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Flagging sex life? How watching reality TV or wearing high heels may be to blame

February 9, 2016Sexual HealthSRH Matters

Flagging sex life? How watching reality TV or wearing high heels may be to blame

2016-02-09

Maintaining your libido can be a delicate balance of health and desire
Numerous things – from everyday foods to gadgets – may interfere
Good Health looks at surprising reasons your love life could be off-kilter

When your relationship has gone beyond the first flush of passion, maintaining your libido can be a delicate balance of health and desire.

And it doesn’t help that numerous things – from everyday foods to gadgets – may interfere with your sexual performance.

Here, Good Health looks at some of the more surprising reasons your love life could be off-kilter…

SUFFERING FROM A BUNGED-UP NOSE

Smell plays an important role in our recognition of pheromones – the scents given off by a partner’s body through sweat – and affects sexual behaviour.

A 2012 study at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden found that men with no sense of smell had significantly fewer sexual partners than those with a normal nasal function, and women with no sense of smell felt less secure in their relationships.

Psychologist Dr Ilona Croy, who led the study, says having impaired smell will give you a disadvantage in the mating game.

‘A lot of social signals are transported through the olfactory channel (the nose lining and associated nerves) and a depleted sense of smell makes it likely that you might miss them,’ she says.

Simply having a cold could also affect the sex drive of both men and women, adds Dr David Edwards, an Oxfordshire GP and sexual health specialist.

‘Viral infections can temporarily reduce testosterone levels,’ he explains.

GOING ON A DIET

If you’re trying to slim down, it could have an unwanted side-effect.

Losing weight too quickly puts stress on the body – even if you are a healthy weight – which can trigger the release of a hormone called prolactin, a powerful suppressor of sex drive.

‘Stress like this can also mean a reduction in oestrogen and testosterone levels, which is why a woman’s menstrual cycle can become irregular,’ says Dr Sarah Brewer, a GP and the author of Overcoming Low Sex Drive.

Losing more than 10 per cent of your body weight too quickly can make the body think it’s starving, which can cause sexual interest to fall, she adds.

SLIPPING ON A PAIR OF HEELS

They may look sexy, but high heels could make sex less enjoyable for some women.

Dr Eden Fromberg, a New York-based gynaecologist, says that because heeled shoes tip the body forwards, this forces the postural muscles to contract as the body works to maintain an upright posture.

‘If the pelvic floor muscles are chronically contracted, they can become tight and therefore restrict the passage of nerve impulses going through them to the reproductive organs and arousal tissue,’ she says.

‘Wearing high heels all day can affect a woman’s orgasm – there is a reported improvement in female patients who retire their heels or use them only rarely.’

HAVING A DESK JOB

A sedentary job is just as bad for a woman’s potential to orgasm, warns Dr Fromberg.

‘If you sit with rounded shoulders and your tail tucked under for hours, the muscles of your pelvic floor and the psoas muscle (which runs diagonally from the lower back through to the groin) remain chronically at “half mast” – not stretched or contracted,’ she says.

This can affect the signals passing along important nerves leading to the reproductive organs. ‘Bucket chairs and recliners are the worst for exacerbating the sorts of postural problems that can lead to compromised sexual pleasure,’ she adds.

The body is designed to move constantly, so the more active you are, the more effectively blood supply and nerve signalling can work.

BEING HOOKED ON REALITY TV

People who have a TV in their bedroom have sex half as often as those who don’t, according to a 2006 study of 523 Italian couples.

The effect is more marked for the over-50s, with the average of seven couplings a month falling to just 1.5 on average.

The study found certain programmes – violent films and reality shows – impede passion.

According to Dr Edwards, good sexual relations depend on couples communicating with each other, not sitting side by side watching television.

‘If whatever you are watching makes you sad or grumpy, it is more likely to affect your libido,’ he says.

Technology can affect your love life in other ways, too. Sitting and spending more than seven hours a day on an electronic gadget (such as a phone or tablet) can trigger back pain, according to the British Chiropractic Association, and a recent survey of 2,000 people by backpainhelp.com found that 25 per cent had avoided sex because of back pain.

Men who carry a mobile phone switched on for at least four hours a day are at greater risk of erectile dysfunction than men who use phones intermittently, reported a study last year in the Central European Journal of Urology.

