{{{Relationships}}}: What about the guys? Richard Tsong-Taatari, Star Tribune Desmond Grady, 21, works at the Freemont Clinic to raise awareness of sexually transmitted diseases among young men. Urine collected in plastic cups like these can be indicators of STD’s. News that one in four American teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease is only half the story, say frustrated health officials and sexuality educators. It’s time that boys shared the spotlight and the responsibility. In Minnesota, male-focused programs are ahead of the pack. By GAIL ROSENBLUM, Star Tribune Last update: April 4, 2008 - 6:15 PM Print this story E-mail this story Save to del.icio.us Share on newsvine Share on Digg Related Content For more information Young men and sexual behavior Want to reach boys? Then ... More from Family + Relationships Carolyn Hax: Deception not best lesson to teach kids Carolyn Hax: It’s time to confront suspicions of bias Carolyn Hax: It’s better to ask why before what next Girlfriend worries about prints charming Can midlife malaise lead to suicide? Most weekdays around 3 p.m., timed to the last high school bell of the day, Desmond Grady walks out of the Fremont Community Health Clinic in north Minneapolis and hits the streets. Over his shoulder he carries a plaid vinyl bag, packed with an unusual collection of items. Three years of experience have taught Grady, 21, how to nail a target within minutes: young men, some barely teenagers, alone or in groups. He wanders over, flashes his disarming smile and delivers his opener: "Want a condom?" Then his work begins -- quickly -- talking about pregnancy prevention, the scourge of sexually transmitted infections (time to pull out pictures of organs afflicted with gonorrhea and chlamydia), and how easy it is to be tested (he also happens to have several spare urine containers). As Grady works the streets, Lars Hansen takes a similar message indoors. A member of a Planned Parenthood-sponsored Teen Council, Hansen, 18, speaks to classrooms of middle school and high school students about safe sex and abstinence. Hansen and Grady know their message cannot be shouted too loudly, particularly in light of new findings from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that one in four American teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. In the black community, it’s one in two. But their focus isn’t girls. It’s guys. And a chorus of health officials and sexuality educators says it’s about time. "We have got to start talking about the males," said Lisa Turnham, director of educational programs for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. "The [CDC] study could easily have tested males and STDs, but it didn’t. It’s imperative that we start to pay attention to young men." Barriers aplenty The CDC study was the first of its kind, focusing on four common STDs in 838 girls ages 14 to 19: human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, genital herpes and trichomoniasis, a parasite. The overall rate of sexually transmitted disease (STD) was 26 percent, which extrapolates to about 3.2 million teenage girls nationwide carrying some kind of infection. Left untreated, HPV can cause cervical cancer. Chlamydia can lead to infertility. Antibiotics can treat chlamydia and trichomoniasis, and medications can control, if not cure, herpes outbreaks. A vaccine targeting several HPV strains is newly available. But girls must recognize symptoms, such as painful urination or abnormal discharge, and see a health care provider. And this is where the great gender divide begins. Most girls, from their early teens, view the doctor’s office as a routine and necessary checkpoint, a safe and largely feminine place to ask questions about their periods, get an annual physical exam including a Pap test (beginning at age 21 if not sexually active) or a birth control prescription. Most young men would rather have their wisdom teeth pulled without drugs than sit in a waiting area decorated with Mary Cassatt prints, waiting to get poked, prodded and possibly undressed for a checkup. So, except for the sports physical they get about once every three years, they don’t. "Unless they’re burning, leaking or dripping," they don’t see a doctor, said Fred Evans, community health coordinator at the Fremont Clinic, where Grady and other young people on the sex-ed fronts earn equal parts ribbing and respect from their peers. "It’s a macho image," Evans