(VAN NUYS, CA) -- AIM HealthCare is over two years old! And in that time we have made a huge difference in prevention education and testing for HIV & STD’s.

We would like to take a brief note of thanks to the companies and folks that have kept us going so well for two years: AVN, Adult Stars Magazine, LA Weekly, MSNBC, Adam & Eve, All Good Video, Anabolic, Nina Hartley, Britco, EOTW, Chloe, Ira Levine, John Keeler, Dr. Marc Kerner, Dr. Steven York, Maggie Knowles, Linda Adams N.P., Bobby Sponheimer, James Beck, Rowell Yerro, Elegant Angel, Fallen Angel, Evil Angel, Danni’s Hard Drive, David Brett, Ed Powers, Extreme Associates, Jeffrey Douglas Esq., Rob Spallone, Greg Zaborey, Michael Zimbert esq., Gene Ross, Mark Kernes, Gloria Leonard FSC, Metro, Giffy, Wildlife, Suze Randall, Ron Miller, Wicked Pics, Warren Record, Vince Voyeur, Vivid, Video Team, VCA, Janie, Russ, Wendy, Stephanie, The Stage, Sin City, Seymour Butts, Sean Michaels, Reb, Jim South, Roy Garcia, Pacific Media, Ed DeRoo, Jacqueline Esquivel, Odyssey Group, Ad Infinitum! Thanks also to all our friends across the world for your supportive e-mails and donations – you are the best! Thank you for letting us be of service.

STD’s
As you may know at the AIM HealthCare Foundation we have been issuing free STD testing for syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. We at the AIM HealthCare Foundation believe the statistics that STD’s compromise the immune system and can leave it open and available to the HIV virus. Remember, if there is any type of discharge it means you’re shedding white cells. HIV loves cells, it’s nice and warm and they can crawl in there and get nice and comfortable in your body. So know your body, get tested frequently, be as safe as you choose to be and above all, educate yourself.

CHLAMYDIA
You can get it from having sex (vaginal, anal or oral) with someone who has Chlamydia. It can be cured with the right medicine.

What To Look For:
Men may have a white or clear watery drip from the penis. Women may have more discharge (flow) from the vagina than usual. It may also burn or hurt to pee. You may have these signs one to three weeks after sex with someone who has Chlamydia. Later, women may also feel pain in the lower belly.

If Not Treated:
Chlamydia is a serious disease. If you don’t get treated, it can spread in your body. Both men and women may not be
able to have children. If you are pregnant, your baby can be born sick with Chlamydia.

How To Find Out If You Have It:
Go to a clinic or doctor right away to get checked. If you have Chlamydia, you will be given medicine to take. Keep taking the medicine until it’s all gone, even if you feel better. It takes one week for the medicine to cure the disease. Tell your sex partner(s) that they may have Chlamydia and need to get checked. Don’t have sex until both you and your partner(s) are treated.

GONORRHEA
You can get them from having sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) with someone who has gonorrhea. It can be cured with the right medicine.
What To Look For:
A white, yellow or green drip from your penis, vagina or anus. It may also burn or hurt to pee. You may have these signs two days to a few weeks after sex with someone who has gonorrhea. Women may also feel pain in the lower belly. Many people with gonorrhea don’t have any of these signs. They don’t know they are sick. But they can still give gonorrhea to anyone they have sex with.
If Not Treated:
Gonorrhea is a serious disease. If you don’t get treated, it can spread in your body. Both men and women may not be able to have children. If you are pregnant, your baby can be born sick with gonorrhea.
How To Find Out If You Have It:
Go to a clinic or a doctor right away to get checked. If you have gonorrhea, you will be given medicine at the clinic. Tell your sex partner(s) that they may have gonorrhea and need to get checked. Don’t have sex until both you and your partner(s) are treated.

AIM STATS:
HIV
Approximately 12,000 screenings in 30 months 400 screenings per month 7 confirmed HIV positives (2 males, 5 females), 2 false positives (1 male, 1 female)

STD’s Primary emphasis was initially on HIV, subsequently chlamydia and gonorrhea were also emphasized. During the last month, we have tested 189 people for chlamydia by urine LCR, 11 tested positive (8 females, 3 males). During the same period, we have tested 195 people for gonorrhea by urine LCR, 3 tested positive (2 male, 1 female)

Syphilis (RPR) 507 screened 506 non-reactive (roughly half women, half men), 1 false positive (female)

Areas awaiting testing emphasis include Hep B and C, herpes simplex I & II, Condyloma acuminata. We have only tested a fragment of the population so far and most of them required immediate treatment.

Demographic data has been collected on ethnicity, sexual preference, gender, number of partners and frequency of sexual activity, std and treatment history, condom use, symptoms, age, testing frequency, etc. These data are currently being analyzed.

