Showing posts with label STI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STI. Show all posts

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Gonorrhea, On Its Way to Becoming Incurable

Thoughts from Courtney Bauer

Gonorrhea is in the class of bacterial sexually transmitted infections. Generally bacterial STIs are easily curable with antibiotics. However they are dangerous if left untreated but, treatment isn’t usually a problem until now. There are now strains of Gonorrhea that only one class of antibiotics will treat! In the past it was able to be treated with multiple classes of antibiotics. The bacteria that causes Gonorrhea has become resistant to all classes of antibiotics except one.

In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control took samples of gonorrhea from people who tested positive for it and found that 27% of those samples were resistant to three different classes of antibiotics. Gonorrhea historically has shown a trend in becoming resistant to antibiotics. So it is likely that eventually gonorrhea will develop a resistance to the last class of antibiotics that can treat it.

Gonorrhea will always remain on the list of bacterial STIs because it is caused by bacteria but, it will not always be curable. This gradual resistance to antibiotics could happen to all bacterial STIs. So make sure that you are always using protection when engaging in sex!

Remember FREE CONDOMS are always available at SBI Health Education in Hayes Annex C on South Campus. Stock up on a summer supply before you go home because gonorrhea doesn’t take a vacation even if you do.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

STI Awareness Month

Thoughts from Courtney Bauer

April is STI Awareness month. So why not get tested? Even if you don’t show any symptoms of having an STI you may still have one. Most STIs show no symptoms at all. Do you think you can tell whether or not someone has an STI? Well you can’t and they may not even be able to tell you whether or not they have one because they may not know themselves. This is why if you are sexually active it is a good idea to get tested regularly.

Did you know that by age 25, 1 out of every 2 sexually active young people will have an STI? Did you also know that half of all new sexually transmitted infections occur in people between the ages of 15 and 24?

There is good news in all of this, as UB offers STI testing options, a panel test. It is available to students who qualify for just $10. However, do not bring cash to your appointment it will be billed directly to your student account. Don’t worry though, it won’t say that you were billed for an “STI test” it will simply say “health services fee.” Your health care provider will decide what tests are right for you, so be honest about what you've been doing! Call Student Health Services and set up your appointment today (716) 829-3316.

Celebrate STI awareness month grab a friend, partner, neighbor, or even go by yourself and GET TESTED!

Monday, December 7, 2009

The OTHER condom......

The Female Condom

Guest comment by Olympia J., SBI Health Education intern

There are three types of male condoms: latex, polyurethane, and natural skin sheath. The male condom is everywhere from local pharmacies, to doctor offices, schools and health fairs. There is also the female condom which is made primarily from polyurethane and sometimes from latex. When used properly, the female condom is effective at preventing pregnancy, transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). What makes the female condom appealing is that it gives women more control over their sexual health instead of depending solely on a male. However, none of these potential benefits can be realized because of the scarcity of the female condom. Some of us may have heard of the female condom but have never seen, read about, or bought one. How many of us have gone into a pharmacy and seen the countless boxes of male condoms varying in color, flavor and size? Now, how many of us have gone into a pharmacy and have seen countless boxes of the female condom? Exactly! You don’t. Now is time to globalize and advertise the female condom!

So let’s get started with Female Condom 101: The general structure of the female condom is a pouch that contains an inner ring and an outer-ring. Female condoms are clear colored and are generally the same shape and size. There are two approved types of female condoms in the United States, the FC and the FC 2. Here is how to use a female condom:

For instructions with images, check out Female Health Company's instructional video

1) Squeeze the inner ring with your thumb and index fingers

2) Get into a comfortable position either by squatting, laying down, or lifting up your leg (similar to inserting a tampon)

3) Push female condom as far back as it can go (it will be stopped by your cervix), make sure it is securely positioned between the pelvic bone and the cervix.

4) The outer ring will hang outside the vagina. Make sure it covers the labia and that your partner enters through the outer-ring.

5) When you are done, grab the outer ring, twist the pouch, pull out the female condom and discard of it (although the female condom looks sturdy, IT IS NOT APPROVED FOR REUSE!)



Information from:
http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/femalecondom.htm
http://www.avert.org/female-condom

Thursday, June 18, 2009

STI Statistics

One in five people in the United States has an STI

Two-thirds of all STIs occur in people 25 years of age or younger

Cervical cancer in women is linked to Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV

STIs, other than HIV, cost about $8 billion each year to diagnose and treat

One in five Americans have genital herpes, yet at least 80 percent of those with herpes are unaware they have it
At least one in four Americans will contract an STI at some point in their lives

Human Papillomavirus is the most common STI in the United States

More than 5 million people are infected with HPV each year

Less than half of adults ages 18 to 44 have ever been tested for an STI other than HIV/AIDS

At least 15 percent of all infertile American women are infertile because of tubal damage caused by pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), the result of an untreated STI

Two-thirds of Hepatitis B (HBV) infections are transmitted sexually and are linked to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer