Numbers of STIs on rapid rise in UK

These figures are quite alarmimg: After all the work that is being done to prevent STIs they are STILL on the rise. I wonder why this is? Could it be that we keep trying the same things over and over again? Even when they don't work! I wonder what MIGHT work?

'People ages 18 to 24 account for only one-eighth of the total population, but the group accounts for about 50% of all newly diagnosed STI cases in the U.K. In 2007, people ages 18 to 24 accounted for 65% of new chlamydia cases, 55% of new genital warts cases and 50% of new gonorrhea cases (Castle, Reuters, 7/15). Borriello said, "It's increasingly the case that among young people, a casual shag is part of the territory, it's part of life." He added, "Increasingly a shag now stands for syphilis, herpes, anal warts and gonorrhea." '(Peter Borriello, director of HPA's Centre for Infections.) from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115442.php

Frank Team

This looks like a great website - FRANK TEAM. It's kinda for young female entrepreneurs - social and the like - young women with ideas. Here's a blurb from the home page, have a look around;

Ever wondered where all the good people have gone? In our rollercoaster world, it's hard to know what's genuine. When it comes to life satisfaction there's stacks of things to distract us from what's real - celebrity magazines, dodgy politics, 'reality' TV...

So we got to thinking, if we're a company made up of enterprising people who value the real over the fake, people over profit, where can we make the biggest difference?

They have a free online magazine called Frank Mag, the most recent issue has a story in it on an event YWCA staged in Adelaide on International No Diet Day - there you go, i didn't know such a day existed.

Determined to take the focus off food, the YWCA wanted to mark the day with a message of positive body image. So they set up a stall in the city's central Mall, armed with two Polaroid cameras, black textas, and a blank canvas. The idea was to ask people to have their photo taken and write on the photo what they love about themselves.

Just as excited about the concept as we were, one woman noticed us, stopped, and was delighted by the idea. She smiled as her photo was taken and simply wrote 'Breasts' on her image. She spoke lovingly of how they had fed her children, and that they were without question what she loves most about her body.

IDAHO

Here is a copy of an email that I received re -planning for International Day Against Homophobia 2009. If you are in Adelaide and want to be part of this please go along. It is really fun.


"Hello

August 5th @12 midday Darling House has been named the first planning meeting for Idaho 2009. The goal Fondation Émergence has proposed for the International Day Against Homophobia on May 17, 2009, is to combat homophobia within cultural communities, to raise awareness among the newly arrived and to support gays and lesbians from these communities. With this in mind it is important to put your thinking cap on and look for representative of differing cultures to be part of the IDAHO 2009 planning committee. This meeting will be used as a think tank session and it would be greatly appreciated if you could RSVP to this meeting to hugh.beil@gmhealth.org.au if this has been forwarded on to you.

I also hope that someone will know the best contact at Nunkuwarrin Yunti that this could be forwarded to

I look forward to hearing from you "

Cheers

Hugh Beil
Community Development Officer
Gay Men’s Health

Parents Talk with Adolescent Kids about SEX

This program looks really cool and I am excited about it. Here are some extracts: I found out about it in medical news today ( which you can see on the side bar)

Talking Parents, Healthy Teens is a workplace program that is designed to increase the comfort and skill level of parents who wish to talk to their adolescents about sexual health. The study sample consisted of 569 parents of adolescents (aged 11-16 years) who were randomly assigned to attend the Talking Parents, Health Teens program or to receive no intervention. Participants assigned to the program were in one of 13 workplaces in California and received 8 weekly one-hour sessions. "We'd teach them some skills one week, and they'd come back the next week bubbling over with excitement that they'd talked with their teen about relationships, love, or sex…their teen had actually engaged in a real conversation with them, or role-played a topic like how to say no to unwanted sexual advances." The researchers found that the intervention was quite successful, with immediate significant and lasting effects on parent and adolescent communication. The surveys indicated that parents who attended the program were more likely to engage in discussions of new sexual topics and to continue conversations that had been previously started and they were more open to communication about sex.

Go here to read more.