One suggestion is that heat could be to blame.

YOUR ‘CUDDLY’ LOVE HANDLES

As well as triggering energy slumps, excess sugar in the diet is laid down as fat, which can raise oestrogen levels, reducing the effect of testosterone in women and men.

‘The more body fat you have, the more chance the testosterone in your system will be bound into the fat, which means less “free testosterone”,’ says Dr Edwards.

‘Not only will this reduce libido, it makes you more likely to gather fat in your abdomen, which binds to any remaining testosterone, so diminishing your available supply.’

Fat around the middle is a particular problem, because it can lead to a reduction in a sex hormone-binding protein called globulin, which is produced by your liver, explains Dr Mark Vanderpump, a consultant endocrinologist at the Royal Free Hospital, London.

This protein attaches itself to testosterone, transporting it around the body. ‘Men with lower levels tend to have a lower concentration of testosterone,’ he says.

THAT WEEKEND BIKE RIDE

Men who exercise regularly have a 70 per cent reduced risk of erectile dysfunction compared with men who do none – but serious cyclists are more likely to suffer impotence.

It seems the firm, angular saddles can put pressure on nerves and arteries around the groin, reducing blood flow to the penis.

‘If there is bruising to the pudendal nerve (a major nerve in the groin that runs from the genitals to the base of the spine), erectile dysfunction can last for up to two years,’ says Dr Edwards.

But it’s more typically seen on Mondays or Tuesdays after a weekend in the saddle, he adds.

He recommends saddles with a deep groove down the middle – to relieve pressure on the nerve – or putting a cushioned gel pad on top. ‘If cycling leaves you with a numbness or tingling in your groin, it’s time to adjust your seating arrangements.’

YOUR FEET ARE JUST TOO COLD

Women need warm feet for orgasm, suggested a Dutch study published in 2005. Researchers revealed that 80 per cent of women were able to achieve orgasm when they wore socks, compared with 50 per cent when barefoot.

According to Professor Gert Holstege, a neuroscientist at the University of Groningen who led the stud: ‘The feet play a significant role in maintaining body temperature, and by regulating internal climate the mind and body can come into a relaxed state needed for an orgasmic release.’

P.S. BEER MAY MAKE YOU A BETTER LOVER

The popular perception is that beer puts a downer on a man’s love life. However, Dr Kat Van Kirk, a sex therapist and associate professor at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in Los Angeles, says that beer can actually make men better in bed because the plant chemicals (phytoestrogens) it contains may help to delay orgasm.

Will climate change cause more complex effects on sexual and reproductive health?

February 8, 2016featuredSRH Matters

Will climate change cause more complex effects on sexual and reproductive health?

2016-02-08

By Sivananthi Thanenthiran Published: February 4, 2016

The Zika viral epidemic represents a perfect storm of climate change, disease, sexuality and reproductive health. In 2009, I was deeply interested in the effects of climate change worldwide. I work for a regional organisation and I was studying trends which I thought would impact women’s health and rights.

Disasters – both natural and climate change induced were one of these trends. Three key events stood out in my memory; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the 2010 Pakistan floods. These incidents affected the partners we work with on the ground, and many had rushed in to deliver aid. A number of partners talked about the need of access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, occurrences of sexual violence, and of course the need for camps to be set up in a manner that suited the needs and realities of women. One of the activists in my circle told me that after the tsunami, women who had tubal ligation in Tamil Nadu, had fought for and won the right to reverse tubal ligation, because they had lost their children in the tsunami. I was often on the lookout for such interesting angles to sexual and reproductive issues during the times of disaster.

In 2009, I read an Oxfam briefing paper which posited that the greatest impact of climate change will be on people’s health. This seemed to reiterate all the experiences I had with partners. This paper also talked about a particular health challenge – the increase in water-borne, insect-borne, vector-borne diseases due to increases in temperature and rain, and the inability of health and municipal services to be able to plan and manage these changes.

In Malaysia, we have seen year-on-year drastic increases of dengue, and it helped me connect this issue with the larger, little explored connection with climate change. Even in my country, health personnel often attribute it to different things such as; newer, pesticide-resistant mosquitoes and lack of civic consciousness of citizens. However, this was an interesting angle, and of course I could also pick up on the regional stories of dengue and Chikungunya in the Philippines, Indonesia and India.

