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Could social media be used to curb STD rates?Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV are serious business and, if left untreated, can cause serious problems such as infertility or even death. Unfortunately, many people may not even know that they have an STD until it has already progressed. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of every five people with HIV is unaware that they have the virus, underscoring the importance of regular testing. While increased testing is one way to help curb the rate of STDs and HIV among high-risk populations, recent research suggests that social networking technologies may also help.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles recently set out to determine how Facebook and other social media tools could be used to help reduce STDs and HIV in high-risk populations.
Combating infections with the internet ... Full Story
Sexually active individuals need to understand that it's important to regularly get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to help ensure that they are healthy. Furthermore, community leaders and health advocates need to stress that the most effective ways to prevent the spread of STDs while engaging in sexual activity is to wear a condom and utilize STD testing services after each new partner. Unfortunately, studies have shown that some populations are less likely to engage in safer sex practices than others. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 have the highest rate of STDs.
Furthermore, African-American women also seem to have a greater chance of contracting STDs and HIV than other populations. In response to this, researchers from the University of California, Berkley set out to determine what motivates these women to engage in sexual activity and when they are more likely to use protection.
What encourages people to be safe?... Full Story
This Valentine's Day, couples across the U.S. will be exchanging many things - gifts, loving words, playful smiles and many other wonderful moments. However, if these couples aren't careful, then another thing they may be exchanging during this holiday is sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). There is a serious STD problem among Americans, and, unfortunately people continue to engage in risky sexual behaviors, which increases their chances of contracting an infection or virus such as HIV.
Aside from abstaining from sexual activity altogether, the best way a person can protect themselves against STDs is to use a condom. However, some people claim that sex is not pleasurable if they use a condom, a myth that's helped to proliferate the spread STDs. Researchers from the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington set out to determine if this view is commonly held and true. They found that despite what people may think, sex remains pleasurable whether a condom is used or not.
People don't mind condoms ... Full Story
Women who are pregnant or are attempting to conceive have a lot on their minds. They're probably busy getting their homes ready for their new additions, trying to choose a name and looking at potential daycare or nannies. However, one thing that may not be a prominent concern is testing for sexually transmitted diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STDs such as such as genital herpes and bacterial vaginosis are surprisingly common in pregnant women. Furthermore, infections such as syphilis may be passed on to a baby and can cause serious side effects such as blindness. As such, women should look into STD testing services before they attempt to get pregnant, or early on their pregnancy.
Recently, researchers from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine discovered that if women go to the emergency room with symptoms of an STD, they may not get the treatment they need, which is all the more reason for women to utilize STD testing before their pregnancy.
Difficult to tell... Full Story
Sexually transmitted diseases can impact anyone who doesn't practice safer sex or abstinence, and they continue to grow in prevalence throughout the U.S., underscoring the need for STD testing services.
Recently, NBC News reported that researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released two new studies detailing the STD problem in the U.S. According to the news source, the scientists called this problem a "ongoing STD epidemic."
Startling results ... Full Story
When it comes to preventing sexually transmitted diseases, the only effective form of contraceptive is the condom. Because of this, some would assume that most parents would be most comfortable with their daughters having access to condoms rather than other types of contraception, which may protect against unplanned pregnancy, but not STDs. However, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, that is not the case.
Researchers found that parents are most accepting of their daughters using birth control pills than other forms of contraception, including condoms, implants and the intrauterine device. This is a problem for health officials, considering that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that teens between the ages of 15 and 19 fall within the age group of individuals most likely to contract an STD. This is one of the reasons why sexually active individuals in this population need access to STD testing services.
A matter of prevention ... Full Story
When people meet a new romantic interest, they probably ask them a lot of questions such as where they went to school, what their job is and what their hobbies are. One thing they probably don't ask, but should, is about the last time they utilized STD testing services. Luckily, there is now a new website designed to help people broach this sometimes difficult subject.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported on a website called Qpid.me, which allows people to register their STD test results online in a secure way so they can put their partner's mind at ease.