What would you say if your undies had the last word

Go here to have a look at some fantastic entries in the Internet Sexuality Information Services "What would your undies say if they had the last word" competetion. Some of these are fantastic! What a great idea.

http://www.undiecontest.com/gallery.php

text /internet/sexual health service

Interesting recording (podcast) of a discussion re reaching young people with information about sexual health and relationships education in a way that suits them.

"Educators say that in-class lessons about sex ed are no longer enough to get their message out. They're turning to podcasts, video games and social networking sites to teach kids about sex. Alex Cohen speaks with Deb Levine, executive director of Internet Sexuality Information Services (ISIS) in Oakland."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91841220

Quote

I just wanted to add this quote that I just read from Neale Donald Walsh from his book 'Conversations with God - an uncommon dialogue' It struck me as a quote about the type of person I would like to be towards the young people that I work with.

" ..It is clear to me that all of us could produce a list of people who have touched our lives in ways so meaningful and so profoundly as to defy catorigisation or description; people who have shared with us thier wisdom, told us thier truth, suffered us our faults and our foibles in thier infinate patience, and who have seen us through all of it; seeing the best in us, as well as thier refusal to accept parts of us they new we really didn't choose, caused us to grow; to get bigger somehow.

Even Olympiads aren't safe

Yes - yet another example of sports people (Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan) being sexualised (with a particular focus on Stephanie of course) and run through the marketing machine - for under wear!

Here's what news.com have written on their website this morning;

Stung by a raunchy Facebook photo scandal in March where she appeared dressed in a revealing police woman uniform, Rice said the Davenport advertisements would be tasteful even though the pair would appear only in their undies.

“The one thing I wanted to make sure was that I wasn’t at all sleazy and I wanted to be portrayed in the right light,” she said.

Media buyer Harold Mitchell said the world-recording breaking pair could turn gold into cold hard cash if they succeed at the August Games.

“We all adore a love story and if this union can survive, they’ll make millions,” he told News Limited's Beijing Now website.

Adore a love story hey! Give me a break!!

At least they are honest about their intentions - HARD CASH for all parties concerned.

The full story can be read here

Chris.

Nasal Delivery Technology Update

Hi,

I thought i'd give a quick update on the blog that i posted a couple of months ago about the "nasal delivery technology!"

Well, they still haven't got back to me with any answers to my questions, so may give them a call soon to find out what's happening.

However, i recently attended a seminar on men's health, the speaker was a doctor specialising in men's health and erectile dysfunction and the question was raised about all the the ads around for nasal delivery technology.

Apparently these companies have been around for a while and have had 3-4 different names, changing it and re-launching everytime they get wiped out by consumer affairs. Each time they get wiped and re-launch under a new name, consumers need to go through the complaints process again!

Another point is that the men may start on the "nasal delivery technology" but when that doesn't work, they are then referred onto an injection technique (which is a minimally invasive technique that doctors use for treatment). These injections cost roughly $50 but it is sold to these men at a massive mark up, somewhere around $1000.

The nasal delivery technology company provides no promises of efficacy or safety and the results are not measureable.

The bottom line is that if a man is suffering from a erectile dysfuction, he needs to see a doctor and be checked over as it can be one of the first signs of other medical conditions and not to be too embarrassed to ask their GP about it.

Sexual infections rise among Gen Y

Hi all,

I came across this article about the statistics and rise in STI's in generation Y, late teens and 20's.

It discusses the reduction in age at first intercourse and the rise in the amount of partners that young people are having. It also talks about the sexual behaviours of young people and their attitudes towards safer sex. It reinforces what many sexual health workers know about the statistics of STI's and the need for comprehensive sexual health education, worth a read.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/sexual-infections-rise-among-gen-y/2008/07/02/1214950851362.html

Watermelons

This intetesting article from Mecial News Today talks about viagra like effects from watermelon





"A cold slice of watermelon has long been a Fourth of July holiday staple. But according to recent studies, the juicy fruit may be better suited for Valentine's Day. That's because scientists say watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body's blood vessels and may even increase libido. "

Great article on Penis size

Determining the average penis size for a group of males, let alone for men around the world, is more complicated than you might imagine. Unfortunately most information about average penis size comes from popular culture and not science. Let's start by considering some figures from science.

Go here at Cory Silverbergs blog to read lots more.