A 1960s pill could bring ‘free love’ back to Houston – The Egalitarian

Of all the emotions Antonio Garza could have felt due to gonorrhea, “fun” was his unorthodox choice.

“There was an air of inevitability,” Garza said.

The 29-year-old restaurant server, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, said he often turned drunken games of “Never Have I Ever” in Montrose into an opportunity to lash out at his friends.

In the game, players share simple statements about things they’ve never done.

“I would say, ‘I’ve never had an STD,’” Garza recalls. “And every time, everyone had to put their finger down except me.”

After surviving a few scares, Garza considers himself lucky.

Then, a one-night stand in May sidelined this bisexual Don Juan just in time for Pride.

“I had a taste of my own medicine,” he laughed, blaming his usual episodes of schadenfreude for his sudden reversal of fortune.

Too bad he didn’t know about a more powerful drug that was gaining ground.

What is doxy-PEP?

“I’m very excited about it,” said Jeffrey Campbell, CEO of the Houston HIV prevention organization. Allies in Hope. “Doxy PEP is another tool in our prevention toolbox. »

On June 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended post-exposure prophylaxis with doxycycline to protect patients against sexually transmitted bacterial diseases.

Campbell said that within 72 hours of possible exposure, a 200-milligram dose of an antibiotic could cut your risk of infection in half.

Data from four studies show that syphilis and chlamydia infections fell by 70 percent after taking doxy PEP, and gonorrhea by 50 percent.

Doxy PEP does not protect against herpes, for which there is no known cure.

While the CDC has stated that doxy PEP represents the first new STD prevention tool doxycycline has been around for decades.

This antibiotic has been used to treat a variety of illnesses since the 1960s, from respiratory infections and cholera to rosacea and severe acne.

Campbell said the STI-fighting power of doxy PEP couldn’t come at a better time, especially when used in conjunction with Preparationmedicines that prevent HIV.

“An STI is a gateway to an HIV diagnosis,” Campbell said. “Receiving Doxy PEP treatment, making sure the body is healthy, and if there’s potentially, you know, HIV somewhere in the system, your body is more able to fight it off. »

Additionally, doxy PEP may be available at no or low cost to eligible patients, like PrEP before it.

No glove, no love; No pills, no thrills.

The CDC focused its recommendations on gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and transgender women, who have had an STI in the past 12 months.

But Campbell said anyone who is sexually active should consider taking the pills, especially if their status or that of their sexual partners is not known.

Allies in Hope has been prescribing doxy PEP since last fall, with a focus on educating PrEP users about the added benefits.

“Most people who take PrEP, because they are protected against getting HIV, have sex without a condom,” Campbell said. “But sex without a condom leads to vulnerability to syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, and so having doxy PEP in our toolbox, I think, helps reduce that likelihood.”

Regardless of the effectiveness of the two drugs, Campbell said he still suggests condoms as an additional barrier to infection.

For more information about free HIV/STD testing and other health services, visit the Allies in Hope website.