Pointes, pain, gas masks and Gardasil

The US Army M40 Gas Mask

Pointes, pain and eroticism: I was chatting with a friend this morning while I was doing pointe maintenance. He has a new master at work who requires him to do a lot of physical training and he was just back from a session that worked his arms until he could hardly use them for much other than keyboarding.

I was telling him about a ballet teacher in school who was like that. In her pointe classes she kept us on our toes forever until most of us were bleeding regardless of how well our toes were taped or what padding we used in our shoes. The good news was that those of us who survived Miss Willoughby’s classes were much better and stronger dancers and some few of us found we enjoyed the pain. I think pain caused by standing en pointe is erotic! Of course you have to come off pointe occasionally or your toes go numb and you lose sensation. Toes going numb can be a blessing if you are trying to get through a long and difficult piece of choreography w/o mistakes, especially toward the end where your leg muscles are burning. But if you are into pain for pleasure as I sometimes am (usually at the end of my cycle when I’m nearing my period) I find it's best to come off pointe every 8 to 10 minutes to keep the pain going during the entire sexual encounter, class or rehearsal where I’m using pain for pleasure or as a performance tool.

Men in gas masks: My friend is into gas masks and his fave is the M40 currently used by the US Army. [The M40 is pictured in the image accompanying this entry.] Most of my circle both men and women wear Mestel SGE 400 gas masks for fetish-sex so I’ve been penetrated by a lot of men in Mestel gas masks, but I’ve had sex with guys who were wearing Israeli or Russian masks they got from surplus stores or on-line and a few in the Czech M10 with cheek filters. The men say they enjoy wearing a gasmask for sex because it makes them look scary and conceals their identity while causing dread in their partner. I like guys in gas masks because it makes it harder for them to breathe when they are fucking me and I love to see the man sweat and the lenses of his mash fog up as he begins to thrust more urgently when he nears orgasm.

HPV Vaccines in Canada: “Gardasil, a vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV), has been approved as a treatment to prevent genital warts in males aged nine to 26 in Canada, the vaccine's manufacturer said Tuesday.

Health Canada approved Gardasil to prevent infection caused by human papilloma virus Types six, 11, 16, and 18 and genital warts caused by HPV types six and 11.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in Canada, said Merck, the vaccine's manufacturer.

In 2006, Health Canada approved Gardasil to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts in females aged nine to 26. All provinces and territories now offer school-based programs using Gardasil, which works best if given to females before they become sexually active.

Two weeks ago, GlaxoSmithKline announced that Health Canada has approved its HPV vaccine, Cervarix, in girls and women. Cervarix protects against three other cancer-causing strains, HPV 31, 33 and 45.

In most people who develop genital warts, the infection clears up on its own. For some women, the infection persists and can lead to cervical cancer.

A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that Gardasil in females has a safety record on par with other vaccines.

In January, researchers in Montreal published a study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases showing 56 per cent of young people in a new sexual relationship were infected with at least one type of HPV.

The federal government announced in its March 2007 budget that $300 million over three years will be available to the provinces and territories in support of a national HPV vaccination program for girls and women.

It is up to provinces and territories to recommend vaccines for use within their jurisdiction. Doctors may also prescribe any approved vaccine.

An estimated 40,000 new cases of ano-genital warts are diagnosed each year in Canadian men and women”.

HPV vaccine for men

Boy getting his shot

CDC Advisory Committee To Weigh Whether To Recommend Vaccinating Boys Against HPV

“October 21, 2009 — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday is scheduled to consider whether to recommend vaccination of boys with Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, NPR's "All Things Considered" reports. Both men and women can be infected by HPV, which can lead to genital warts, cervical cancer in women and other genital cancers in both sexes (Wilson, "All Things Considered," NPR, 10/20).

Since 2006, Gardasil has been approved for use in girls and women to prevent two strains of HPV -- types 16 and 18 -- that cause about 70% of cervical cancer. Gardasil also protects against two other strains of HPV that cause 90% of genital warts. Last week, FDA approved GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix for use in girls and women ages 10 through 25 to prevent cervical cancer, and it expanded approval of Gardasil to include boys and men ages nine through 26 for protection against genital warts. Cervarix does not protect against genital warts, though there is evidence showing it protects against another HPV strain closely related to types 16 and 18 (Women's Health Policy Report, 10/19).

On Wednesday, the advisory panel will focus on whether it is cost effective to vaccinate boys against HPV. Neal Halsey, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the best way to control transmission of HPV "would be to immunize both men and women, boys and girls." He added that the "right thing to do -- from a scientific standpoint, ethical standpoint, in terms of shared responsibility -- is to immunize all boys, all girls."

However, a recent Harvard University study found that vaccinating boys is not cost effective if most women are vaccinated. The cost savings associated with vaccination of boys and men are affected by how many girls receive all three doses of Gardasil, which is priced at about $130 per dose. Vaccinating boys would do more to help curb the spread of HPV if very few girls are vaccinated. CDC surveys show that 37% of U.S. girls ages 12 through 17 have received one dose of Gardasil. In comparison, nearly 80% of girls in the United Kingdom have received the HPV vaccine, and there is no intent to immunize boys.