Naturally, when the first stories of Zika surfaced, these three connections came foremost to my mind.

The first stories revealed that the virus was first reported in May in Brazil, there was an increase in the births of babies with microcephaly – around 3700 to 4000 between October and now. Many were aghast because this spike of babies with microcephaly puts stress on health services, families and communities – and even on educational services. Since the Zika virus manifests itself in indiscernible ways, women may not know that they have contracted the virus, if pregnant – until they deliver. A week ago, I was sitting on a panel in an international conference – when the astonishing news broke that the solution El Salvador presented was that women must avoid pregnancy till 2018 due to the potentially dangerous Zika virus.

Just yesterday, the first case of the sexual transmission of Zika has been recorded in Texas. But in 2013 itself, the possibility of sexual transmission of Zika had been published in medical journals by looking at the case study of an infected person in Tahiti. Some attribute the fast spread of Zika due to dual transmission modes.

It is equally interesting to consider that the largest outbreak is occurring in a region, which has highly restrictive abortion laws and access to contraceptives including condoms is limited due to socio-religious norms.

Many years ago, I wrote a proposal which posited this hypothesis: an undue burden will be placed on women who live in countries which face climate change and have fundamentalist policies (influenced by religion, and do not recognise sexual and reproductive rights) because they will be denied access to essential services. This viral epidemic is one such example.

A comprehensive approach is needed to combat diseases such as these.

One, access to dual-protection methods (pregnancy prevention and safe sex) is essential.

Two, access to comprehensive maternal health services: ante-natal scans to enable early detection, access to pregnancy termination (as a choice), and safe delivery and neo-natal care (as a choice).

Three, understanding that as time goes by, climate change will only cause more complex effects on sexual and reproductive health, and in order to cater for this we need policy, programme and paradigm change, which enables individuals and couples to be able to make decisions about their bodies and lives.

In the longer run, in order to create more resilient societies, which can cope with the multifarious effects of climate change, it would be essential to recognise the rights and agency of individuals and couples. We must further ensure that community systems are built with this perspective in mind. To stop this now, we have to start this now.

Men urged to use a condom as sexual transmission of Zika detected

February 8, 2016BehaviourSRH Matters

Men urged to use a condom as sexual transmission of Zika detected

Health officials have warned pregnant women to think twice about the lips they kiss and called on men to use condoms with pregnant partners if they have visited countries where Zika is present. “Because how can they ask those women not to become pregnant but also not offer them first information that is available, but the possibility to stop their pregnancies if they wish?”

Active transmission of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, has occurred in more than two dozen countries and territories in the Americas and Caribbean.

Rockland health officials said she contracted the virus there, not in NY, where it is too cold for mosquito activity.

The new infections bring the number of Zika cases in Florida to nine.

The virus has been linked to the birth defect Microcephaly, which prevents fetus’ brains from developing properly. TheCDC had suggested testing only for those woman who were experiencing symptoms of infection.

Colombian health officials reported the deaths of a man and a women in second city, Medellin, on Thursday after they were confirmed to be carriers of Zika and showed symptoms of the Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Panama’s Health Ministry has reached out to an indigenous community to the northeast of the Central American nation following some 50 reported cases of Zika.

Garrett also said it is not a matter of if, but when, Zika starts to spread in North America. The CDC still is reviewing data on whether the virus can be transmitted through saliva and urine and is not making a recommendation related to those fluids at this time, according to Dr. Frieden.

Day and Ruppert said that there is no risk of transmission of the disease in the county, which causes low-grade fever, rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis in most patients.

Gavel said more tests need to be carried out to definitively confirm the above-mentioned hypothesis.

The virus is thought to remain in an infected person’s blood for a week or less.

“This virus, which only recently arrived in Brazil and Latin America, no longer is a distant nightmare but a real threat to all Brazilians’ homes”, Rousseff said in a nationally televised message.

