Avoid Substance Abuse

Some college students experience significant pressure to use alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, especially when trying to make friends and become part of a group. Drinking among college students and on college campuses is more pervasive and destructive than many people may realize. Studies show that four out of five college students drink alcohol. One in five students report three or more binge drinking episodes in the prior two weeks; binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks for men and four or more for women within a short period of time. Alcohol consumption among persons aged 12–20 years contributes to the three leading causes of death (unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide) in this age group in the United States. It is associated with other health-risk behaviors, including high-risk sexual behavior, smoking, and physical fighting.

Quick Tips

Work with campus leaders to increase the availability of healthy activities and safe places on campus to meet with friends. If you are concerned about your or someone else's use of alcohol or other drugs, seek assistance from your parents, resident advisor, faculty advisor, student health/counseling services, or health care provider. Avoid second-hand smoke. It is just as harmful as if you were smoking yourself. Don’t drive after drinking or using drugs.

http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/

http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/collegestudents/

If you have concerns about drinking habits of yourself or others, please contact Student Health Services and we will assist you in finding the resources and the help that you need.  239-590-7966

Alcoholics Anonymous group meets at 8pm every Thursday in the Howard Hall conference room.

Reference:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012).  College Health and Safety.  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/family/college/

Definition:

 Domestic violence and emotional abuse are behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Partners may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or dating.

 Examples of abuse include: 

• name-calling or putdowns
• keeping a partner from contacting their family or friends
• withholding money
• stopping a partner from getting or keeping a job
• actual or threatened physical harm
• sexual assault
• stalking
• intimidation

Violence can be criminal and includes physical assault (hitting, pushing, shoving, etc.), sexual abuse (unwanted or forced sexual activity), and stalking. Although emotional, psychological and financial abuse are not criminal behaviors, they are forms of abuse and can lead to criminal violence.

The violence takes many forms and can happen all the time or once in a while. An important step to help yourself or someone you know in preventing or stopping violence is recognizing the warning signs listed on the "Violence Wheel."

ANYONE CAN BE A VICTIM! Victims can be of any age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment or marital status. Although both men and women can be abused, most victims are women. Children in homes where there is domestic violence are more likely to be abused and/or neglected. Most children in these homes know about the violence. Even if a child is not physically harmed, they may have emotional and behavior problems.

If you are being abused, REMEMBER:

1.You are not alone

2.It is not your fault

3.Help is available

Local and Online Resources:

http://studentservices.fgcu.edu/Healthservices/

http://www.nsvrc.org/

http://www.actabuse.com/ 

References:

Retrieved from http://www.domesticviolence.org/

Student Services offers Plan B emergency contraception for $15.00.  Use must schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider by calling Student Health Services.  You must provide Eagle ID at time of appointment.  Please review the Plan B website for detailed information regarding pill dosage and side effects. 

http://www.planbonestep.com/

Please visit the CDC for the most current information for this years flu virus.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

Good health means more that treating illnesses when they occur. It also means achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, getting optimal nutrition, exercising and staying fit, and taking steps to prevent disease. Taking control of your health and well- being gives you the best chance for living a full and rewarding life.

FGCU Student Health Services offers a range of prevention and wellness services.  We offer pap smears, physicals, eye exams, smoking cessation information, disease prevention information, immunizations, dietetic information, along with a  certified dietitian on site. 

Please contact Student Health Services at 239-590-7966 to make an appointment for a general checkup or to seek assistance from our dietitian.  Appointments at Student Health and with the dietitian are free of charge. 

Did you know that  a single mosquito bite can make you sick. Why take a chance? Use repellent on yourself, your friends and your family.

If you would like to know more about the West Nile Virus, please click on the following links:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/StopMosquitoes/

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factSheet.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/resources/wnv_transplant%20brochure6_12_07.pdf

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) targets the immune system and weakens people's surveillance and defense systems against infections and some types of cancer. As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune cells, infected individuals gradually become immunodeficient. Immunodeficiency results in increased susceptibility to a wide range of infections and diseases that people with healthy immune systems can fight off. The most advanced stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which can take 10-15 years to develop. This stage is defined by the development of certain cancers, infections, or other severe clinical manifestations.

Signs and symptoms

The symptoms of HIV vary depending on the stage of infection. Though people living with HIV tend to be most infectious in the first few months, many are unaware of their status until later stages. The first few weeks after initial infection, individuals may experience no symptoms or a flu-like illness including fever, headache, rash or sore throat.

As the infection progressively weakens the person's immune system, the individual can develop other signs and symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, fever, diarrhea and cough. Without treatment, they could also develop severe illnesses such as tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis, and cancers such as lymphomas and Kaposi's sarcoma, among others.