said. "It’s ’I can handle it myself.’" Generally, though, they can’t. Girls aren’t getting pregnant or infected by themselves. A recent sexual-intimacy study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy revealed that high school males are likelier than high school females to have sex (49 vs. 43 percent), boys are likelier than girls to have had four or more sexual partners (17 vs. 11 percent) and 55 percent of males ages 15 to 19 say they either have received or given oral sex, an act that many incorrectly believe is unconnected to disease transmission. The study offered a few surprises, too. Condom use was highest among 10th-grade males (69 percent) and lowest among 12th-grade males (60 percent). And males age 12 to 19 are slightly more likely than females the same age to report feeling pressured to have sex (82 vs. 79 percent). Clearly, young men need information. But unlike young women, who raise their hands and ask questions with relative ease, guys typically sit back and fidget, or turn their discomfort into a comedy act. "All the bone-headed things said [in classrooms] are said by the boys," Hansen said. "That’s why I got interested in educating them. The boys weren’t serious, and that made me mad." Grady agrees. It’s easy to single out the one guy to approach on his rounds, he said. "You can tell who he is," Grady says: "the loudmouth, the goof-off." Go where they go The key to getting young men to listen up, said Evans, is to go to their "hot spots." Alternative schools and youth centers, parks and parking lots, barbershops and basketball courts, even juvenile detention centers. Evans’ clinic is part of a collaborative effort to do just that. Called Seen on da Streets, it’s designed to target and educate young Minneapolis men about reproductive health. The five-year Streets program, funded with a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, began in 2003 and faced formidable challenges from the start. Nearly every young man contacted was sexually active, and most had multiple sexual partners in the previous six months. Condom use was inconsistent and one-fourth said they had not seen a doctor in the previous year. As the program wraps up, nearly 9,000 young men have been educated, most of them black and between the ages of 15 and 20. STD tests have increased 43 percent, with treatment administered to nearly every male testing positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia. Other big ideas Small changes can also make a big difference in how males approach their overall physical health, say health officials. Waiting rooms offering sports and music magazines and posters, and perhaps most important, male support staff, represent one new push. Some health providers are getting more aggressive when boys come in for their occasional sports physical, Turnham said. "We have made that [physical] so intense," she said. "This is an opportunity to get them and, with their consent, discuss prevention, testing and treatment." Male-focused leadership programs also pay dividends. Grady, for example, doesn’t just walk the streets using condoms as bait. He also has been trained to process the urine at the clinic himself before it’s shipped to Hennepin County Medical Center for testing. Then he’s back on the streets to deliver results and assistance. "My friends ask, ’How do you get that job?’" he said proudly. Hansen, too, is proud of his efforts educating his peers. "They want to learn. They wake up, stop sleeping in class." Around Minnesota While Minneapolis leads the way, other communities are also adjusting their focus to young males. A seven-session program titled "Sex 101" teaches male responsibility at Boys Totem Town, an intervention facility in St. Paul. In Duluth, 17-year-old Emil Green, a senior at Unity High School, serves on a youth-development and leadership council, similar to Hansen’s. Still, much of his outreach is done informally. "People at my school ask me questions all the time," said Green, who said he was appalled by the CDC findings. "They ask, ’How many condoms should I wear to stay safe?’ ’Can I get a pregnancy test?’ ’What is this STD?’ " Sometimes guys come to him seeking relationship advice that has nothing to do with sex. They just want to know how to get along with their girlfriends. He tries to help with that, too. "At first, I was a little nervous about the whole thing. Now I want them to know. After I tell them a little about how STDs spread, I’m pretty sure by the look on their faces that they hear me." And in Brainerd, Minn., the Wise Guyz program invites male teens to meet regularly to learn about healthy relationships and reproductive health. Progress is being made, but it’s not coming fast enough for Evans, who is working to create similar outreach to young Latino men. "Ten people in the state get the flu and we call it an epidemic," Evans said. "But this is an epidemic. This is a movement to create a healthier generation of youth." Gail Rosenblum • 612-673-7350 Continue to next page