A High Red Meat Intake Could Hurt Male Fertility

February 1, 2016Reproductive HealthSRH Matters

A High Red Meat Intake Could Hurt Male Fertility

2016-02-01

Attention carnivores—if you are trying to conceive with your partner lay off processed meat. A recent study found that those men who consumed a lot of processed, red meat such as sausage and bacon had poorer success rates than those who ate mostly poultry. The study does not prove causality merely that a link exists. Lots of other studies have illustrated a connection between diet and fertility. But it can be hard to isolate exactly how much each food item affects the male reproductive system.

President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Dr. Rebecca Sokol wrote a press release about this study. She said it suggests such meat makes it more difficult for fertilization to occur. Eating a healthy diet is not only best for reproductive health she wrote, but overall health as well. Other physicians are considering adding a ban on processed meat to the list of recommendations they give those patients desiring fatherhood. Other items include quitting smoking, decreasing alcohol consumption, exercising regularly, and losing weight.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, led by Dr. Wei Xia conducted the study. They followed the cases of 141 couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at Massachusetts General Hospital. The male partners filled out a questionnaire including questions about their diet, such as their weekly meat consumption and what kinds of meat they ate. There was no correlation between the total amount of meat consumption and the success of IVF. However, those men who ate the most fowl were 13% more successful than those who ate the least amount of poultry.

Some doctors say that it could be those who consumed more chicken may have an overall healthier diet than those who ate more processed meat. But today most doctors would agree that it is a good idea to avoid such meat when trying to conceive. Any couple trying for six months to a year without success should seek out a medical professional. 50% of the time the problem comes from the male side of the equation. Men who have been trying with their partner for this long or longer should speak with their doctor or an urologist.

Dr. Muhammad Mirza

American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Dr. Rebecca Sokol, Dr. Wei Xia, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in-vitro fertilization (IVF),Massachusetts General Hospital.

The Zika Virus’ Unlikely Silver Lining

February 1, 2016Reproductive HealthSRH Matters

The Zika Virus’ Unlikely Silver Lining

BY ALEX ZIELINSKI & BEENISH AHMED JAN 30, 2016 9:00 AM

ould a mosquito-borne illness that threatens to spread across the Americas actually push countries to change their restrictive approaches to women’s health care?

International reproductive rights experts hope so. After health officials in several countries affected by the Zika virus suggested women avoid pregnancy in order to avoid having children with the severe birth defects the illness is believed to cause, human rights groups are countering with their own asks. They see the focus the virus has brought to unwanted and unhealthy pregnancies as a way to galvanize around reforming some of the harshest abortion laws in the world.

“Women need to know that their governments aren’t prepared to stop the spread of the virus, but that’s not a complete solution,” Amanda Klasing of Human Rights Watch’s women division told ThinkProgess.

In a region where more than half of all pregnancies in the region are unplanned, she said, governments need to make contraception — and even abortion — accessible to women in order to prevent the most harmful impact of the untreatable virus.

Four of the six countries in the world that ban abortion in all instances have either already been affected by the Zika virus, or are in its current path. Officials with the World Health Organization have warned that virus is expected to expand its reach across the entire Western hemisphere, with four million cases projected to arise before the close of 2016.

While a few harrowing cases of women denied their reproductive rights — including an 11-year old girl who became pregnant after she was raped by her stepfather in Paraguay last year — have led to widespread demonstrations in some countries, the Zika virus poses a particularly widespread risk to maternal and fetal health.

That’s why some rights’ activists see an opportunity in the alarming illness that made its way from Western Africa to South America in 2014.

For Latin America’s vibrant pro-choice movement, there are some sights for hope, especially since socially conservative Brazil made reforms to its otherwise stringent abortion laws by the health risks posed by anecephaly, a rare condition that fatally damages skull and brain formation in fetuses. Although nearly 80 percent of Brazilians polled in 2014 were against legalizing abortion, they may make an exception in cases of the Zika virus, which can cause fetuses to developmicrocephaly, or an underdeveloped brain.

With a threat as widespread as the one posed by the Zika virus, Klasing and other human and reproductive rights’ advocates are hoping for a widespread shift in policy in a region where abortion is no-go issue for many politicians.

“I think it is a unique moment to talk about women’s reproductive health in the context of this very scary public health crises,” Klasing said. “It really demonstrates the heartbreaking impact of restrictions on abortion services for women and girls when you have this potential of birth defects.”

The virus might help shift the discussion from a matter to one of social values mired in religious beliefs into a matter of public health — and the risks Zika poses to the future of Latin America.