Transmission

HIV can be transmitted via unprotected and close contact with a variety of body fluids of infected individuals, such as blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal secretions. Individuals cannot become infected through ordinary day-to-day contact such as kissing, hugging, shaking hands, or sharing personal objects, food or water.

Examples of HIV transmission routes include:

• unprotected anal or vaginal sex with an HIV- infected partner;
• mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding;
• transfusion with HIV-infected blood products;
• sharing of contaminated injection equipment, tattooing, skin-piercing tools and surgical equipment.

 Risk factors

Behaviors and conditions that put individuals at greater risk of contracting HIV include:

• having unprotected anal or vaginal sex;
• having another sexually transmitted infection such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and bacterial vaginosis;
• sharing contaminated needles, syringes and other infected equipment and drug solutions for injection drug use;
• receiving unsafe injections, blood transfusions, medical procedures that involve unsterile cutting or piercing;
• experiencing accidental needle stick injuries, including among health workers.

Diagnosis

An HIV test reveals infection status by detecting the presence or absence of antibodies to HIV in the blood. Antibodies are produced by individuals' immune systems to fight off foreign pathogens. Most people have a "window period" of 3 to 12 weeks during which antibodies to HIV are still being produced and are not yet detectable. This early period of infection represents the time of greatest infectivity but transmission can occur during all stages of the infection. Retesting should be done after three months to confirm test results once sufficient time has passed for antibody production in infected individuals.

People must agree to be tested for HIV and appropriate counseling should be provided. HIV test results should be kept confidential, and everyone should receive post-test counseling and follow-up care, treatment and prevention measures as appropriate.

Confidential oral or blood testing for HIV is offered at SHS with an appointment by calling 239-590-7966 Monday through Friday.  Oral testing is free.

Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs360/en/index.html

Sexual Violence: 

http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/intimatepartnerviolence/index.html

http://www.nsvrc.org/

Sexual violence (SV) is any sexual act that is perpetrated against someone's will. SV encompasses a range of offenses, including a completed nonconsensual sex act (i.e., rape), an attempted nonconsensual sex act, abusive sexual contact (i.e., unwanted touching), and non-contact sexual abuse (e.g., threatened sexual violence, exhibitionism, verbal sexual harassment). These four types are defined in more detail below. All types involve victims who do not consent, or who are unable to consent or refuse to allow the act.

•A completed sex act is defined as contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus involving penetration, however slight; contact between the mouth and penis, vulva, or anus; or penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person by a hand, finger, or other object.

•An attempted (but not completed) sex act

•Abusive sexual contact is defined as intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person without his or her consent, or of a person who is unable to consent or refuse.

•Non-contact sexual abuse does not include physical contact of a sexual nature between the perpetrator and the victim. It includes acts such as voyeurism; intentional exposure of an individual to exhibitionism; unwanted exposure to pornography; verbal or behavioral sexual harassment; threats of sexual violence to accomplish some other end; or taking nude photographs of a sexual nature of another person without his or her consent or knowledge, or of a person who is unable to consent or refuse.

 Why is a Consistent Definition Important?

A consistent definition is needed to monitor the incidence of SV and examine trends over time. In addition, it helps determine the magnitude of SV and compare the problem across jurisdictions. A consistent definition also helps researchers measure risk and protective factors for victimization in a uniform manner. This ultimately informs prevention and intervention efforts.

Reference

Basile KC, Saltzman LE. Sexual violence surveillance: uniform definitions and recommended data elements version 1.0. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2002. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pub/SV_surveillance.html

Think an STD can’t happen to you?

Don’t be in the dark about your health.  Ten thousand young adults are infected by STDs every day; that’s one every eight seconds.

That’s why at the DOH we’ve unveiled a place where you can be kept out of the dark when it comes to STDs, yet can still remain anonymously “in the dark” when it comes to revealing your identity.

The site can help you find the must-knows of the diseases, locate an STD testing site nearby, and even anonymously tell a partner that you believe they may have been exposed to an STD to encourage them to get tested.

We hope you will use www.floridastd.com as a way to ditch the dark, and get the naked truth on STDs.

A message brought to you by the Florida Department of Health

BeTobaccoFree Website Can Help You Quit for Good

Please visit  BeTobaccoFree.hhs.gov.

For the podcast or transcript, go to: http://healthcare411.ahrq.gov/radiocastseg.aspx?id=1348&type=seg

Are You Travelling Outside of the Country? Please visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Traveller's Health website for the current required/recommnded vaccine information.