Dear Mitch,

How can I get into the business? Where do I start?

Love, Howard

Dear Howard,

This is the #1 e-mail that we get. It is not easy for a man to get into the industry. I would recommend to find an attractive woman and start as a couple. Most companies rely on the studs that are already working. However to address this issue, Nina Hartley and myself are shooting a new educational video, “Porn 101 For Guys” with Herschel Savage and Mr. Marcus to answer all those difficult questions about being a woodsman. Our tape should be ready for release by September. But until then, get a buyer’s guide, either AVN or Adam Film World and look up the companies that you may want to work for and call them yourself. Then get a PCR DNA HIV test, and I would recommend contacting a licensed agent to find work. Good luck!


We have been addressing the drug and alcohol problems with support groups and certified one-on-one counseling here at AMI. Rcently a situation was brought to our attention that is alarming:

Dear Mitchie,

I was on a set where drugs and alcohol were present. Most of the cast was on GHB. The male stud that I was about to work with was not on GHB. And had an existing medical condition that caused him to have a seizure. The cast and crew agreed not to call the EMT or 911 because they were in fear of being busted. My partner came to with no serious damage. I cannot sweep this under the carpet and wonder what can be done about his growing industry problem?

Anonymous Sober X-Star

Dear Anonymous Sober X-Star,

OKAY TIME TO QUOTE THE FDA:

FDA has been warning the public about a group of products sold as dietary supplements for bodybuilding, weight loss and sleep inducement which have been determined to pose a significant public health hazard. These products are chemically related to gamma butyrolactone (GBL), gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), and 1, 4 butanediol (BD), and can cause dangerously low respiratory rates (intubation may be required), unconsciousness/coma, vomiting, seizures, bradycardia and death.

GBL, GHB and BD have been linked to at least 122 serious illnesses reported to FDA, including three deaths. These agents, which are powerful hypnotic substances known to produce significant and potentially dangerous sedative effects, also increase the effects of alcohol and are even more dangerous when consumed with other central nervous system depressant drugs.

GHB is especially dangerous when mixed with alcohol.

AIM HealthCare and other experts recommend taking certain steps to protect yourself from being victimized:

Watch your drink from the moment it’s poured until you finish it to make sure no one slips a foreign substance into it.

Don’t share a drink with someone else or accept a drink from a punch bowl or other common source.

Designate a nondrinking friend to make sure you don’t appear unusually intoxicated or sick, and that you don’t leave with someone under suspicious circumstances.

And if, upon waking up, you see signs that you may have been drugged and sexually assaulted, go to the hospital immediately. Within a 12-hour window, the hospital will be able to test urine for GHB, which could make prosecuting the case easier.

Or – DON’T DRINK ON THE SET!

Dear Mitch,

To Nonoxynol-9 or not to Nonoxynol-9? That is the question…

Recently the CDC released some stats from South Africa and Antwerp regarding nonoxynol-9 as a microbicide. The stats say that nonoxynol-9 can triple the risk of HIV infection in women. (FYI: nonoxynol-9 is a detergent that can break down the cellular structure of the vaginal walls to then coat the mucosa to prevent a barrier.) The above research was based on products that contain nonoxynol-9 at a 5% level. AIM HealthCare provided the Innerlube by Trimensa which has 0.1%. Nonoxynol-9 at 0.1% has been less of an irritant and most effective in the fight against chlamydia and gonorrhea. Before you use any product containing nonoxynol-9, please test on the lymph-nodes on the upper thigh by your groin to see if you are hyper sensitive.

ASK THE DOCTOR!

Dr. Marc Kerner is now available to answer your medical questions. Submit your questions via email to AIM@vgn.com and Dr. Kerner will be happy to answer them on a semi-weekly basis.
His credentials:

Marc Kerner, M.D.
Marc M. Kerner, M.D., F.A.C.S. specializes in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and neck Surgery. He graduated with high honors from USC School of Medicine, and did his surgery and subspecialty training at UCLA. Dr. Kerner is a fellow of several prestigious specialty societies including the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is an international and national lecturer on sinus and nasal diseases,. Sleep disorders, and facial plastic and maxillofacial surgery. Dr. Kerner is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCLA and an Adjunct Professor of Communication Disorders at California State University, Northridge. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed Journals including The American Journal of Otolaryngology, Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Laryngoscope and Lancet.

SEE AIM ON SALON.COM!
See a great article written by Steven Lemons, "Sex With Latex" about safe sex on Salon.Com at url: http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2000/07/21/safe/index.html

Much Love and Light
Sharon Mitchell, CDS

AIM HealthCare Foundation
A Non-Profit Organization # 95-4696771
14241 Ventura Blvd, Suite 105
Sherman Oaks, California 91423
Phone: 818/981-5681 Fax: 818/981-3851
http://aim-med.org
aim@vgn.com