#igm content warning

[intersex-support]

Intersex people by all means are allowed to not want to be considered LGBT+ for being intersex and to not believe intersex is LGBT+, it is not something that you can force someone to change their perception on if they truly are uncomfortable with it.

That being said, I take huge issue with LGBT+ members who make fun of adding an I at the end, or claim to say intersex people tell you not to. Not only does this tell me you get all your information on intersex people from tumblr/twitter posts, it tells me you do not care to find out about your shared history with intersex people and that you do not see us as important, and to an extent maybe you don’t want to admit the social stigma and oppression that intersex people face (CW I will be talking about IGM).

Intersex activists have been considering intersex to be LGBT+ or queer for decades, and for a long time invasive genital mutilation on intersex infants relied on telling parents that if they did not have surgery that their children would be “homosexual” and that they should pray that their children grow up to be “normal” to paraphrase by Cheryl Chase in “Intersex Activism and Psychology: Opening a Dialogue on Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice” (Hegarty, 2000). This isn’t coming from a cishet intersex person either, last I checked Cheryl Chase identified as a lesbian, and many intersex people I meet are also not cisgender and heterosexual.

Not to mention my own personal experience, where when I spoke on the 2018 Moving Trans History Forwards youth panel hosted by the Transgender Archives (look them up if you don’t know), and upon looking at their saved stories found multiple instances of them claiming intersex stories (sometimes graphic) to be TRANS stories. They were very obviously glorifying the “transition” of intersex infants, yet there was no mention at all of the word intersex or even h*rmaphrodite for that matter (shocking considering the time period most of the stories were from). 

What this tells me is that intersex people have been included in LGBT+ history and spaces whether we choose to be or not. It literally is not our choice to be included because we will be forced into said category by LGBT+ dyadic members, by doctors, and by society at large. So we can choose to not label our experiences as LGBT+ if we so choose, that is not up to dyadic LGBT+ members to decide, but the moment you make fun of it as if it is some funny internet discourse you are telling intersex people that you don’t give a fuck about us or our oppression. AND since recently we got an ask about this, I am not saying it is a choice to be gay (as an umbrella term) or trans, what I am saying is that intersex inclusion is not as easy as people are treating it.

This is not about if or if not you should include an I, but what I AM saying is that you have to really look at it and consider why you talk about intersex inclusion the way you do and the implications in that. What I’ve said here is not even surface level of intersex history.

[kimgates07]

DENGUE

AN OVERVIEW:

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the female mosquito belonging to the Aedes aegypti species. The same species are also responsible for spreading other infections such as chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses.

Geographically,dengue is widespread throughout the globe, with risk influenced by rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and unplanned rapid urbanization. In tropical regions like India where rainfall is a seasonal phenomenon, dengue fever is synonymous with the monsoon, being one of the common most monsoon fevers.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Dengue is manifested usually as rise of temperature. Although fever could be serious, dengue is not very commonly fatal.

Dengue should be suspected when a high fever (40°C/104°F) is accompanied by any 2 of the following symptoms:

severe headache

pain behind the eyes

muscle and joint pains

nausea

vomiting

swollen glands rash

Severe dengue warning signs that suggest a severe dengue infection are as follows:

severe abdominal pain

persistent vomiting

rapid breathing

bleeding gums

fatigue

restlessness

blood in vomit

Although dengue is not potentially fatal, a rise in temperature should be a sign to see your doctor especially during monsoon.

WHAT MEASURES CAN YOU TAKE TO PREVENT DENGUE:

Simple measures like prevention of mosquito breeding and use of mosquito repellents could serve the purpose.

Covering, emptying and cleaning of domestic water storage containers, applying appropriate insecticides to water storage outdoor containers and personal protection from mosquito bites.

Most importantly, early diagnosis is the key. Especially with monsoon fevers where fever could mean anything from malaria to dengue to chikungunya.

DIAGNOSTICS TESTS IN DENGUE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

A doctor may order one or more tests to diagnose dengue:

Dengue NS1 antigen for detection of specific protein found in dengue – this test should be done within the first 5-7 days of fever

Dengue antibodies (IgG/IgM) for detection of antibodies suggestive of a recent/ongoing or past infection of dengue and are usually positive after the first 5-7 days of fever.

Dengue by RT-PCR for early detection of dengue in the earliest possible time from appearance of symptoms.

Other blood tests are also done to monitor dengue fever like CBC, ESR, LFT, KFT etc.

Monsoon fevers are often a challenge to diagnose and treat.In such cases, PCR tests should be preferred for early diagnosis.FD-5 or Fever Detect 5 in 1 is a PCR based test which can detect 5 common monsoon fevers namely; Dengue, Chikungunya, Malaria, Leptospirosis and Typhoid with a single blood sample.

REFERENCES:

World Health Organisation

The original content in published on suburbandiagnostics blog