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Northern Virginia Guy -- Bi Sometime TV wants to suck your cock for a long time and swallow. Looking for top rung gay or bi men, preferably for more than a one night stand. Like lots of oral and hand massage, but will satisfy you in all ways. Willing to try to be fucked by gentle guy. I have been married so I am sensative to married guys needs, including the need for discretion. I do have a place to host, but like to meet for coffee first. My experience is little really so you will also have fun teaching me your ways as I am very receptive to you and your ideas. Please write to me via email.

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Yes, of course you can.

And no, that's absurd.

Let me explain:

You can get a viral or bacterial illness ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. An ABS would be no exception.

We're talking about catching a cold here. Getting the flu. Coming into contact with bacteria that can give you an upset stomach or diarrhea. Shit like that.

Bacteria and viruses and fungi are EVERYWHERE. They are (an essential and integral) part of life on planet Earth. There's no escape, so giving up cruising venues for fear of catching a cold won't do you much good. You can get a cold while shopping at the grocery, while at work, shaking hands with a stranger, taking change from a cashier at Rite Aid, whatever...

Clearly, you already know this.

So I assume you are concerned that there is something ELSE you might get just from being inside an ABS. An STD? STDs require sex, hence the "S" part of "STD." So don't worry about that. Crabs, though not technically a disease, would be an exception, as the recent post about "brown crotch dots" will tell you. THOSE you can get from an ABS booth. Anything else... no.

Now, some ABSs are pretty filthy, with dried cum dripping from the walls of the booths and restrooms which have maybe been cleaned once in the last seven or eight years. And as a general rule, while many ABS clerks have the unwelcome task of mopping up the floors, I haven't seen too many running around with Windex cleaning off the video screens or washing down the walls with Lysol. Hopefully, your local supermarket has higher standards for cleanliness than this -- but that doesn't mean the canned goods section is free of germs -- it is not.

What is means is that an ABS MIGHT have a few more good places for germies to thrive -- so you MAY be more likely to take a few of these home with you. But you won't catch anything SERIOUS just from your presence there.

An ABS I visit in NY from time to time has an extremely horrific restroom -- we're talking feces smears, OK? I use my elbow to push the door open, I take a leak, I leave. I feel "safer" not even attempting to touch the faucet. I am quite certain my penis is FAR cleaner than anything that might be breeding and mutating on the sink! I'm better off NOT washing my hands in such a place, see what I mean?

But maybe some guy DOES touch the sink. Then he touches the doors to the booths. Then he touches the Buddy Button. Bang. Lots of nice fecal coliform bacteria there to spread around. Then YOU touch it. Maybe you later touch your mouth with your hand and the next morning you have a severe case of the trots. Or maybe nothing happens at all. You do not necessarily get sick EVERY time you come into contact with bacteria or even a virus.

Probably you are a bit more likely to catch a cold from being in an ABS as opposed to getting some groceries -- but there's nothing to be concerned with here. You aren't going to get any deadly diseases in this way. You aren't even going to get any mild diseases this way. Most likely, you won't get anything at all. The symptoms you experienced CANNOT be pinned down to any specific illness contracted at any specific location. You may have already had a bug BEFORE you went to the ABS. In fact, it is quite possible that someone else there caught the bug YOU brought in! Or not...

Don't worry about it. Worry about having safe sex. Do that, you'll be fine.

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Thanks for the information. I was not as concerned with STDs as the other stuff. I am reasonably convinced that STDs are going to be transmitted as the acronym says SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED. I was feeling that the places are so dirty and the average(?) customer so likely to have some disease or other that it would be more likely to find the everyday virus and bacteria that cause illness in those places than in other places I go.

Yes, I believe the supermarket does a better job at keeping the store clean, but they have their corporate daddy and the Government mommies and daddies looking over their shoulder, so to speak.

Now if we had licensed adult sex venues, such as the Nevada Brothels, the states could get out of debt and clean up the sex industry all at the same time and people like me would not worry so much.

Actually, I do wash my hands after coming home from the supermarket and once in awhile will wash s suspect can or bottle, but it is hit or miss. I do agree with you not to touch any thng in the rest rooms of the ABS. Heck I worry about that in almost all bathrooms and am as careful as can be.

I have enough of the climate of fear in me now, so don't like to add to that when it is not neccessary. My county government just asked me to join the Bioterrorism Emergency Response Corps or something. 12,000 people to respond to a terrorist attack. Kind of funny, in a sick way, when we have been making the stuff inside and near our cities for decades without anyone worrying about it.


Gee, I can get off the subject.

Thanks again.

George

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You're welcome, George.

I think what you are essentially asking is if a person with a weakened immune system is more likely to leave behind common germs which might cause a cold or flu, etc. This would be correct, in theory -- if a person has HIV he or she is much more likely to carry around a bug for a longer time; it's tougher to beat it when the immune system is weakened. But it doesn't necessarily mean healthy folks will catch it from that person each and every time there is passing contact.

A person with a weakened immune system is also susceptible to getting sick from bugs which healthy folks can shrug off without even noticing it. So if those bugs are hanging out in an ABS, most healthy guys won't even react to them. But the more standard cold and flu germs -- sure. We can get those, just like we can get them anywhere else.

And don't forget -- it is not necessarily true that people in bookstores are ALWAYS more likely to have an STD. Maybe, maybe not. Depends on too many factors to list here. But what's important to remember is that people with STDs and HIV ALSO go to the supermarket, they go to Target, they try on clothes in JC Penney's, etc. If they have a cold or flu, we can get it in ANY of those places.

But yeah -- bookstores can be pretty filthy in general. Most supermarkets as a rule do NOT have men ejaculating semen all over the store shelves. However, I would possibly consider shopping at such a place if I ever found one: it might be fun to watch guys blow loads onto cans of creamed corn, you know?

The simple fact that bookstores aren't cleaned all that often is proof enough that there's going to be a tremendous amount of bacteria floating around, and some of it may get us sick. But it's nothing to worry about: I've been in gas station restrooms that were even more disgusting than any ABS I've ever seen.

I have no idea if a person who has an STD OTHER than HIV would be at higher risk of getting a cold and passing those bugs around. That's a question for the doc, but I still don't think it's anything we need to worry about.

Flush the toilet with your foot, open the door with your elbow. And by all means, don't make the mistake I did and sit on a ripped vinyl booth seat with the stuffing sitting out! Otherwise, you'll be fine.

I'll end my part in this discussion here -- I wouldn't want to be alarmist about anything, you know?

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Hey ! Now we can all start worrying about getting the flu

I found out where they were giving flu shots, but always got there too late. I am NOT getting up at 6 AM to get a number so I can come back at Noon to the supermarket to get the shot after waiting awhile. Anyway, when I saw the really old folks in line, I decided my chances are better than theirs and they deserve the shot. Maybe I can buy it on eBay?

I just don't like getting sick and think it would be better if I had a single, honest monogamous friend instead of cruising around. Since I haven't picked anyone up in two years, I haven't picked anything up either.

Bye for now.

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No need to worry about not being able to get your flu shot, buddy.

President Bush said he's going to give up HIS own flu shot, so you can have his.

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