Protect yourself from pregnancy
by Sarah Orr
health page editor
With products like Orthotricyclen,
Depo Provera, and even the “morning
after” pill on the market, there is no
shortage of ways to prevent
pregnancy. With Valentine’s Day
looming in just a few weeks, couples
everywhere are planning to celebrate
with romantic evenings.
There are pros and cons to using
an oral contraceptive or shot.
Ultimately the choice is up to the user,
and it should be used in combination
with another form of birth control and
under the supervision of a medical
doctor or nurse practitioner. The pill
is a popular form of birth control used
by many college-aged women.
Usually a four-week “pack" is given
to the user and one pill is taken at the
same time daily in succession until
the pack is completed. Some benefits
of this method include cost, ease of
use. and privacy. Some pill
manufacturers claim that products
may clear up mild to moderate acne
problems as well.
The pill must be prescribed for the
user by a health professional. An
overall physical examination will be
administered prior to prescription to
ensure that physical health is at the
optimum level for usage. The pill
prevents pregnancy by maintaining
a steady level of hormones at the mid
cycle, which prevents ovulation.
The birth control pill can have a
very high effectiveness rating,
approximately 99.6 percent, if used
STD: Stop the terrible danger
by Ryan Anthony
staff writer
You have seen the pamphlets and
brochures everywhere, but it is
doubtful you have actually picked one
up to look at it. Sitting there in the
Health and Wellness office, you may
have been curious about the little
booklet titled, “STDs,” but a bit too
embarrassed to actually pick it up and
peruse it. If you want to know, but
are too shy to ask, read on. The
following paragraphs will give you
some quick facts about the most
common sexually transmitted
diseases.
A sexually transmitted disease is an
infection spread by the transfer of
organisms from one person to another
during sexual contact. American
teenagers are having a lot of sex. So
much sex, that every 13 seconds, one
of those teenagers contracts an STD.
That adds up to more than four
million new cases each year. Two
thirds of the 15 million Americans
infected with an STD each year are
under 25 years of age.
If you have had your share of sexual
experiences but never showed any
effects of an STD, there is a chance
Kick the cold and flu season
Don’t let this happen to you! Taking the proper precautions can
help you avoid the sniffles and flu this season.
correctly. To put it in layman’s
terms, one in 100 women will get
pregnant during one year of using
the pill. Those are very good odds
alone, but who likes to take chances?
Use it with another form of birth
control, and you are virtually full
proof.
However, as with any medication,
there are possible side effects that the
user needs to be aware of if she is
going to use the product, and the
birth control pill is no exception.
Some are minor side effects. During
the first two to three months on the
pill, nausea may be experienced. A
slight weight gain or loss may also
take place in some users or an
increase in breast size. Some of
these phenomena can be explained
by water retention. Fluid retention
in the breasts contributes to fullness
and tenderness. However, the
weight gain will most likely remain
as long as the woman continues to
use this method of birth control.
Sometimes bleeding or slight
spotting may occur between periods.
This happens to some women in the
first couple months after they start
using the pill. Some women may
also miss periods or have very light
ones. As long as you have not
missed a pill, then this can be
normal. If you did miss one, you
may want to check with a clinic or
doctor. Variances in the skin
complexion may also be a minor side
effect. Many women have seen
dramatic improvements in skin
complexion. However, others can
you are not as healthy as you think
Because most STDs have no
immediate symptoms, it could be
wise for anyone who is sexually
active to have a test done. Most, but
not all, STDs are curable, and it is a
good idea to be positive that you are
disease free before you pass
something along to another
unknowing partner.
What if you find you are infected
with an STD? Here is some
information about some common
STDs:
HEPATITIS B: About one of 20
people in the U.S. will become
infected with hepatitis B, which is
spread through the exchange of body
fluids. It is common for people to
receive a vaccine against the disease,
but if you contract it, you may
experience flu-like symptoms, as
well as loss of appetite and extreme
fatigue. Many people infected show
no symptoms at all.
CHLAMYDIA: Chlamydia is the
most common STD in the U.S. and
fortunately, it is also one of the most
easy to cure. Unfortunately, most
sufferers of this disease show no
symptoms which can cause
Orthotricyclin is a popular form of the birth control pill among college-aged women
develop severe acne or changes in the dizziness, blindness, or caustic leg
pigmentation of the skin. Mood pain should be dealt with
swings, fatigue, decreased sex drive, immediatley. Call a doctor or health
and depression are just an array of care professional,
many of the minor side effects that Be aware that some seizure
may take place. medications and possibly antibiotics
More serious side effects such as may decrease the effectiveness of the
persistent or severe abdominal pain, birth control pill. Make sure to use
chest pain, shortness of breath, a back up form of birth control if you
worsened headaches, blurred vision, have an infection or illness that
infertility and painful urination. If
left untreated, women may also
experience pelvic inflammatory
disease and ectopic pregnancy. If
you test positive, an antibiotic is used
as a quick treatment.
