I he Well NOW page *
Potentially serious STDs
prevalent on social scene
By Iketumtllt Scalf
Dear Diary Remember the party a feu'
ueekendi ago' It uui gnat' It wai a Saint
Patrick I pay parry to ur uerr all looking
to get lucky Well I taw Iadd (my ex! there,
to of count we ended up talking, dnnk
mg and spending the nigh together I'hti
morning I asked him if he had ~heen with' anyone else time u*
broke up He said yes! U> didn I use a condom and 10 / urn
lo the Health Center to be tested I he results t ame back and the
doctor asked me to meet with her Vv told me I may have shLimy
dia Not me'
Only dirty people who steep around get S TDs, but not col
lege students like me I hat was my first re,it turn Hut after express
ing these concerns to the doctor / understood that yes. this was
serious but abo curable and it happens more often than / expect
ed After taking the lest, that, onfirmed I had the disease / was
preu nbed antibiotics, After that / read up on chlamydia to bet
ter understand It I knew Todd would hair many i/ueitions All
I tan iay is he was shocked and / was a little embarrassed, hut
it was all rrsohrd and he was going to he tested, too I think /
handled this the hen way possible, the dos tor says loon all signs
of the disease will he gone ! hank goodness ur ,aught it early
enough
('line to 12 million Americans have a Sexually I ram
mitred Disease. An S I D is any disease acquired primarily
through sexual contact. Organisms like bacteria, viruses, tmv
insects and parasites transmit N I Ds and usually outside the
lx>ds these parasites die (idling a disease from a toilet seat,
doorknob, or other object is very, vets unlikely and raids
happens
Anyone can get an STD, but people between the ages
of IV24 who ate sexually active with different partners and
live in an urban setting ate mote likely to get mlestcd
I wo S I Ds that arc becoming more common arc chlamy
dia and human papillomavirus (II I’ V ) Painful urination,
unusual vaginal bleeding, low abdominal pain and increased
discharge arc the most common symptoms ol chlantvdia.
although 4 (Hit of S women have no symptoms. ( hten a tcsult
of having chlamvdia is DID Spclvtt inflammatory disease)
which is inflammation of the cervix I his is a vers senous
condition, difficult to detect and often results in infertility
or ectopic or tubal pregnancies l ot men. chlamydia can also
cause sterility.
11. P.V. is a virus that causes genual watts, lesions, or infer
lions. It is quickly becoming one of the most common S I D»
and may be the cause of ccmcal cancer I he svarts, which ate
small, painless, hatd spots, ate scry contagious and appear
three weeks to eight months after exposure I hey appear
on the vulva, labia, bottom or inside of the vagina, cervix,
anus or the bead of the perns. As they gel worse, they get larg
er and took similar to cauliflower
Prevention of S I Ds is possible and relatively easy if you
are willing to take the responsibility I here arc vn simple
options you can choose to help keep from being infected
l i Abstinence
2) Condom* (includes female condom)
.1) Vaginal spermicides
4) Diaphragms (preferably with spermicide)
5) 'X ashing genitals thoroughly before and after sex
6) Knowing tout put net »ml higher tcttiil hnioiy
I hctc it treitment for witti >ih1 chliniydil il detected
eirly (utuillv drugt or intihmtict ire ptmnbed), «o regulir
ihetk upt for men. ind pip tmrift for women ire impot
tint t>ften tettt lor tpecifk diteitct (like chlimvdu in ihit
cite) hive to Ik itkcd tor So. n it importini to Ik tile ind
retpiett one if there it inv ipicviMm of infection Secuil put
nm tfiotild ilto he treatetl ind fatten* up tlicik opt ire impel
mve to URcrvtlullv get rid of H P V ind chlimydu
Abstinence best protection
By MirhtUf Htnley
Abttinence it abstaining from
food, drink or other pleasure* in this
cue. terni.il intercourse. for many of
us k> prove* that wr arc adequate,
alive, beautiful and that we can feel
and be loved.