Merck's Erik Dasbach said that vaccinating boys would be cost effective based on current vaccination rates among U.S. girls. However, the figure used to determine the vaccine's cost effectiveness in the U.S. also "accounts for the vaccine, and for screening cervical cancer, compared to all the cost that would be avoided by preventing HPV diseases," Dasbach said, adding that vaccinating boys would not be cost effective when examined through that model.

"All Things Considered" reports that many analysts had wanted Merck to delay seeking approval for Gardasil for girls in 2006 because it was still being tested in boys. This would have allowed Merck to offer the vaccine universally for boys and girls at a lower price, which analysts say would have been cost effective ("All Things Considered," NPR, 10/20).”

Personal comment: For the last two years our clinic has been vaccinating all young men screened for STIs as candidates for Escort training and as partners for St Lucy’s girls. There are no exceptions. Men applying for drilling rights through our screening program are required to have all their shots in minimum time. I think the cost effectiveness question for boys will resolve itself when Glaxo Smith Kline’s competing vaccine, Cervarix, comes on the market in a few months. It doesn’t make sense to pinch pennies when we are responsible for the sexual health of young socially prominent women.

The girl with the platinum pussy hook

Wolford Fatal 15 tights coordinate with pussy hook and chatelaine

The girl with the platinum pussy hook: In very up-market circles in Vegas pussy hooks (vaginal hooks) are becoming a must-have accessory. At first it was the one or two fashion leaders who wore them to parties for their shock value. Now most of the trust-fund set are wearing them. Of course there is no intention for the wearer to ever be suspended by her pubic bone with the one she is wearing. The hook is just to suggest she is a lot kinkier than most of the Junior League women really are. Actually, hanging a girl with her pussy hook accessories would probably be impossible because as jewelry they are made from 18 caret gold or solid platinum which are too soft to take the weight of a 100 to 110 pound girl w/o bending and dropping her in a heap. Platinum seems to be the metal of choice at the moment as it is the most expensive and will go with most Winter colors.

As this is being written (on Friday 10-16-09) the price of a troy ounce of gold is about $1050 USD and platinum is around $1335 USD. At two ounces – or more depending on the size the wearer wants - the hook is surprisingly heavy and the external end is fastened to a matching chatelaine that is worn low, just above the swell of the hips, with the pendent chain attached by a claw latch to the hook lying against her flat hard belly. The adjustable chatelaine contains another oz of metal so as fine jewelry the hook and associated chain cost about $8,500 USD for a basic set.

Grooming etiquette: For proper display of a vaginal hook the wearer must have totally waxed pubes so that the glint of the hooks shaft is easily visible rather than being hidden in a luxuriant bush or even partially masked by a Brazilian landing strip. As vaginal jewelry a pussy hook is usually worn under a sheer seamless pair of tights like Wolford Fatal 15s. Black is usually worn with platinum and flesh and earth tones with gold. A Hook is worn under sheer seamless tights to minimize the likelihood of it getting caught on something or men fingering and trying to pull on it. Also the glint of gold or platinum protruding between the wearer’s labia beneath the gauzy veil of the wearer’s tights makes a hook look that much more mysterious and erotic. My esthetician at Body Buffers says that the requirement for sheer seamless tights and totally hairless pubes has caused a shift in the trust-fund sets grooming needs and landing strips are being ripped out as women’s interest in pussy hooks increases.

Wolford Fatal 15 Tights: Perfect for showing off a pussy hook – appearing almost nude - while still being totally covered. Fatal 15 tights are completely seamless in matt transparency with unrivalled softness, a broad waistband for a perfect fit a flat toe seam and slightly reinforced toe. An incredibly smooth appearance is derived from the high elasticity and a good fit by the use of double covered Lycra in every row. Easy to wear particularly under close-fitting garments as nothing shows through. The yarn is 17 dtex / 15 den appearance. 90% Nylon and 10% Elastane. For any one wondering what ‘dtex’ stands for it is Decitex, in textiles; measuring unit for yarn; 1 gram per 10000 meters) For a comparison Wolford Aura 5 tights are made of 6 dtex / 5 den appearance yarn.

US FDA OKs GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix: “LONDON -(Dow Jones)- GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved CERVARIX [Human papillomavirus bivalent (types 16 and 18) vaccine, recombinant] for the prevention of cervical pre-cancers and cervical cancer associated with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 for use in girls and young women (aged 10-25). MAIN FACTS: -CERVARIX was shown to be 93 percent efficacious in the prevention of cervical pre-cancers (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2+/ CIN 2+ or adenocarcinoma in situ) associated with HPV 16 or 18, in women without evidence of current infection with, or prior exposure to, the same HPV type at the time of vaccination. -The majority (approximately 75 percent) of cervical cancers in North America are caused by HPV types 16 and 18. -CERVARIX does not protect against disease caused by all HPV types. -Approximately 100 types of HPV have been identified to date and, of these, approximately 15 virus types are known to cause cervical cancer. -The FDA's approval of CERVARIX was based on data from clinical trials in more than 30 countries involving a diverse population of nearly 30,000 girls and young women receiving CERVARIX. -CERVARIX is expected to be commercially available in the U.S. in late 2009.”

Personal comment: When Cervarix becomes generally available in the U.S. the competition should drive down the price of Gardasil.