Size matters to some men
STRETCH a point and take seriously men’s concerns about penis size.
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sexual health
The following articles have the tag sexual health
Delivering male-friendly care
Making your practice male-friendly is important to men’s health.
Stigma limits heterosexuals’ HIV treatment
HETEROSEXUAL people living with HIV in Australia feel more stigmatised than homosexuals, research has found.
HIV rapid tests in practice
NEW rapid tests are set to overcome barriers to HIV diagnosis.
Serial monogamy starts with the young, study finds
PARTNER acquisition starts at a fairly high level among teenagers and peaks in the 20s, according to an analysis of Australian data on health and relationships.
High cervical cancer rates among Melanesian women
DESPITE having a cervical cancer screening program, participation by women in Fiji is only about 8%, a study shows.
Five things to consider in haematospermia
BLOOD in the ejaculate is usually self-limiting and rarely malignant.
Dramatic drop in genital warts after HPV vax
NEW data shows genital wart diagnoses fell by 93% in women vaccinated against human papillomavirus, demonstrating the extraordinary success of Australia’s national HPV vaccination program.
A musical weapon to spread health awareness
HIP hop music may be the last thing most people associate with primary health care reform but for one Medicare Local (ML) it’s the best way to get public health messages where they are needed.
HPV vax improves attitude to safe sex
AUSTRALIAN research has countered the view that vaccinating young women against human papillomavirus (HPV) could encourage risky sexual behaviour.
Non-doctor banned for forging scripts
A MAN with no medical qualifications who forged prescriptions to get erectile dysfunction treatments for paying clients has been banned from working in the healthcare industry for life.
A radical solution
There are moves overseas to pay addicts to be sterilised. Shades of Nazism – or just good sense?
Fertility fears as laptops turn up the heat
LAPTOP computers may have been a technological breakthrough but this may have come at the price of sperm, a new study suggests. New York researchers have found that regardless of how the laptop is placed on the lap, and whether or not a protective pad is used, laptops significantly turn up the heat on men’s testicles. With high scrotal temperatures linked to infertility, the study has raised fears for the future of men’s reproductive health and prompted calls for the development of new protective devices. The researchers, after studying 29 male laptop users, concluded that “prevention ...
Vanity beats sex in hair loss therapy
HAIR loss drug finasteride improves hair growth in men who have androgenetic alopecia, but erectile dysfunction can be a downside, according to a systematic review. The review considered 12 studies involving close to 4000 men and found those who reported daily use of one to five mg of finasteride had an improvement in hair count compared with placebo for both short (less than 12 months) or long-term use (24 months or more). “Moderate quality evidence suggests that daily use of oral finasteride increases hair count and improves patient and investigator assessment of hair appearance,” the authors said. ...
Rise in heterosexual spread of HIV reignites circumcision debate
AUSTRALIA should recommend routine circumcision as the cornerstone of strategies to prevent rising heterosexual transmission of HIV, public health experts say. According to the 2009 Annual Surveillance Report on HIV/AIDS, newly diagnosed cases resulting from heterosexual contact have steadily increased from 9% in 1999 to 27% in 2008, prompting a call to address the problem. In a recent editorial in the MJA, three experts say the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ (RACP) policy on infant male circumcision is the major obstacle to boosting circumcision. The editorial was written by Professor David Cooper, director of the National ...
When three is not a crowd
When are chaperones appropriate in consultations?
Tanzania offers cash to sti-free citizens
CASH rewards could be an effective incentive to combat the STI epidemic in rural Africa. Research presented at the recent International AIDS Conference in Vienna, showed there was a 25% reduction in the rate of STIs when people were offered cash incentives of up to $US60 ($67) to remain free of STIs. The study saw 2399 adults – aged 18 to 30 years – from 10 villages in southwestern Tanzania, randomised to no payment, or to receive $US10 ($11) or US$20 ($22) every four months if they tested negative for curable STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. ...
US paediatricians backflip on female ritual cuts
THE American Academy of Pediatrics has retracted a controversial statement that many experts believed had endorsed female genital cutting. The academy’s Committee of Bioethics precipitated wide-spread criticism after releasing a statement earlier this year that suggested performing a “ritual nick” in which the clitoral skin is incised could satisfy ceremonial aspects of the tradition. The statement suggested that such an act was “no more of an alteration than ear piercing”. Tania Bien-Aimé, president of the human rights organisation Equality Now, which focuses on girls and women, said the statement had defied decades of hard work to ...