Many people long to feel tciuatiy ucurawf. ijcsire
brings m»uuikt to the desired And because of this tied
mg of being needed by mmeiiiw die. wt feel valued
Reassurance ii especially impottint foe women Soci
ety give* women a very limned range ol ways in which
ihcv can gam selfesteem and worth. If a woman doei not
engage in sexual activity, die n consniercd to l>e a ptude.
a man hater, a spinner, a futs pot. an old maid.
NX'c live in a sea-oriented uKiety Our society impcw
cj on young |>cople great pressure to have set Our soci
nv embraces massive love making ihroitgh experience,
leisure, sexual adscrtismg, sensual movies anil emerum
moil A well known bund name Ctucss. leedv viewer-,
two seductive icmalc rule models and one sees nule role
model in their television advertiscnienis. All i*f the most
els have very haid. hot and sweaty young tvsdics us light
clothing. They are playfully performing a menage a tuns
to advertise their ever so-popiilat blue (cans. Demm and
sex That's interesting!
I he adolescent years brtng hormones, new expel icitce
and peer pressure for each gender the venial role that
"must lie tilled is a drifts ult balance to gam ansi main
tain. \X'r must keep out masculinity s»f leminmity afloat,
while coping with the expectations ol society and even of
the partnet we choose
There is nest only pleasure to fuse sex. but to have lots
of the f>est sex possible and to prove that we ate sexually
successful. A deodorant commercial shows a woman how
she can carefully keep up in her cateet and sex life—even
without perspiration'
Regardless of what the media and society promote,
we must now team to accept that it is perfectly possible
for us to live a whole, satisfying and creative life with love,
but without sex. 'X'hy> because education and abstinence
arc the only cute we have for AIDS. We must consider
and practice these options to stop the spread of the dis
ease.
Hit choice to abstain from mtcrciHirsc may Ik a vol
lum to ABSTINENCE, page 4
HEALTH
this umc nmMon. with reproductive
muc* bring ihr most common
At the l ngrnr brant h, there ate two
specific areas of tare: the clinical and
the educational ThcclinicaJ specializes
m reproductive and sexually transmit
ted disease (N 1!)) issues.
I he clinic at Planned Parenthood
offers (selvic exams, pap smears, preg
nancy and unbiased counseling, SID
testing and various birth control meth
ods, I here arc no abortion services or
111V testing, however, referrals arr gis
rn lor both.
1 he educational program is a verv
high priority m Fugenc Human Seiti
ality Fducatron is definitely making a
difference in (he county From 1979
through 1991, teen pregnant tes
dei lined 41 percent from 1 .(FKi to 647,
jnd abortion rates declined 63 |>crtcni
from 371 to 214 in this same age group
lire future of Manned Parenthood
in F.ugcne dejsends greatly on the
Health t arc Rctorrnaoon and funding
1 hcv will definitely tray vers involved
in choice and reproductive rights and
arc very committed to education
Services of Harmed Parenthood vary
for each dime depending on their hind
( on n nurd from fhigr J
mg In Eugene. iur instance, wrvKO h»f
nun arc limited to selling condoms and
administering treatment tor S IIX
Planned Parenthood outreach pro
grams and services use volunteer! to Kelp
vet up and run programs. I here arc mu
deni volunteer who work lor credit,
ami general volunteer* who |uk do ham
Jemal work lu help run die office. Vol
umccrs arc always welcome.
II you arc interested in doing vol
untccr work you can contact Mary
Widoff. Educational Director, at M4
'M11 and let her know what you with
to gam or learn by helping
W orkshops: Helpful information for a healthy lifestyle
Women and Out Health Issues
Three consecutive Thursday*, 5:30-6:30pm. Medical Library, April 29th - May 13th
Vegrurian Fating
Three coruccutive Thursday*. 2:00-3:00pm. Medical Library, April 22nd - May 6th
Weight Management
Seven contecutivc Wednesday*. 2:00-3:30pm, Medical Library, Apnl !4th - May 26th
Smoking Cnmion
Four consecutive Tuesdays. 3:30-4:30pm. Medical Library. Apnl 20th - May i Ith
Walking Workshop
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 12:00-12:45pra, in front ot Mudenr Mcaitn center. ongoing
Call the Health Education Center to pre-register he workshop# at 346 4441 or 346-4456.