Influences
SEEN ON DA STREETS PROVIDES OUTREACH IN COMMUNITY SETTINGS SUCH AS PARKS, STORE PARKING LOTS, CORNERS, ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY AGENCIES, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OTHER COMMUNITY VENUES. SEEN ON DA STREETS IS THE ONLY PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES LOW-COST AND FREE TESTING FOR GONORRHEA AND CHLAMYDIA IN OUTREACH SETTINGS. THIS ELIMINATES MANY OF THE BARRIERS THAT KEEP YOUNG MEN FROM BEING TESTED AND TREATED. AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE PROGRAM IS THAT OUTREACH IS PREFORMED BY TRAINED YOUTH ADVOCATES WHO ARE FROM THE COMMUNITES THEY SERVE. THAY HAVE A UNIQUE ABILITY TO GAIN TRUST AND RAPPORT WITH THE TARGET POPULATION, WHICH ENABLES THEM TO EFFECTIVELY PROVIDE HEALTH EDUCATION. THIS GIVES THE YOUNG MEN THEY SERVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS NECESSARY TO MAKE HEALTHY CHPICES ABOUT THEIR FUTURE. .."color:0066CC; font-family: ARIAL; font-size:16pt;">ABSOLUTELY FREE found this plain layout at HOTFreeLayouts.com :: MyHotComments
Who I'd like to meet:
SEEN ON DA STREETS TARGETS YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN AGES 14-24 IN NORTH AND SOUTH MPLS. INITIALLY, THE PROJECT FOCUSED ON AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES TO ADDRESS THE HEALT DISPARTIES EXPERIENCED BY THIS GROUP. NOW, THE PROGRAM IS EXPANDING TO SERVE OTHER RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS.CHLAMYDIA (SYMPTOMS CAN SHOW UP 7-28 DAYS AFTER HAVING SEX, MANY PEOPLE HAVE NO SYMPTOMS)- WOMEN SYMPTOMS: DISHARGE FROM THE VAGINA, BLEEDING FROM THE VAGINA BETWEEN PERIODS, BURNING OR PAINM WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE), THE NEED TO URINATE (PEE) MORE OFTEN, PAIN IN ABDOMEN SOMETIMES WITH FEVER AND NAUSEA. MEN: WATERY WHITE DRIP FROM THE PENIS, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE), NEED TO URINATE (PEE) MORE OFTEN, SWOLLEN OR TENDER TESICALS. THERE IS A TREATMENT FOR CHLAMYDIA.GENITAL WARTS- SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 1-8 MONTHS AFTER CONTACT WITH HPV, THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES GENITL WARTS. THINGS THAT MAY OCCUR; SMALL BUMPY WARTS ON THE SEX ORGANS OR ANUS, ITCHING AND BURNING AROUND THE SEX ORGANS. AFTER THE WARTS GO AWAY THE VIRUS SOMETIMES STAYS IN THE BODY. THE WARTS CAN COME BACK, THERE IS NO CURE FOR GENITAL WARTS. GONORRHEA (SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 2-21 DAYS AFTER HAVING SEX, MANY PEOPLE DONT HAVE SYMPTOMS)- WOMEN SYMPTOMS: THICK YELLOW OR GREY DISCHARGE FROM THE VAGINA, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE) OR HAVE A BOWEL MOVEMENT, ABNORMAL PERIODS OR BLEEDING BETWEEN PERIODS, CRAMPS AND PAIN IN THE LOWER ABDOMEN (BELLY). MEN: THICH YELLOW OR GREENISH DRIP FROM PENIS, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE) OR HAVE BOWEL MOVEMENT, NEED TO URINATE (pEE) MORE OFTEN, SWOLLEN OR TENDER TESICALS. THERE IS TREATMENT FOR GONORRHEA.HERPES- SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 1-30 DAYS OR LONGER AFTER HAVING SEX. SOME PEOPLE HAVE NO SYMPTOMS. SOME SYMPTOMS ARE; FLU-LIKE FEELING, SMALL PAINFUL BLISTERS ON THE SEX ORGANS OR MOUTH, ITCHING OR BURNING BEFORE THE BLISTERS APPEAR. THE BLISTERS LAST 1-3 WEEKS. BLISTERS GO AWAY, BUT YOU STILL HAVE HERPES. BLISTERS CAN STILL COME BACK, THERE IS NO CURE FOR HERPES ONLY SOMETHING THAT MAY BE ABLE TO CONTROL YOUR OUTBREAKS. SYPHILIS-THERE ARE TWO STAGES OF SYPHILIS STAGE 1:SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 1-12 WEEKS AFTER HAVING SEX. A PAINLESS SORE OR SORES ON THE MOUTH OR SEX ORGANS. SORES LAST 1-5 WEEKS. SORES GO AWAY, BUT YOU STILL HAVE SYPHILIS. STAGE 2: SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 1 WEEK TO 6 MONTHS AFTER SORES HEAL. A RASH ANYWHERE ON THE BODY. FLU-LIKE FEELINGS. RASH AND FLU-LIKE FEELINGS GO AWAY, BUT YOU STILL HAVE SYPHILIS.