How does it work?... Full Story
Sexually transmitted disease rates are on the rise in many parts of the U.S., which is why it's important for all sexually active Americans to regularly use STD testing services. In some U.S. states STD numbers have only risen slightly, but in others the increase is very dramatic. For example, according to a recent article published by KCCI 8 News, an Iowa news source, the Polk County Health Department has announced that syphilis rates are up 420 percent in the area.
Health experts stated that in 2012, there were 112 cases of syphilis in the county, compared to 27 in 2011.
Concerning numbers... Full Story
All sexually active individuals should be regularly using STD testing services, but people in certain states in particular should be cautious about sexually transmitted diseases. For example, California has been experiencing an increase in syphilis rates. This is a serious infection that can not only harm the person who has it, but can be passed on to unborn babies as well, often with devastating consequences.
The Huffington Post reported that the California Department of Public Health recently released a study which showed that syphilis morbidity rates increased between 2011 and 2012. There was a 25 percent increase in syphilis cases from 2011 to 2012 in San Francisco alone, which highlights a worrisome trend.
Challenging infection... Full Story
Currently, the only form of contraception that helps protect against sexually transmitted diseases is the condom, so people who forgo this prophylactic may want to use STD testing services often. However, according to a recent study, there may be soon be another tool in the fight against sexual infections. Researchers from the Monash Institute of Medical Research have discovered that there is a protein present in the female reproductive tract that may help prevent STDs like chlamydia and the herpes simplex virus.
While these are exciting findings that suggest there may be a natural STD-prevention system built into women's bodies, this shouldn't encourage people to go out and have sex without a condom.
An important protein ... Full Story
While all of the sexually active population could benefit from HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevention programs, young Americans in particular need to be told about the importance of utilizing STD testing services and practicing safer sex. This population not only has higher STD rates than other age groups, but has also been know to engage in risky sexual practices, such as sexting - the act of sending or receiving sexually explicit text messages, pictures or videos. Recently, researcher from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health set out to determine how common this practice is among young people living in an urban environment.
The scientists discovered that sexting is in fact fairly common among urban youth. This could increase the demographic's risk of contracting an STD, since previous research has shown that teens who engage in sexting may be more likely to have sex than those who do not.
A growing issue ... Full Story
It's important for people to remember that sexually transmitted diseases do not have an age limit. Sexually active individuals of all ages should use STD testing services to help ensure a clean status, or they may find themselves experiencing a host of medical problems. Some elderly people may be under the impression that STDs are a young man's problem, but they would certainly be wrong. According to a recent report by CBS Los Angeles, STD rates continue to rise in older populations, and it's time for this generation to take greater precaution when engaging in sexual activity.
The news source pointed out that study after study over the years has shown that elderly individuals may be in need of more information regarding the dangers of STDs and ways to prevent them, since they do not appear to be practicing safer sex.
Common misconceptions ... Full Story
Condoms are the only form of contraception that protects against sexually transmitted diseases, which is why people who do not use them should regularly use STD testing services. While condoms can be purchased at most drug and convenience stores, some people may not have the money to purchase them, or any other form of contraceptive, for that matter. Because of this, many health clinics provide condoms for free.
Recently, researchers from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and the RCHN Community Health Foundation set out to to determine what role health clinics play in family planning. According to the findings, while these places offer some forms of contraception, there is room for improvement.
Time for change ... Full Story
Sexually transmitted disease rates can be complicated. On the one hand, most people would assume that lower STD rates would be a good thing and higher ones would be bad, but that's not always the case. Higher rates can simply mean that more people are using STD testing services, while lower ones may mean that fewer people are ordering tests and getting treated for these sometimes serious infections and viruses. For example, a recent article published by BND.com, a Southern Illinois news source, reported that the number of individuals in St. Clair County appears to have dropped considerably in 2012, but health officials believe that may not necessarily be good news.
According to the news source, the county has consistently ranked in the top five for STD rates in Illinois, yet in 2012, chlamydia rates dropped 31 percent and gonorrhea rates dropped 35 percent.