I hr Student Health ( enter Newsletter
Regulations await signature
Hy /ketntr
Aj \tudeno *cat fewer ilotho *ith the vutmcf ftponi;
climate. it fiaomii more i*bv»om that the old tainted
tattoo on t to taboo anymore I or j long time. tatt«wo
were associated mainly with itttrotvpo of bikers ami
prison inmates Now. as grunge bands. I doctor Martens.
Birkemtosks. and "change iiavr become mainstream,
tattoo* have become imrcaonglv popular
Keatom for petting 4 iattt*» arr a* varied a* the number of doignt pot
ohlc t Htr iKfion wrt* hirmrlf apart from the crowd by getting a large, cra/rd
gargoyle hranuiihing a chjmuw aeroci
che*t. Another pcrvm gen her l»rerk
affiliation tattooed on her inkle and
%c%% hcrirlf within 4 crowd
If you arc conwdrftng becoming a*
decorated a' Henry Rollins. or if you
just want to get a cute little peace cign
on your arm. you should know the
following fact* atanit the possible
mkt of tatt«H>mg
Presently. ( )f«on lus no laws
trgardmg tattooing Hut Hill
which the uate Congtf« has alrradv
approved, awaits the governor % ug
nature I his new law will require pet
manent color technicians. tattoo artists
and neurologists lo t»c licensed jnd will also (rguuir the »tcnli/4ln>n c*f tat
toomg instruments. tattooist training hygiene standard* for tattoo studios
and the kccpdfKc id diems who arc dcarls mtosuated I'folcniunil cat
tooists do change the needles now. hue they do not always vterili/e the cal
cooing device which i> c*poscd to bn**!
Si is possible fof you to go mu co a patty and come bas k wuli Ronald Rea
gan iaitiKM d on your forehead NX ho knows what will sound good after has
me a bottle of Jose ( uervo None >f the tattoo studios that I talked to Mid
that they would asirpt a drunk client, hut that is on then ossn accord l egal
!v, »f mu go into a tattoo studio and plop vout mono down, you will get
sshat sou .oked t u to. it die1 vs ol whether you re drunk *»r sol h i
I ifttto inks nave never rnrivcu rruerai i'ihhi Jim i mig
Administration approval. Inks arc known to Ih al»%orlud mu*
ilie lymph mules, hut long term consequences have yet to Ih
ilrirrmmul Kcvl ink causes the must wnsilivny problems with
clients because it contains mercury, which is .» nerve jsoison
I he known jumihlt health risks in jsc|itifirig a tattoo unhide
I lep.ituis It. tuiuic ulosis. mice non and allergic reaction I here
is also a possibility of I HV transmission when tattoo needles
are reused, just the same as when l\ drug users share needles
You should l*c aw ate ol these ticks, esjsci ialls when dealing with
amateur tattooists Make sure the tattoo needle is neset reused
1 here are a lew main issues to retail if sou do deside on get
ting a tatt«H> f irst, remember that it is basically permanent
fthere aie g*K»d removal techniques. but they arc not cheap)
and will l*e with you as your body surremlcts to gravity, wrin
kJmg or pin kenng I attoos do not retain then elasticity as you
age Second. make sure the tatfooiif changes the needles, ster
litres the equipment and has a dean studio
Don't be afiaid to jsk questions Kemcmber. this person
is going to stick a needle into your hods
The Women’s
Health Clinic
at the U of 0 Student Health Center
Need someone to talk to about your
Health Concerns? We care about you.
The Women's Health Clinic is tailored
to Women’s Health needs and issues.
Our services include:
• Exams for STDs
• Birth Control
• Pap Smears
> Personalized Counseling &
Advice
Pregnancy
Concerns
• Male and
female
providers
Call or come
by to make an
appointment
346-4449