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SEEN ON DA STREETS:::: PROVIDES OUTREACH IN COMMUNITY SETTINGS SUCH AS PARKS, STORE PARKING LOTS, CORNERS, ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY AGENCIES, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OTHER COMMUNITY VENUES. SEEN ON DA STREETS IS THE ONLY PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES LOW-COST AND FREE TESTING FOR GONORRHEA AND CHLAMYDIA IN OUTREACH SETTINGS. THIS ELIMINATES MANY OF THE BARRIERS THAT KEEP YOUNG MEN FROM BEING TESTED AND TREATED. AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE PROGRAM IS THAT OUTREACH IS PREFORMED BY TRAINED YOUTH ADVOCATES/COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS WHO ARE FROM THE COMMUNITES THEY SERVE. THAY HAVE A UNIQUE ABILITY TO GAIN TRUST WITH THE TARGET POPULATION, WHICH ENABLES THEM TO EFFECTIVELY PROVIDE HEALTH EDUCATION. THIS GIVES THE YOUNG MEN THEY SERVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS NECESSARY TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES ABOUT THEIR FUTURE.http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=55587@wcco.dayport.com ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Who I'd like to meet and educate:
SEEN ON DA STREETS TARGETS YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN AGES 14-24 IN NORTH, SOUTH AND NORTHEAST MPLS. INITIALLY, THE PROJECT FOCUSED ON AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES TO ADDRESS THE HEALTH DISPARTIES EXPERIENCED BY THIS GROUP. NOW, THE PROGRAM IS EXPANDING TO SERVE OTHER RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................{{{CHLAMYDIA}}}...... (SYMPTOMS CAN SHOW UP 7-28 DAYS AFTER HAVING SEX, MANY PEOPLE HAVE NO SYMPTOMS)- WOMEN SYMPTOMS: DISHARGE FROM THE VAGINA, BLEEDING FROM THE VAGINA BETWEEN PERIODS, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE), THE NEED TO URINATE (PEE) MORE OFTEN, PAIN IN ABDOMEN SOMETIMES WITH FEVER AND NAUSEA. MEN: WATERY WHITE DRIP FROM THE PENIS, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE), NEED TO URINATE (PEE) MORE OFTEN, SWOLLEN OR TENDER TESICALS. {{{THERE IS A TREATMENT FOR CHLAMYDIA}}}...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................{{{GENITAL WARTS}}}- SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 1-8 MONTHS AFTER CONTACT WITH HPV, THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES GENITL WARTS. THINGS THAT MAY OCCUR; SMALL BUMPY WARTS ON THE SEX ORGANS OR ANUS, ITCHING AND BURNING AROUND THE SEX ORGANS. AFTER THE WARTS GO AWAY THE VIRUS SOMETIMES STAYS IN THE BODY. THE WARTS CAN COME BACK, {{{THERE IS A CURE FOR GENITAL WARTS}}}................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................{{{GONORRHEA}}} (SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 2-21 DAYS AFTER HAVING SEX, MANY PEOPLE DONT HAVE SYMPTOMS)- WOMEN SYMPTOMS: THICK YELLOW OR GREY DISCHARGE FROM THE VAGINA, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE) OR HAVE A BOWEL MOVEMENT, ABNORMAL PERIODS OR BLEEDING BETWEEN PERIODS, CRAMPS AND PAIN IN THE LOWER ABDOMEN (BELLY). MEN: THICH YELLOW OR GREENISH DRIP FROM PENIS, BURNING OR PAIN WHEN YOU URINATE (PEE) OR HAVE BOWEL MOVEMENT, NEED TO URINATE (PEE) MORE OFTEN, SWOLLEN OR TENDER TESICALS.{{{THERE IS TREATMENT FOR GONORRHEA}}}.