“I do think that it’s going to create more of a space for a conversation around reproductive rights, maybe with a little bit less of the stigma and shame that has been associated with those discussions in the past,” Klasing added.

Reproductive health and rights groups have already started to initiate some of those discussions. ThinkProgress reached out to three experts from around Latin America to talk about how an alarming illness could spark change in the region’s entrenched policies against abortion.

Zika: Virus may be spread through sex

January 29, 2016Sexual HealthSRH Matters

Zika: Virus may be spread through sex

2016-01-29

The virus has caused an epidemic in Brazil

Experts fear the Zika virus, which has been linked to brain damage in unborn babies, may be transmitted through sex.

Zika is known to be spread by mosquitos bites and has spread rapidly through Brazil and other South American countries since late 2015.

While it manifests itself as a relatively harmless fever in most patients, it has also been linked to a spike in microcephaly – a condition causing babies to appear to have shrunken heads.

Health officials across the world have warned pregnant women in affected South American countries to take precaution to protect themselves from mosquito bites, with some advising women to put off becoming pregnant.

However, two cases of the virus in medical literature suggest that Zika may also be spread through during sex, prompting experts to call for further investigation into the possibility.

The only known cases of the virus being detected in a man’s semen involved a 44-year-old Tahitian man who contracted Zika during a drink to French Polynesia in 2013, The New York Timesreported.

While his blood was clear, French investigators found traces of the virus in his semen and his urine.

The second case was that of Dr Brain D Foy, an expert in insect-borne diseases at Colorado State University, who unwittingly developed the virus after he travelled to Senegal to collect mosquitos for a study. Both he and his colleague who accompanied him fell ill with a fever when he returned to the US.

Days later, Dr Foy’s wife, a nurse, displayed similar symptoms including headache pains, a rash, and bloodshot eyes.

However, what had infected the three was unclear after the blood samples tested for malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever returned negative.

On the suggestion of another scientist, Dr Foy had the blood samples re-tested and found that he and his colleague, as well as his wife who had remained in the US, had been infected by Zika.

Dr Foy relayed his experience of the virus in the journal ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’.

Research into Zika is further complicated by the fact that it does not infect common lab animals such as rats and mice, meaning controversial trials on monkeys may need to be used to investigate the condition.

Dr. William Schaffner, chief of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical School told The New York Times that while two suspected cases do not warrant a health warning from public health officials, he said: “it certainly should be studied.”

However, the World Health Organisation has sought to quell fears and said that

“Zika has been isolated in human semen, and one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission has been described” but added: “more evidence is needed to confirm whether sexual contact is a means of Zika transmission.”

“The role of Aedes mosquitoes in transmitting Zika is documented and well understood, while evidence about other transmission routes is limited,” it said.

Health officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also said the two apparent instances are a “theoretical risk” and there is insufficient evidence to issue a warning about any concern that the virus may be spread through sex.

Dr Márcio Nehab, a paediatrician and infectious disease specialist at the Fiocruz research institute in Rio de Janeiro said that researchers should focus their efforts on mosquitoes.

“We still need a lot of study to conclude that sexual transmission can happen because little is known about the Zika virus.

“At the moment, we have to care more about the known vector, which is the mosquito, as the virus transmission route,” he said according to MailOnline.

Men’s Health Thursday: When Having Sex Is Bad For Your Health

January 25, 2016Behaviour, blog-homeSRH Matters

Men’s Health Thursday: When Having Sex Is Bad For Your Health

2016-01-25

A lot of us look at all the positive things that comes with having good sex and barely worry about the negative things. If we do worry about it, it will be about coming too fast and not making a fool of ourselves. We should however worry about certain other important things such as headaches which may occur as a result of orgasms or an allergy to your own semen.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? These things actually do occur even though they may be rare and far between. Here are three times sex could be bad for your health and what you should do if you ever find yourself in such conditions.

Depression
The feeling after sex should be one of ecstasy and serenity not depression. Some people however feel depressed after sex and this condition is known as post-coital dysphoria. The condition affects fewer men and an antidepressants prescription will do much to reduce the feelings of depression. The drugs however have side effects including delayed ejaculation and low libido. There may also be an underlying cause for the depression which may involve your partner and how you perceive your sexual life. If you suffer from this. You may want to consider discussing whatever sexual issues you have with your partner and solving them. This can help you both to feel happier and better satisfied.

