posted
I strongly suspect that once you've been on abx for awhile you don't have to worry. DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
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Well, I look at it this way. We all know how horrible this disease is so I'm not taking any chances.
I don't think anyone knows for sure and they probably never will.
Steve
Posts: 406 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2007
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blinkie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14470
posted
I for one think this is how I initially got lyme. I now have an ex boyfriend that has it and my husband as well. Coincidence? I think not.
Spirochettes have been found in semen. You do the math.
Posts: 1104 | From N.California | Registered: Jan 2008
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jamescase20
Unregistered
posted
YES...and bart even more then sexually, even cat scratch or kiss, ask Dr S
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sometimesdilly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9982
posted
lots of disagreement among best of the best; not enough solid science to know diddly for sure;
like anything else that is literally life or death, if you are worried about it and have a chance to be proactive, probably better to err on the side of caution rather than recklessness.
Posts: 2507 | From lost in the maze | Registered: Aug 2006
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
Well, it's a lot like the syph, which is...
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Sure, Lyme has been found in semen and vaginal fluids, but HIV is also found in sweat and saliva, which has been proven not to be a mode of transmission for the virus.
Lyme shares the physical structure of Syphilis, which is of course sexually transmitted, but also Leptospiriosis, which is not.
Many patients in long term sexual relationships both test positive (exposure, western blot). Some spouses have no symptoms. However, an alternate theory has said that since its SO easy to get bit just by walking outside, something most couples do together, that is why they're both positive.
Some doctors think that if it was truly sexually transmitted at an even HIV-level rate, we'd have a much large epidemic on our hands than we already do.
Anecdote: My longterm partner that I had condom-free sex with for several years prior to diagnosis had, nor has to my knowledge, no negative effects or symptoms.
Posts: 691 | From East coast, USA | Registered: Jun 2006
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Lauralyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15021
posted
I agree with the logic of many here that there would be so many more people ill with lyme
But......what if it was transmitted but was just sitting dormant and asymptomatic as the persons strong immune system was able to keep it dormant.
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
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METALLlC BLUE
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6628
posted
You have to decide whether you'll have unprotected sex, oral sex, as well as pregnancy. If you're willing to take the risk to possibly spread the infection (co-infections too), to your partners, husband, wife, or a future child then that's between you and your partner. Don't forget breastfeeding too, big no-no. Another point of contention I brought up recently was "kissing."
Is kissing an issue? Well, as usual we don't know. You have to make that decision conscientiously with your partner, just like with all of these other choices.
-------------------- I am not a physician, so do your own research to confirm any ideas given and then speak with a health care provider you trust.
pamoisondelune
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11846
posted
So we need a STUDY of MICE on ANTIBIOTICS, to see if they transmit! "On abx" is the dilemma situation of many lymies. Marriages could be saved.
Posts: 1226 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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posted
bb is common in mice, they can have transmission ways that with us not be contagious; tabanos also have bb but the transmission is x1000 better with ticks in each bite at the same number of bb; bb need some immunosupressor substances for be contagious; but i think with continuous contact (not only sexual) is transmissible
Posts: 108 | From spain eur | Registered: Apr 2005
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
As people said, there is no 100% certainty. However, with some of the potential transmission modes mentioned in this thread, it is important to use common sense.
Illnesses that are transmitted through saliva spread incredibly quickly. For example, mono. It spreads like wild fire through college dorms. About 85% of the population is infected with mono by the time they reach adulthood. Lyme infection rates are not that high.
Just because one person says it is transmitted through kissing does not mean it is. I think it's very implausible that it could be with the infection rates (which while high are not 85%).
As far as sexual transmission, I know my LLMD is not concerned. I know couples where both are sick and where only one is sick. Where both are sick, they have usually both been exposed to tick endemic areas.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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METALLlC BLUE
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6628
posted
I agree, kissing transmission is very unlikely in my opinion. Sadly I can't say anything is absolutely certain.
-------------------- I am not a physician, so do your own research to confirm any ideas given and then speak with a health care provider you trust.
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