It is one of the most intimate moments of a couple, but for one day a year – July 31, although there are more than one dedicated date – the spotlight is on orgasm, on that storm of reactions that lead to the peak of pleasure under the sheets. Long underestimated and crushed by taboos, talking about it “does not only mean addressing the issue of physical pleasure – for example, the experts of Anlaids Lombardia, who work to raise awareness on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, point out – but also gender inequality, the differences between male and female orgasm and, more generally, it means talking about freedom considering that, in the world, many girls are denied their rights, through inhuman practices such as genital mutilation. And then it also means addressing the issue of sexual education and the culture of prevention of sexually transmitted infections”.
National Orgasm Day is celebrated all over the world and can be an opportunity to raise awareness, this is the belief of the association’s experts, who on the occasion of the Day recall some services dedicated specifically to prevention and information. One of these is the test delivery service, and recalls the importance of checks and early diagnosis for sexually transmitted diseases. Orgasm Day falls precisely in the summer, they observe, “when greater opportunities for meeting are created, especially among young people”. What better time, therefore, to bring back to the center of the scene “the most powerful tool” against these infections, that is, prevention and correct information?
Even today, most people do not know how HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) spread in these areas, in addition to ignorance. There are still prejudices and fears. Every day, the free telephone counseling service of Anlaids Lombardia Ets receives requests for help and clarification. For example, there are those who say they had risky sex 20 days before and took the HIV test, with a negative result. “Can I rest easy?” is the question. The experts’ answer clarifies: “For the rapid saliva or blood test (finger prick), 90 days must pass from the risk event for the result to be definitive. For the blood test with blood sampling, 40 days must pass from the risk event for the test to be definitive”.
Then there are those who ask what the level of risk is linked to different circumstances, such as oral sex and so on. “Knowing your serological status, thanks to rapid saliva tests is essential to feel good and make others feel good”, urge the experts of Anlaids Lombardia, which created the project ‘At home I test’ (realized with the unconditional contribution of Gilead Science, winner of the Gilead Community Award), a sort of ‘delivery’ that includes the home delivery of the HIV and HCV test kit, and free telephone counseling (tel. 02 33608683) from an operator before, during and after the test (15 euros for 1 HIV or HCV test, 20 euros for HIV plus HCV, shipping included, free donation).
Inside the envelope, which is not marked by the sender Anlaids, in order to further guarantee the privacy of the content, there are instructions for easily performing the screening test that detects antibodies and that provides a reliable and rapid response in about 20 minutes. “Doing the test regularly must be a normal gesture: it is the way to guarantee safety and health for everyone”, conclude the experts.
According to the latest data available from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, in 2022 new infections increased among 25-35 year olds, of which half of the new diagnoses are late. In fact, “HIV infection is discovered in 58.1% of new cases already in an advanced stage, among these people 42% already had symptoms related to AIDS”, the experts recall. “To avoid a spread of advanced stages of the infection, it is necessary to spread the culture of prevention, from education to information, by carrying out widespread screening campaigns, which make tests easy and accessible for young people”.
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