Semen Allergy
Semen allergy may be accompanied with signs and symptoms which include a fever, runny nose, and upset stomach. The condition is known as post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS) and occurs when your body incorrectly identifies proteins in your own semen as an antigen or foreign invaders causing your immune system to attack them.

Furthermore, the vagina fluids secreted in women can also trigger an allergic reaction in men, though it is less severe. Also, a man can also develop an allergy to another man’s semen in much rarer cases.

The symptoms for semen allergy may occur immediately or days later. It is essential to see a doctor or immunologist to properly diagnose your allergic condition. However, a study in the journal of Sexual medicine suggests that anti-inflammatory medications when taken before and after sex can go a long way in calming the immune system to prevent any autoimmune reaction that can trigger the symptoms associated with semen allergy.

Headaches
It is estimated that about one in 100 people suffer headaches during or immediately after sexual activity. The research published by the American society of Headache also found out that men were more likely to be sufferers and feel the pain more than women. The headaches sometimes builds up in response to the intensity of the sexual activity or commences the instance orgasm occurs.
The cause of the headaches has been linked to the release of the hormone adrenaline which causes an increase in the blood pressure which may inadvertently, trigger a headache.
It is essential you see a doctor if the headaches occur suddenly, are severe and continues for a long while. Some of these headaches may be a precursor to more serious medical issues such as strokes or aneurysms. Your doctor will be in the best position to determine the best cause of treatment.

Urban myth’ that lesbian women don’t need pap smears is a health risk – study

January 25, 2016BehaviourSRH Matters

Urban myth’ that lesbian women don’t need pap smears is a health risk – study

University of Sydney study finds that lesbian women are being tested less for virus that can cause cervical cancer and sexually transmitted disease in general

Study co-author Dr Julie Mooney summers said the mistaken belief that, if women didn’t have sex with men, they did not need pap smears was a ‘real frustration’. Photograph: Voisin/Phanie/Rex Shutterstock

An “urban myth” that lesbian women do not need pap smears because they do not have sex with men means they are putting their health at risk, a study from the University of Sydney has found.

Researchers said lesbian women also generally tested less often for sexually transmitted infections than bisexual or queer women.

They said the findings highlighted the importance of targeting health campaigns to specific groups within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer [LGBTQ] community, rather than to that community as a whole.

Researchers analysed data from a survey of 379 women aged between 17 and 30 taken during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2010 and 2012. The survey, which asks lesbian, bisexual and queer women about their health, sexual identity, sexual relationships and sexual practices, has been conducted every two years since 1996.

While queer women – those who did not identify as lesbian or bisexual in the survey – had the highest rates of illicit drug use, experiences of sexual coercion, and anti-LGBTQ discrimination, they were the group most proactive about their health, the researchers found.

While 58.3% of bisexual women reported being tested for sexually transmitted infections at least once, only 52.9% of lesbian women reported the same, the lowest of the three groups.

Only 65.2% of lesbian women had ever received a pap smear, compared with 70.8% of bisexual women and 79.4% of queer women, the study, led by Rada Germanos from the University of Sydney’s school of medicine and published in the journal, LGBT health, also found.

Pap smears are used to detect cervical cancer, spread by the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 different types of HPV and some types, if left untreated, can cause cervical cancer. Most people with HPV don’t have symptoms and while the virus can go away on its own, it can persist and cause harm.

While women most commonly acquire HPV through sex with a man, it can can also be transmitted through genital skin-to-skin contact, or sex toys, making pap smears important for LGBTQ women as well.

Dr Julie Mooney-Somers, one of the authors of the study and a lecturer at the University of Sydney, said almost 60% of lesbian women surveyed had a history of sex with men, which was another reason they should be tested.

“It’s become a bit of an urban myth that women who don’t have sex with men don’t need pap smears, and this is one of the real frustrations about working in this area,” she said.

“Lesbian women also don’t usually need access to contraception so they’re not having those opportunistic discussions with their doctors about screening.”

