health

The rising cost of contraception on college campuses

Posted by Rob on Nov 28, 2007 - 01:59 pm

The New York Times reported last week that the price of contraception at college health centers has risen significantly as a result of changes in federal law. College health clinics used to receive contraceptives at a drastically discounted price. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.

Some college clinics have reported sudden drops in the numbers of contraceptives sold; students have reported switching to less expensive contraceptives or considering alternatives like the so-called morning-after pill; and some clinics, including one at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Me., have stopped stocking some prescription contraceptives, saying they are too expensive.

Wake’s Student Health website doesn’t say anything about the cost of obtaining preventive contraceptives like the birth control pill. It does say, however, that emergency contraception, aka the “morning-after pill” or “Plan B,” can be obtained for $25.

Tags: health, science, contraception, | 1 Comment

pregame the gym with some Sexual Chocolate...

Exercise + Alcohol = Healthy?!?

Posted by Kelly on Jan 28, 2008 - 11:13 pm

So we’ve all heard that a glass of red wine is good for your heart, but new research from Denmark (are you surprised? nah) show some surprising new findings.

People who don’t drink at all and don’t exercise had the highest risk of heart disease. People who drink moderately and exercise had a 50% lower risk. Teetotaling exercisers had a 30% decreased risk, as did moderately drinking couch potatoes. “There’s an additional protective effect to doing both,” says Gronbaek. “That’s the new finding.”

People who drank (in moderation) had the same health benefits of those who only exercised.  Do both and you have cut your risk of heart disease in half!!  There also benefits for diabetes and stroke recovery.  Unfortunately, the research found that the benefits of alcohol consumption are mostly applicable to those at risk for heart disease, people over age 45. 
But no one’s saying we can’t practice, right?

Tags: health, research, alcohol, | Comment

We’re the sickest school ever!

Posted by Lizzie on Feb 08, 2008 - 05:08 pm

Wake Forest is the big winner of the Tobacco Road Flu Epidemic challenge. Go Deacs!

U.S. News and World Report’s Web site notes an “outbreak of outbreaks” of influenza on college campuses around the country. They’ve got bad cases at Duke, Chapel Hill and NC State, too, “but apparently none worse than” us. Two-hundred and sixty people were diagnosed here in ten days. That means that someone was diagnosed every 55 minutes. So look around the room at the end of class. If the other kids in there don’t have the flu, chances are you do.

But at least we’re not Kansas State, where they’ve had 2,000 students with it at the health center in three weeks. You can read about more schools being infested with sick people ... No. Stop reading this and go get a flu shot.

Tags: health, flu, tobacco+road, | Comment

Flu Still Strong in NC

Posted by Kelly on Feb 21, 2008 - 05:35 pm

According to the Winston Salem Journal, the flu epidemic that hit Wake Forest in the past month has not shown any signs of slowing down.  Across the state the cases have risen for the third week in a row, up from 5.2 percent last week.

The N.C. Division of Public Health reported that nearly 5.7 percent of patients examined by the 76 participants in the N.C. Influenza Sentinel Surveillance program had flu symptoms during the week that ended Feb. 16.

Flu vaccinations are still available and can be found in the ‘alerts’ section at www.nccarelink.gov

Tags: health, flu, | Comment

Put down the phone if you want to have kids

Posted by Kelly on Mar 07, 2008 - 05:13 pm

A fertility clinic has found a relationship between men’s cell phone use and low sperm count.  The electromagnetic radiation has been proposed to cause brain tumors, but that is under much scrutiny.  Even with this finding, there is no proof that cell phone use CAUSES poor sperm quality, but there seems to be an undeniable relationship.

In general, the researchers found, sperm count and sperm quality tended to decline as daily cell phone hours increased. Men who said they used their phones for more than four hours each day had the lowest average sperm count and the fewest normal, viable sperm.

So put down the phone!  Researchers may be unable to prove causation at the present time, but that doesn’t mean they won’t prove it eventually.  There’s so much we don’t know about technology, so it’s best to watch out for yourself and your little swimmers. 

Tags: sex, health, technology, | Comment