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................{{{HERPES}}}- SYMPTOMS SHOW UP 1-30 DAYS OR LONGER AFTER HAVING SEX. SOME PEOPLE HAVE NO SYMPTOMS. SOME SYMPTOMS ARE; FLU-LIKE FEELING, SMALL PAINFUL BLISTERS ON THE SEX ORGANS OR MOUTH, ITCHING OR BURNING BEFORE THE BLISTERS APPEAR. THE BLISTERS LAST 1-3 WEEKS. BLISTERS GO AWAY, BUT YOU STILL HAVE HERPES. BLISTERS CAN STILL COME BACK, {{{THERE IS NO CURE FOR HERPES}}}..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................{{{SYPHILIS}}}**HAS FOUR STAGES**PRIMARY,SECONDARY,LATAENT, AND LATE.......
1.PRIMARY STAGE:***PAINLESS SORE CALLED A "CHANCRE" IT APPEARS NEAR THE SITE OF SEXUAL CONTACT.
***SORE MAY BE *HARD* AND *RED RIMMED* OR MAY LOOK LIKE A *PIMPLE*.
***A WOMAN MAY NOT NOTICE THE SORE BECAUSE IT IS INSIDE THE VAGINA OR ON THE CERVIX AND THE SORE DOESN'T HURT
***SORE WILL DISAPPEAR ON ITS OWN,BUT THE DISEASE IS NOT CURED{{{SYMPTOMS APPEAR FROM 1 WEEK TO 3 MONTHS AFTER EXPOSURE}}}........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2.SECONDARY STAGE***RASH APPEARS, USUALLY ON PALMS OF HANDS OR SOLES OF FEET.
***MAY HAVE FEVER, SORE THROAT,HEADACHE,SORE MOUTH,LOSS OF APPETITE AND INFLAMED EYES.SORES MAY APPEAR AROUND THE GENITALS. {{{SYMPTOMS APPEAR FROM 1 WEEK TO 6 MONTHS AFTER FIRST SORE IS HEALD}}}.................................................................................................................................................................................................................
3.LATENT STAGE***MOST SYMPTOMS GO AWAY, DUT THE DISEASE IS NOT GONE UNLESS IT HAS BEEN TREATED.
***NO OUTWORD SYMPTOMS DURING THE LATENT STAGE.
***LATENT STAGE MAY LAST UP TO 10 TO 20 YEARS, ALSO YOU MAY DEVELOP HEART PROBLEMS, BRAIN DISEASE AND BLINDNESS MAY DEVELOP.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4.LATE STAGE***VERY SERIOUS HEART PROBLEMS LIKE HEART DISEASE,BRAIN DISEASE, BLINDNESS MAY ALSO DEVELOP...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AIDS/HIV:
AIDS (Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome) was discovered in 1981, in five homosexual men in Los Angeles. Originally they dubbed the disease as a Gay-Related Immune Deficiency; later finding out that nearly half the people reported with the syndrome were not homosexual. Later scientists found the virus that caused AIDS and called it HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus).
HIV can be transmitted through sex, blood, or mother-to-child. Also, sharing needles with someone who is infected with HIV or AIDS puts you at high risk of becoming infected.
HIV causes damage to your immune system; making it easier to get infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Some symptoms of infection are fevers, sweats, swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss. Cancer is more easily developed in someone with AIDS. Common cancer's developed in people with AIDS are: Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer and cancer of the immune systems are called lymphomas.
As of now there is no cure to AIDS. The estimated survival time of someone infected with AIDS after diagnosis is more than 5 years. Without any treatment at all, death normally occurs within one year. New treatments are developing and the estimated survival time is expected to change.
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