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US health officials propose using a cheap antibiotic as a ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world

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U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases.

The proposed CDC guideline was released Monday, and officials will move to finalize it after a 45-day public comment period. With STD rates rising to record levels, “more tools are desperately needed,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The proposal comes after studies found some people who took the antibiotic doxycycline within three days of unprotected sex were far less likely to get chlamydia, syphilis or gonorrhea compared with people who did not take the pills after sex.

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[–] Awa@mander.xyz 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You bring up some excellent points.

After reading the article, I don't necessarily think it is biased to assuming STDs are more prevalent in the gay, bi, and trans community, just that that is the population this particular group of researchers have done the most studies on. I know that the gay, bi, and trans community in the past had much less healthcare studies for various reasons, so it is a good thing IMO that this population is not overlooked in studies and healthcare issues that impact all persons regardless of sex, sexual activity, or sexual identity.

I completely agree with limiting unnecessary prescriptions to help prevent "superbugs" along with secondary effects on the individuals taking the medications.

I never liked the idea of doctors just throwing pills at people. I have family members who run to their doc or a local clinic every time they get a cold to get a "z-pack" without just trying to deal with it allowing their non-compromised immune system do it's job. I believe part of the problem is lack of education (or incorrect information from online sites) and lack of knowledge of appropriate facilities to address conditions. The emergency room is for emergencies... not boo boos or something you can see your doctor or a doctor at a clinic for. Anyway, I have gone off on a tangent.

Thanks for your contribution in this discussion.

[–] Nepenthe@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

After reading the article, I don’t necessarily think it is biased to assuming STDs are more prevalent in the gay, bi, and trans community, just that that is the population this particular group of researchers have done the most studies on. I know that the gay, bi, and trans community in the past had much less healthcare studies for various reasons, so it is a good thing IMO that this population is not overlooked in studies and healthcare issues that impact all persons regardless of sex, sexual activity, or sexual identity.

For sure, it makes sense as a target. I hadn't bothered to look it up the first time and I'm a little shocked that the differing rate is so high among the two groups -- anywhere from 1.5x higher to eleven in comparison with cishet, depending on the STD. But really.....they could definitely have worded that better than they did and I'm certain anything that successfully treats LGBT patients is probably also fine for the rest of humanity. It didn't sound great. 😅

Might even be temporarily damaging your immune system, doing that. These are the people overrunning the healthcare system. I mean, you're correct. It's understandable that you'd want the problem to go away, especially in a society that heavily punishes sick days, and a lot of it is wanting a quick fix for a problem they don't really know much about and trust professionals to handle in a way that's medically appropriate. They did, after all, pass a 10+ year course for this kind of knowledge. Sadly, they are not only abusively overworked but surprisingly lax if they're actually prescribing antibiotics over a head cold.

I still get to sigh about it. Stunningly high rates or no, that the CDC decided this was the best course of action feels irresponsible. They just complained about overuse a few years ago.

I think I'm fortunate enough to have had several family members in the medical field because that behavior would drive me up the wall. Admittedly, I am having the opposite problem wherein I have to convince people that no, it's not fine, you probably shouldn't be walking around on a broken leg and if you are in active labor you can stop cleaning for a hot minute. These are both real things that really happened, and the result is that I can never tell whether I'm being overly tough about pain when I don't need to be, or just being a hypochondriac at the slightest thing.