LGBTQ women were also at higher risk of other cancers, such as lung cancer, due to more prevalent use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs, she said. But the impact of cervical cancer on this group was largely unknown, Mooney-Somers said, because women with cervical cancer were not necessarily asked about their sexual identity.

“The main message is that while we may be doing well around pap smears in general, some women are being left behind,” she said.

“We need to pay attention to them and the reasons behind why they’re not engaging and how we can better target them. Lesbian women may not relate to sexual health campaigns targeting LGBTQ people generally, just like we know some people with problem drinking may not think alcohol campaigns are talking about them.”

Hiranthi Perera, the manager of PapScreen Victoria, has conducted a survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people to analyse cervical screening behaviours.

While the results are still being analysed and are yet to be published, Perera said the aim would be to improve screening services.

“A common misconception is that this group don’t need cervical screening,” Perera said.

“This isn’t the case, as any person with a cervix who participates in any genital-skin to genital-skin contact, needs to have a pap test.”

All infectious diseases could become resistant to antibiotics says Cambridge expert

January 20, 2016Sexual HealthSRH Matters

All infectious diseases could become resistant to antibiotics says Cambridge expert

2016-01-20

All infectious diseases could potentially become untreatable because of the rise of antibiotic resistance – not just gonorrhoea – according to a Cambridge sexual health expert.

Dr Caroline Cooper, associate specialist in sexual and reproductive health based at the Lime Tree clinic in Cambridge, said antibiotic resistance is a problem across the whole NHS, not just sexual health.

Her comments come after England’s chief medical officer reportedly warned Gonorrhoea could become “untreatable”.

According to the BBC, Dame Sally Davies has written to all GPs and pharmacies to ensure they are prescribing the correct drugs after the rise of a highly drug-resistant strain of the infection in Leeds. The strain, which is resistant to first-line antibiotic azithromycin, was first reported in Leeds in March last year but spread, with cases reported in patients from Macclesfield, Oldham and Scunthorpe.

Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/infectious-diseases-resistant-antibiotics-just/story-28554208-detail/story.html#ixzz3xlI3AMQB
Follow us: @CambridgeNewsUK on Twitter | cambridgenews on Facebook

Seminar held on sexual and reproductive health of garment workers –

January 20, 2016blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

Seminar held on sexual and reproductive health of garment workers –

Sexual and reproductive health of garment workers is of key importance and must be acknowledged and addressed, health activists said during a seminar held last week.

The seminar “Media Sensitisation: Value Creation in RMG through embedding Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in factories and the need for positive marketing” was organised by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation’s “Working With Women” project. It was held at BGMEA center last Wednesday.

“SRHR as a topic needs to come out to the public,” said Dr Nazneen Akhter, senior lecturer at North South University while presenting her keynote speech at the seminar.

She added: “We need to get rid of the jargon, and simplify it so that a garment worker can take ownership of the term and say that it is their issue as well.”

Along with Dr Naznee, Shariful Islam, founder of Bangladesh Brand Forum also presented the keynote paper in the seminar, followed by an open discussion session among journalists and hosts.

Engr Md Kawsar Ali, COO of Comfit Composite Ltd, shared his experience of the initiatives taken at his factory. Engr Kawser’s factory has set an exemplary record for volunteering to help SNV with their time on this project.

Members from Kawser’s factory, as well as Southeast Textiles Private Limited, another garment factory, were present during the SNV trainings, and also came forward to invest 60% in this project, according to a SNV representative.

“Often we see that due to lack of certain facilities available at the workplace, the workers become weak themselves,” said Kawser. “Then we lose them from the job market which in turn impedes on the growth of the entire industry.”

“The sector is already suffering because we’re losing a lot of potential workers,” he added, emphasising on the urgent need to address sexual and reproductive health needs of female garment workers, who make up the majority of the garment workforce.

Ashrafur Rahman Ranju, COO, Millennium Textile and Faruque Hassan, senior vice-president, BGMEA were also present at the seminar. Faruque shared remarks from BGMEA about the project and urged the journalists to promote good practices in the RMG sector in order to stimulate growth of the industry.

– See more at: http://www.dhakatribune.com/feature/2016/jan/20/seminar-held-sexual-and-reproductive-health-garment-workers#sthash.1Ppd85hL.dpuf

Syeda Samira Sadeque