British doctors call for end to ‘gay fix’ therapy
THE British Medical Association (BMA) has called for the National Health System (NHS) to stop funding “discredited” conversion therapy designed to modify the sexual orientation of homosexual people. A systematic review conducted by the American Psychological Association last year concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation. A 2009 survey of British psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists revealed that as many as 40% of conversion therapy treatments were funded by the NHS, despite homosexuality not being a DSM-IV listed condition. Dr Tony Calland, head of the BMA’s ethics committee, ...
Sun, sand, surf and sex…
Holidays can have unplanned consequences for some.
Teenagers clueless on HPV’s link to cancer
EVEN sexually active high school students appear to have little knowledge of HPV and its relationship with genital warts and cervical cancer. With the emphasis on immunisation against cervical cancer, an opportunity may have been missed to bring about greater understanding of HPV as an STI, researchers suggest. Three thousand students from 105 Australian public and independent schools took part in a government-funded survey, which found only a third had heard of HPV. Girls were much more likely than boys (43% vs 19%) to be aware of the virus, and that was largely because of the ...
Pharmacy-based program aims to curtail chlamydia
YOUNG Canberrans are being targeted by a new pharmacy-based community health initiative aimed at educating them about chlamydia with a view to eradicating the disease. The program is a collaboration between the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute and the Canberra Sexual Health Centre. People aged 16 to 30, particularly those seeking contraception, who present to one of six community pharmacies taking part in the trial will be asked if they want to provide a urine sample. The sample will be sent to an ACT laboratory for testing, and the results sent to the Canberra Sexual Health ...
HIV education to support GPs in managing patients
THE Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM) last week outlined plans to take national a pilot project that promises to provide GPs with better information and support in managing HIV-positive patients, along with strengthened links to local HIV specialists. The project is currently underway in NSW and Western Australia. The scheme provides doctors with a web link on HIV pathology reports and directs GPs to detailed information on clinical management, legal responsibilities and contact tracing. Laboratories will also offer GPs access to a local ASHM doctor who can discuss treatment options and provide tips on counselling patients. ...
Circumcision benefit small against sexually transmitted infections
CIRCUMCISION may confer only minimal protection against STIs, Australian research shows. A cross-sectional survey investigated circumcision and its impact on sexual health in 4290 Australian men aged 16–64. Just over half were circumcised. After adjustment for age and number of partners, circumcision was unrelated to self-reported STI prevalence, except for circumcised men having a higher risk of non-specific urethritis and a lower incidence of penile candidiasis. And while previous Australian survey results had suggested circumcision might protect against erection problems, the present study found little difference in erectile dysfunction. “[Circumcision] appears to have minimal protective effects ...
Canadian schools use online game for sex-ed
A new online game called Adventures in Sex City has been launched in Canada to provide sexual health education and help curb rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases among young people. The Middlesex-London Health Unit in London, Ontario, has allowed youth to develop the game ( www.getitonlondon.com ) in which the Sex Squad, comprising cartoon superheroes with names like Captain Condom, Willy the Kid and Wonder Vag, battle the evil Sperminator, who’s bent on infecting city residents. Participants have to correctly answer sexual health questions to conquer the Sperminator while receiving instructions from Myth Maniac, the squad’s mysterious ally about ...
PCR tests needed to detect causes of cervicitis
2009 Australasian Sexual Health Conference, Brisbane CLINICIANS need to consider a wider range of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with research revealing higher-than-expected prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium and Trichomonas vaginalis in women attending urban STI clinics. Dr Josephine Lusk, a specialist at St George Hospital in Sydney, said a prospective study of more than 400 women found the prevalence of M. genitalium was 4%, similar to the prevalence of chlamydia. T. vaginalis was another organism with a low profile but emerging evidence indicated it was associated with non-specific cervicitis, ...
Focus on hepatitis in new sexual health strategy
AUSTRALIA’S revamped sexual health strategy is a step closer, with a new draft calling for GPs to have a much bigger role in managing hepatitis C. Five draft documents prepared for public discussion cover HIV, STIs, hepatitis C and Indigenous-specific issues. For the first time, there is also a dedicated strategy on hepatitis B. A failure to adequately implement the National Hepatitis C Testing Policy has led to some patients mistakenly believing they have the disease, while others remain undiagnosed, the draft strategy warns. The consultation paper called for more confirmatory PCR testing for people ...