The Beautiful Kind

A while back I posted my own snarky take on STDs. I recently met up with an expert here in St. Louis for a follow-up interview to that post, since, you know, I’m not an expert. Frank Lydon is an Epidemiology Specialist with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of STD/HIV and Hepatitis. I chatted him up over bubble tea and here are the interesting bits. OH and he gave me free condoms, a glossy full-color laminated flashcard showing yummy examples of primary and secondary syphilis, and a glow-in-the-dark SYPHILIS awareness bracelet. YESSS.

What did you think of my post about STDS?
(He answers this question in an overly diplomatic way, saying there’s a lot of misinformation out there, he’s such a nice guy.)

How long have you been out on the field tracking down STDs?
15 years.

Do you travel around?
All over eastern district of Missouri - St Louis and outlying rural areas.

Where are the STD hot spots?
South Broadway area bordered by Grand and Meramec in South City, Dutchtown. Washington Blvd. has more male prostitution, closer to Jefferson. North Florissant by O’Fallon Park neighborhood.

Rural prostitution will often go down for diapers, laundry money. Prostitution like this happens often around Laundromats.

Are there busy times of year for diseases?
In university towns, a couple weeks after spring break more people report illnesses.

Tell me about gay bars.
St. Louis is fortunate with the ownership and management of our gay bars. They are in tune with the needs of the community and customers. There’s an altruistic aspect to it, it’s not just for keeping customers and making money.

Are there bathhouses gay men frequent in town?
There’s actually a nationwide bathhouse chain. St Louis city has one, do a search. Management there is very STD awareness-friendly.

What do you know about glory holes?
You can find them in sex bookstores and video arcades. A couple years ago a person advertised online a glory hole at their house. It was part of a lifestyle thing.

What kind of outreach do you do?
Pridefest, St Louis Effort for AIDS. We provide urine testing for gonorrhea, blood test for HIV and syphilis. Hep B vaccinations.

Do you give out condoms?
Oh sure, sometimes I go door to door on a hot street offering condoms and free testing.

So who really uses dental dams?
The lesbian community.

How do you get drug dealers and pimps to cooperate with stopping disease?
I tell them a sick customer won’t be coming back, and if your girl is sick she won’t be able to make you money.

Do you turn in the drug dealers or people you see using illegal drugs?
No, because if I do word will get around and I won’t be able to do my job anymore. Trust is what disease prevention is all about.

What’s the difference between Hepatitis A and B?
Hep A is from bad hand washing and eating foods contaminated by the virus. Hep B is the more sexual one, spread through blood. You can even get Hep B from sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person. It can also spread through other bodily fluids.

What’s your favorite STD? What’s the latest trend in St Louis?
We’re experiencing a syphilis spike, as well as a syphilis w/HIV combo. You can track STDs at this site.

What’s the deal with syphilis?
Syphilis starts out as a painless lesion, it can look like a zipper snag. You are infectious when you have the open lesion, but once your sore goes away after three weeks you are not spreading it when it’s in your blood stream.

Don’t you get burnt out running around town seeing people doing some pretty wretched shit? I mean like HIV+ drug dealers with 14 pit bulls and kids going hungry and a guy fucking all the women in a neighborhood and spreading disease?
No, I love my job. Most people are good people. The people I deal with are authentic and real. I tell my clients, “I’m not here to judge, you can tell me anything.”

Are you grossed out by these gruesome syph pics or what?
Nah, I could eat in front of them.

Do you have an interesting work story you can share?
Years ago I was working with a guy who had syphilis, He lived in the country. I asked about his sexual partners.

He asked, “Could I have caught this from one of my cows?”

I said, “No, well what exactly have you been doing with your cows?”

“Helping them give birth.” Here he was reaching up their vaginas to pull out stuck calves and my mind immediately filled in entirely different blanks. Heh.

——
Note: Since this conversation occurred the number of new cases of syphilis in the greater St. Louis area continues to rise. If you see a painless lesion or unexplained rash (on the hands and feet or torso) on yourself or partners, please seek testing immediately. For testing and treatment information, or if you have cootie questions of your own, contact Frank Lydon at 314-877-1229.

And to steal a page from The Beau’s book, here is your bonus link.