Study: Casual Sex Not Emotionally Damaging

Casual sex isn’t a bad thing — at least not for young adults, according to a new study.
University of Minnesota researchers asked more than 1,300 people age 18 to 24 about their most recent sexual encounters, their self-esteem and their emotional well-being — and found the results startling.

Only about one-fifth said their last encounter was casual, but their overall emotional status was no different than the four-fifths who said they were in a committed relationship. “We were so surprised,” said Marla Eisenberg, an assistant professor at the university’s School of Public Health. “The conventional wisdom is that casual sex, ‘friends with benefits,’ and hooking up is hurtful.”
Source: NYPOST.COM
Thursday , December 10, 2009

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February 1, 2010|Uncategorized|Post Comment »

Web Improves Treatment of STD’s

Dr. Pupillo also known as “Ask Dr. Gian” has been making Chlamydia and other STD’s easier to diagnose and, as a result, easier to prevent among uninfected people. Typically one must schedule an appointment with a doctor to be examined and then a test is ordered. For over 16 years Dr. Pupillo has provided easy access for STD screening which helped to remove the “silence” that many people associate with an STD.
He has reached out to help people understand an STD is not a “dirty little secret” and that millions of people contract an STD every year! He provides a way for people that have a concern that they might have an STD an outlet for easy access testing by offering same day testing over the web. In fact his website is called www.stdweb.com  and he makes screening for Chlamydia, HIV, Gonorrhea, Herpes, Syphilis, and Hepatitis easy, fast, private, and affordable using a urine or blood test.
Source: Dr. Giovanni A. Pupillo

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December 18, 2009|Uncategorized|Post Comment »

STDs linked to stroke risk

STDs linked to stroke risk Chlamydia, cytomegalovirus, herpes and other infections appear to be associated with an increased risk of
stroke, suggests a new study in the Archives of Neurology.

Known risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, heart disease,
abnormal cholesterol levels and smoking, but many strokes occur in patients with none of these factors.

Now, there is new evidence that prior infection with pathogens such as herpes promotes inflammation, contributes to arterial disease and thereby increases stroke risk. Researcher Mitchell S. V. Elkind, of Columbia University Medical Center, tested more than 1,500 adults (average age 68.4, none of whom had a stroke) for antibodies indicating prior exposure to five common pathogens: Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus 1 and 2.

The subjects were then followed up annually over a seven year period. During this time period, 67 had strokes. “Each individual infection was positively, though not significantly, associated with stroke risk after adjusting for other risk factors,” Elkind said. “The infectious burden index was associated with an increased risk of all strokes after adjusting for demographics and risk factors.”

Elkind speculates that each of these common pathogens may persist after an acute infection and thus contribute to perpetuating a state of chronic, low-level infection. Additionally, prior studies demonstrated an association between each of these pathogens and cardiovascular diseases. “Our study could have potential clinical implications,” Elkin said. “For example, treatment and eradication of these chronic pathogens might mitigate future risk of stroke.”

10 November 2009

Source: Archives of Neurology

     

 

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November 29, 2009|Chlamydia|Post Comment »

Break the Silence: Stop the Violence

It may shock you to know that one out of every eleven teens reports being hit or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past twelve months. But why is that, and how can we change it? In “Break The Silence: Stop the Violence,” parents talk with teens about developing healthy, respectful relationships before they start dating. Kids involved in abusive relationshipsare also more likely to have other problems such as fighting, binge drinking, sexual activity and even suicide attempts. 

Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)

Get Tested

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November 22, 2009|sexual violence|Post Comment »

Condoms and STDs

Consistent and correct use of male latex condoms can reduce (though not eliminate) the risk of STD transmission. To achieve the maximum protective effect, condoms must be used both consistently and correctly. Inconsistent use can lead to STD acquisition because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse with an infected partner. Similarly, if condoms are not used correctly, the protective effect may be diminished even when they are used consistently. The most reliable ways to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are to abstain from sexual activity or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner. However, many infected persons may be unaware of their infections because STDs are often asymptomatic or unrecognized.

       

                                   Get Tested

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November 21, 2009|Uncategorized|Post Comment »

For Children with HIV, Growing Up Is a New Frontier

During the late 1980s to mid-1990s, thousands of parents adopted babies with HIV/AIDS before the advent of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) created the prospect of children surviving the disease. Before there were robust therapies, between one-quarter and one-third of HIV-infected infants died within the first two years of life, and half survived just nine years, according to CDC.
 
 Between 1980 and 1998, US mothers who died of AIDS orphaned 20,715 HIV-positive children, according to a 2003 Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes study. Since the mid-1990s, several reports found that infants who began HIV treatment within the first six months of life were still living two to five years later. But there are no data on how many of the infected children are being raised by adults who are not their relatives.
 
 ”This is the frontier,” said Diana Bruce, director of policy at AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families in Washington. “We have never before dealt with these kids. They used to die and now they are not.” “We don’t know how long people with HIV will live,” she continued. “There is still a lot we don’t know.”
 
 In 1989, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services struggled to find homes for about 30 “AIDS babies,” said Elizabeth Monk, specialty services administrator. Between 1986 and 1996, 191 wards were HIV-infected by their mothers and more than 40 children died. In the next decade, there were 42 infected wards and 17 deaths, according to state figures.
 
 One adoptee, Lisa Robinson-Ross, now 22, dreams of becoming a nurse who works with babies and thinks about having a family of her own some day. A couple in Chicago, both 72, who used to worry about their adopted daughters’ health now are making plans for when their girls – now ages 15 and 17 – outlive them. “My chances of giving them away at a wedding might not happen,” the father says. “It would be nice to see them graduate from college.”

Chicago Tribune (04.06.08):: Ofelia Casillas

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November 3, 2009|Uncategorized|Post Comment »

Walmart Gift Cards For Syphilis???

SYPHILIS…the South has been hit especially hard, accounting for half of all U.S. cases as of 2007. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued in May of this year, for example, Jefferson County, Ala., which had nine cases in 2002 and had 238 cases by 2006, has already recorded 140 syphilis cases this year, more than triple the number for 2008, and the poor economy may be partly to blame, say officials there. 

However, the economy also motivated many residents to get screened for the disease when the county Department of Public Health offered $10 Wal-Mart gift cards as an incentive. About half of 603 people tested during a recent neighborhood canvassing effort were enticed to consent in part by the gift cards, officials estimated.

“In the South, we have more people living in poverty. They have little or no health insurance,” said Evelyn Foust, director of communicable diseases for North Carolina’s Department of Public Health. Transportation to health care providers, especially in rural areas, is also a major barrier for some residents, she said.

Economic incentives also helped boost participation in North Carolina’s recent HIV education and testing program “Get Real, Get Tested,” which used McDonald’s cards. “I was in Rocky Mount where we screened 500 people in one weekend, when a woman came up to me and said, ‘You know, with their dollar menu, I can get five meals out of this.’”

North Carolina used federal funds to purchase the Wal-Mart gift cards, and it used its own funds to deploy a mobile testing van and workers to help Forsyth County in its door-to-door campaign. The expense is worth it, since the interventions work, said Foust.

Under the earlier National Plan to Eliminate Syphilis, the state tested all jail inmates, alerted private doctors to screen for the disease, and conducted interventions similar to the one in Forsyth County. However, the program’s success led to its funding getting cut as the caseload fell. “In one year, I lost close to $1 million,” Foust said.


Syphilis Health Video — powered by http://www.livestrong.com

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September 26, 2009|Uncategorized|Post Comment »