Monthly Archives: May 2012

Learn To Use An Epi-Pen And Save A Life

Posted by insidefirst on

Here we have a very important message from our good friend The Healthy Bear:

Hey there Guys,

Today I wanted to share a video that I have created to help teach people how you can save a life if someone is having a severe allergic reaction.

To reinforce the main points of the video:

To reinforce the main points of the video:

Important Signs Of A Life Threatening Allergic Reaction

  • Difficult/noisy breathing
  • Swelling of tongue
  • Swelling/tightness in throat
  • Difficulty talking and/or hoarse voice
  • Wheeze or persistent cough
  • Persistent dizziness or collapse
  • Pale and floppy (in young children)

If this person has an Epi-Pen™, follow along with this info graphic from Allergy Australia:

May 19 is National Hepatitis Testing Day: San Francisco AIDS Foundation Syringe Access

Posted by insidefirst on

May 19 is National Hepatitis Testing Day. Roughly 25% of people living with HIV are also living with Hep C (and 80% of these people are injection drug users). Did you know we offer Hep C testing through our Syringe Access program?

San Francisco AIDS Foundation has provided street-based syringe access services to injecting drug users (IDUs) since 1993.

The syringe access program currently has 11 sites a week and is one of the nation’s largest programs, providing more than 2.3 million clean syringes a year.  The program is driven by more than 80 volunteers.

Not only does the syringe access program provide safer injection supplies, it also offers community-based services such as HIV testing, drug treatment referrals and medical care.

Looking for syringe access sites?

See the schedule

Interested in volunteering?

Read more, or just go to our online registration form and tell us about yourself!

Want or need other information?

Check the Frequently Asked Questions page, call (415) 241-5100 or email us at hpp@sfaf.org.

The Stigma Project: Neutralize Stigma Associated with HIV Through Education Via Social Media and Networking

Posted by insidefirst on

If you’re still refusing to kiss someone merely because of their status you don’t know HIV. Saliva alone does not contain a sufficient amount of the virus. So unless both individuals have bloody gums or open sores in their mouth there is no transmission risk from playing a little tonsil hockey. Now pucker up and LIKE The Stigma Project on Facebook!

A grassroots organization that aims to lower the HIV infection rate and neutralize stigma through education via social media and networking.
Mission

The Stigma Project seeks to create an HIV neutral world, free of judgement and fear by working with both positive and negative individuals from all walks of life, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race, or background. We aim to lower the HIV infection rate by defeating the stigma that strengthens it.

Description
It’s (Y)OURS ± We strongly encourage you to not only LIKE our page but SHARE our posts and creative materials!

In order to succeed in our mission (above) we need visibility from both sides of the spectrum. So whether your HIV-positive or HIV-negative, you should to be informed of the constantly evolving state of HIV/AIDS. We’re here to help! We ask that you join us in our attempt to defeat stigma and educate the world. Join the neutral revolution!

Check out more info  www.thestigmaproject.org

FDA Review Favors First Drug for HIV Prevention

Posted by insidefirst on

WASHINGTON — A pill that has long been used to treat HIV has moved one step closer to becoming the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that Gilead Sciences’ Truvada appears to be safe and effective for HIV prevention. It concluded that taking the pill daily could spare patients “infection with a serious and life-threatening illness that requires lifelong treatment.” Continue reading →

NFL Needs a New Mental Health Perspective: Suicide of Junior Seau

Posted by insidefirst on

Junior Seau’s suicide has sparked an incredible amount of debate about the mental health ramifications of being a long term football player. Gary Plummer, Seau’s former teammate, had this to say on the matter:

They said a Grade 3 concussion meant you were knocked out, and a Grade 1 meant you were seeing stars after a hit, which made me burst out in laughter. As a middle linebacker in the NFL, if you don’t have five of these [Grade 1 effects] each game, you were inactive the next game. Junior played for 20 years. That’s five concussions a game, easily. How many in his career then? That’s over 1,500 concussions. I know that’s startling, but I know it’s true. I had over 1,000 in my 15 years. I felt the effects of it. I felt depression going on throughout my divorce. Junior went through it with his divorce.

As noted the other day, Seau’s family has agreed to allow his brain to be studiedto a find link between repetitive brain injuries and depression. Via 

[shortformblogr]

Laughter Yoga: Can Happiness Heal?

Posted by insidefirst on

When it comes to laughter yoga, faking it ‘til you make it is just fine.

At least, that’s what Vishwa Prakash said at the start of the session that HuffPost’s health news editor Amanda Chan and I wandered into recently.

It was one of a few guidelines Prakash offered, as well as keeping our eyes locked on our fellow attendees, some 20 men and women dressed in street clothes and standing in a circle in his textile design company’s midtown Manhattan offices.

Continue reading →