GONORRHEA: Gonorrhea
affects almost a million people each
year. Males with the disease
experience a painful discharge during
urination while women may have no
symptoms at all, though some
women have a painful yellow or
bloody discharge during urination.
Females with this disease face the
similar long-term effects as those
who have chlamydia, so it is not
surprising that these two diseases
often come together. Penicillin is
used as a treatment, but gonorrhea is
difficult to cure.
SYPHILIS: One of the world’s
oldest known diseases, syphilis
occurs in four dangerous stages. In
the first, symptoms come and go
without treatment. The second stage
consists of little or no symptoms at
all. However, in those who do
develop symptoms, sores and rashes
with active bacteria can develop on
the skin, making infection to other
people very easy. This stage can
by Nicky Galloway
staff writer
Sneezing, coughing, feverish, nau
seous? This time you’re probably not
suffering from a late night binge, but
instead, you have fallen victim to the
flu. The flu virus is spreading fast at
the Penn State Behrend, but there are
ways of preventing the flu. The flu
can keep people sick for one to two
weeks, so prevention and early de
tection are the keys to battling this
Symptoms begin with high tem
peratures and body aches. These
symptoms precede a variety of symp
toms including a runny nose and
cough.
Because the flu is caused by a vi
rus, someone suffering from the flu
has to let the virus work its way
throughout the body. The only thing
that can be done for someone suffer
ing from the flu is to treat the symp
toms by making the patient more
comfortable. Basically, that means
keeping the fever down and hydrat
show headaches, fevers, and sore
throats as well. In the third stage,
syphilis becomes dormant for 10 to
25 years until the final stage. In this
fourth stage, bacteria attack the heart,
eyes, brain, and nervous system.
Pregnant women can pass this
disease along to the fetus, sometimes
causing stillbirth. Syphilis is
treatable with antibiotics.
HERPES: Half a million new
herpes cases are developed each year.
It is a viral infection that passes easily
from contact with an open sore. The
virus can be spread from a sore to a
hand to the genitals or mouth.
Symptoms include burning, itching,
or tingling in the genital area. Then,
sores develop in the infected areas
and remain for 14-28 days. There is
no cure for herpes, so sufferers of this
disease should expect their sores to
appear and disappear 1 -6 times per
year.
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS
(HPV): HPV affects more than one
million Americans each year. Also
known as genital warts, HPV
sufferers develop pink, white, or gray
cauliflower-like warts on or around
the genitals. Though there is no cure
for the disease, the warts can be
ing the body. Therefore, it is ex
tremely essential that the flu victim
drink an abundance of water and
other liquids.
If you think you might have the flu,
stop by the Health and Wellness Cen
ter in the Carriage House. If the flu
is caught within the first 24 to 48
hours, a prescription drug can be ad
ministered. This drug shortens the
severity and duration of the flu. Patty
McMahon, the nurse practitioner and
director of the Health and Wellness
Center, claims the drug “works won
ders.” The next day, the patient al
ready feels the effects of the drug and
feels much better.
There are ways to prevent contract
ing the flu virus. The virus is spread
through the air. If someone who has
the flu sits down at an area, the germs
are deposited at that spot. Then if a
healthy person would sit down in the
same space, touch the area where the
sick person was, and then touch their
own mucus membranes, that person
would get the flu virus. To prevent
this from occurring, people should
Health and Wellness Information
Hours by appointment* *
Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
PHOTO BY BECKY WEINDORF
requires the prescription of
antibiotics. Continue to use it for at
least two weeks after finishing the
antibiotics. The birth control pill
isn’t for everyone. There are other
forms of birth control on the market
that may be better suited to your
needs. Research your options
extensively, and consult a physician
before beginning the use of any
contraceptive.
removed with a good chance of
them reappearing.
STDs, though sometimes
difficult to detect, can be
dangerous. Having one STD
increases your chances of
contracting other STDs, as well as
forms of cancer. Condoms help
reduce the risk of contracting an
STD, but, of course, abstinence is
the best way of avoiding them.
Even if you show no symptoms,
but have had sexual contact with
your share of people, you may
benefit from an STD test. Find out
if yqu are one of the one in three
people who contract an STD by
the time they are 24 years old.
CAUTION
UNPROTECTED }
SEX
wash their hands often, cover their
nose when coughing and .sneezing,
and avoid touching their face.
The most important thing is to get
adequate rest. This is the hardest
thing for college students to accom
plish. The body needs eight to 10
hours of sleep to regenerate energy
for the upcoming day. If this amount
of sleep would occur every night,
the student would have more energy
to go about his or her daily activi
ties. It would be to students’ ben
efit to schedule eight to 10 hours of
sleep along with homework, school,
and extra-curricular activities. It
would prevent the contraction of the
flu virus and give the student a bit
more energy every day.
However, if you have fallen vic
tim to “the bug” get the proper
medical assistance immediately. In
addition to the local doctor, the
Health and Wellness Center on
campus will provide a complete di
agnosis of the seasonal malady, as
well as numerous other illnesses
and problems that occur.