Is it a good thing?... Full Story
Getting to know someone can be tricky, which is why people should always be cautious with new sexual partners and use protection and STD testing services to make sure that the new special someone in their life doesn't come with a sexual infection. While it's impossible to simply look at someone and know what his or her sexual history is, a recent study has found that examining online activity may be a good way to tell a lot about person - including certain aspects about their sexuality,
Researchers from Cambridge's Psychometrics Center and Microsoft Research Cambridge have discovered that analyzing what a person "likes" on Facebook can be a good way to determine his or her age, race, IQ, drug use, political views and even sexual orientation.
What you "like" says a lot ... Full Story
For years, it's been recommended that men who have sex with men receive regular STD testing because of disproportionately high rates of infection among this community. Now, it appears as though commitment and marriage may be one way gay men can lower their risk of STDs and HIV.
Researchers from Statens Serum Institute and Aalborg University in Denmark discovered that the mortality rate for men in same-sex marriages has dropped significantly since the 1990s.
Monogamy may mean healthier men... Full Story
The fight against sexually transmitted diseases and HIV is just that - a battle between community health officials and a public that does not understand the importance of STD testing services and practicing safer sex. Recently, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported on some of the people in Georgia who are on the frontlines of this battle, and the struggle they have each day to get the message of treatment and prevention out to all sexually active individuals in the state.
The news source spoke to Veronica Hartwell, program administrator with the Fulton County Health and Wellness Department, who explained that at the Aldredge Health Center in downtown Georgia, she and her colleagues are seeing 16,000 STD cases a year. She added that although this may seem like they are treating many individuals, the health department merely "has the tiger by the tail," when it comes to addressing the major STD problem in the state.
Losing the war ... Full Story
Upon entering middle-age and a monogamous relationship, many women eschew contraception and STD testing, thinking that now is the time for worry-free sex. However, a new study from Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a teaching hospital of Brown University, suggests that women approaching perimenopause may not want to ditch their birth control just yet.
Researchers discovered that many women approaching age 40 believe that their chances of becoming pregnant are lower than they are, and that birth control is actually bad for their health.
Common misconceptions ... Full Story
Towns that have high sexually transmitted disease rates need to come up with comprehensive ways to encourage their residents to use STD testing services and practice safer sex. Thankfully, many cities are taking action against dramatic STD numbers and are working to keep people healthy. For example, MLive, a Michigan news source, recently reported that the Genesee County Healthy Sexuality Coalition is working on methods to reduce STD rates in the county, which were particularly high in 2012.
The news source explained that during 2012, Genesee County had the second highest rate of gonorrhea and the fourth highest rate of chlamydia in Michigan. Luckily, the county isn't just planning on ignoring these statistics.
"A lot of times people put out the numbers and say, 'This is so disparaging, this is where we stand,'" Heather Kale, director of communications and outreach at Priority Children in Flint, told MLive. "But it's important to say 'OK, now what do we do to address that?'"
Plan of action... Full Story
When a person uses STD testing services and discovers that they have a serious virus like HIV or hepatitis C, they may feel as though their sex lives have been ruined forever. However, that doesn't have to be the case. People should know that as long as they are careful, they may be able to have a normal sex life. For example, a recent study conducted by scientists from the University of California, San Francisco found that people with hepatitis C who are in monogamous, heterosexual relationships shouldn't be that concerned about their risk of transmitting their virus to their partner.
According to the scientists, transmission of HCV from an infected partner during sex is rare.
An unlikely prospect ... Full Story
HIV and sexually transmitted disease rates are particularly high among men who have sex with men, so researchers are constantly searching or ways to encourage this population to take STD diagnosis tests and practice safer sex. Recently, scientists from the University of Michigan found that 57 percent of gay men surveyed do have a system to reduce HIV and STD rates called a "sexual agreement."
While these agreements do show promise for reducing infection and virus rates, the scientists said more men need to participate.
Possibly effective, if followed... Full Story
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