against HIV and gonorrhoea, less protection against Chlamidya, herpes and human papilloma virus, and that the ability of condoms to protect against syphilis has not been well studied. Although these claims are backed by reference to studies looking at the effectiveness of condoms, they do not acknowledge that the studies were, almost exclusively, conducted in populations with a high prevalence, or risk of sexually transmitted infections.
____
The rest of the article (attacking the new semi honest official statements on condoms) is a pathetic attempt to defend condoms citing the one and only study (if you can call it that) conducted over twelve years ago that claimed that condoms reduced 'AIDS' in the 132 couples studied. As usual the 'conclusions' section of that report which said 'in real world use condoms failed up to 32% of the time' was ignored.
This study has been contradicted by ALL the 400 subsequent studies almost without exception.
________
Do Condoms Protect Against Small Viruses?
The use of condoms is widely recommended to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including those caused by such viruses as herpes simplex, hepatitis B, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The efficacy of condoms in these circumstances, however, is unknown.
The water-leak test used to ensure the integrity of condoms can detect holes as small as 3 to 4 m in diameter, but sexually transmitted viruses are much smaller, with diameters of 0.04 to 0.15 m. A previous study demonstrated that about one third of condoms tested allowed penetration of HIV-sized polystyrene spheres.
________
Condom Use Linked to Risk of Preeclampsia
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/433419?srcmp=wh-051002
LOS ANGELES (Reuters Health) May 09 - Women who are not exposed to a partner's sperm prior to pregnancy because the couple used condoms may be at increased risk for developing preeclampsia, a new study presented here concludes.
The findings suggest that when the uterus is repeatedly exposed to sperm, a woman's immune system may become accustomed to this "foreign" genetic material, said Dr. Jon I. Einarsson, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
However, when a woman's body has only recently been introduced to the sperm because she stopped using barrier contraception and was trying to conceive, she may have an immune reaction to the paternal genetic material that causes arterial damage and contributes to preeclampsia, Dr. Einarsson suggested. This reaction may be heightened because the placenta produces paternal proteins similar to those on sperm, he told Reuters Health.
Preeclampsia affects about 7% of pregnant women, yet little is understood about why the condition develops, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The Baylor study findings were presented Wednesday during the College's annual meeting.
Dr. Einarsson described his team's findings for 113 women who developed preeclampsia during their pregnancies and another 226 women who did not.
He said those who used barrier methods and had only been having sex with their partners for a short period of time were most at risk. "Women who used barrier methods who had been having sex with their partners for less than 4 months prior to getting pregnant had a 6.5-fold increased risk of getting preeclampsia, compared with women who did not use barrier methods and had been in a sexual relationship for more than 12 months," he said.
Most women in the study who reported using barrier contraception relied on condoms, while some also used diaphragms. Women who relied on the withdrawal method also were included in this group.
"Women who use barrier methods exclusively prior to pregnancy should consider changing to an alternative method 4 to 6 months prior to getting pregnant, especially if they have other risk factors for preeclampsia, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or if they are overweight," Dr. Einarsson recommended.
I'm not at all surprised to read that condoms contain all kinds of carcinogenic or otherwise health damaging materials.
Regardings HIV/AIDS and whether it exists or not, all I can do is read stuff and use whatever little common sense I have to weigh it all out. Not being any kind of a health professional or science minded or science literate person, I am not in a position to have a reasonable opinion.
All I know is that the health practices of homosexuals and indeed, all promiscuous person, are unhealthy in the extreme.