life & style // 10

Stop HIV & hep C now

» What's up with my penis?

Andrea Arscott
Columnist

orget treading water

with this topic, let’s just
dive in. You're in the shower
rubbing yourself down with
pomegranate body wash, when
you discover a few little lumps
on your penis. You panic,
dry yourself off, and hustle
to the mirror to get a closer
look at your man parts. Yup,
something’s up down there,
and it’s not your penis. You
hope whatever it is will go away,
and you leave it for two weeks.
Guess what? The bumps spread.
You jump on your bike and
pedal as fast as you can to the
nearest medical clinic to save
the rest of your genitalia.

The doctor takes one look
and blurts, “Genital warts.”

He walks to the door and says,
“Wait right there, and we'll
freeze them off” Your eyes

pop out of your head, and you
want to shout, “Pardon?” but
the door slams in front of you.
The doctor comes back with a
steaming paper cup of nitrogen
oxide and a long cotton swab.
He reads terror on your face and :
provides some comfort, “It’s
nothing to worry about—it’s
very common. This will just
burn for a second.”

So, you got a sexually
transmitted infection (STI). Yes, :
it sucks because there’s no cure
for genital warts, which means
you have to either wait until

: they go away on their own, or

: get them treated whenever you
: experience an outbreak. But is

: it really the end of the world?

: It just means you have to use

: condoms, which you should be
: doing anyway, and avoid sexual
: contact during an outbreak.

: your partners. This part can

: be uncomfortable because,

: unfortunately, there are people

: out there who will turn you

: away as soon as they find out,

: but they’re doing you a favour

: because you don’t want to be

: with someone like that anyway.

: Ifyou have an STI, you simply

: have to take extra precautions,

: and if your honey bunny or your
: sweet pea really cares about

: you, they will stick around. You

: shouldn't feel ashamed, nor :
: should you be embarrassed. And :
: insist on wearing condoms. If

: they say “no,” just say, “Okay, do
: you want to watch TV or go fora
: walk then?” See what your horny :
: love monkey says to that. :

: and cuts make it easier for

: HIV to enter the body, and

: your immune system is already
: weakened by the STI.

: got warts on your testicles, a
: condom is not going to do any
: good—unless you can squeeze
: your entire scrotum into the

You should also tell

Remember that by wearing

Genital warts are spread by

: condom (please do not try this

: at home). These warts can grow
: on the outside or inside of the

: vagina, the penis, the rectum,

: and believe it or not, the throat
: (through oral sex); however, the
: BC Centre for Disease Control’s
: (BCCDC) website states that this
: is rare. Genital warts are caused
: by the human papillomavirus

: (HPV), but not all types of HPV
: cause warts, and some types

: cause cancer in women.

The good news: you can

: ask your doctor about the HPV

: vaccine, which according to the

: BCCDC, prevents 70 per cent

: of genital cancers and 90 per

: cent of genital warts. If you have
: multiple sex partners, you might
: want to get the vaccine sooner

: rather than later to protect

: yourself from being exposed

to the virus. Some teens may

: get the vaccine in high school
: before becoming sexually
: active to reduce the chances of

contracting the virus.
Stop HIV, STIs, and hep C

: : now. Wear a condom and get
: acondom, youve also protecting :
: yourself from HIV. If you have
: an STI, youre more susceptible
: to getting HIV because sores

tested for everything.
Come down to the Purpose

: Society testing clinic at 40

: Begbie Street in New West

: on the first and third Friday

: of the month from a.m. to1

: p.m. for anonymous and rapid
: HIV, STI, and HCV testing.

: : We also provide vaccines, free
: skin-to-skin contact, so if you've :
: condoms! You can also get your

: questions answered by emailing
: sexyquestions@purposesociety.

: org

harm reduction supplies, and

 

DIY for better, more awake eyes

» A few cheap tricks to help out any sleepy student

Brittney MacDonald
Staff Writer

A I watch both new and
veteran students file in
for the crowded fall semester,
it seems the early mornings
have taken their toll on many
unsuspecting faces. Gone are the :
summer days of lounging in bed :
till noon, but that doesn’t mean :
you have to look like it. Dark
circles are a pain in the butt,
especially if they’re genetic like
mine, but there are a few easy
tricks you can use to help banish :
them from your life. :
Many beauty brands are
now producing roller balls with
formulas that promise to de-
puff and conceal discolouration. :
Unfortunately, many of these
can be expensive—or worse, give !
you premature wrinkles as they

: dehydrate the skin and remove

: collagen. So to save my face, not
: to mention my wallet, Iscoured :
: YouTube for do-it-yourself tricks :
: that worked. :

: is to freeze two spoons. In

: the morning all you have to
: do is just place them under

: your eye to remove swelling.

: little to help the bruised

: colouring. So following beauty
: guru Michelle Phan’s advice, I
: soaked two cotton pads in green :
: frugal as me there’s a simple

: solution: go right to the source!
: Any health food store or GNC

: tea before freezing them. The
: chill still relieves the swelling of
: a puffy eye, but the added green

Of course the easiest way is

that just might be off the table
for a little while.
One of the simplest tricks

Unfortunately this does very

: tea also promotes blood flow,
: helping get rid of that stubborn

dark colour.
For people who have dark

: circles run in their family it

: : can bea little more difficult to
: to just get more sleep, but seeing :
: as some people don’t adjust toa
: new schedule as well as others,

relieve them. The best solution

: I have found is Vitamin K.

: Vitamin K promotes circulation,
: which will not only help with

: your dark circles but with your
: bruises as well. Unfortunately

: eye creams containing an

: adequate amount of Vitamin K
: tend to be really expensive; I’m
: talking in the couple hundred

: dollars range. That is certainly
: outside of the budget for most
: college and university students
: [ know.

So for anyone who’s as

theotherpress.ca

 

YouTube Beauty
Tutorial Classics

» Ten fab French-tip nail looks

Sophie Isbister

M lifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

Life & Style Editor

Ww better way to spice up your look for back to
s

chool than with some unique nail art? Nail maven
Meliney on YouTube posted this tutorial over a year ago, but
it remains a wealth of information on various French-tip
techniques that are easy to do and explained in simple, clear
terms. Nail care can be a way to de-stress and do something
for yourself amidst the hustle of the beginning of the

semester.

Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwsCTvYMt7E

: Nutrition can provide Vitamin
: K either through stock or

: customer order. The easiest to:
: work with is the gel caps, but the :
: regular capsules can be broken

: down just as easily. If using the

: gel caps, all you have to do is

: prick them with a pin and apply
: the liquid contents below your

: eyes before bed and wash it off

: in the morning.

If you choose the regular

: capsules, just crack open the

: pill and mix the vitamin powder
: into a small amount of baby oil.
: Using baby oil will avoid any

: irritation to your eyes, but still

: I would recommend avoiding

: getting it too close to your water :
: line. You might look a little

: frightening until morning, since
: the capsule’s contents can vary

: in colour depending on the

: brand you buy; but after a few

: days, you'll notice those dark
: circles begin to fade. After that,
: all you have to do is apply the

Vitamin K once ina while to

: make sure there’s no second-
: coming and you're good to go.

Now for my favourite

: solution! As pretty much all of

: these tricks have shown, the best
: way to get rid of dark circles is to
: promote blood flow. And one of
: the most enjoyable ways to help
: promote blood flow is drinking

: red wine. So if you can bear the

: switch from mojitos, and down

: a bottle or two with your friends
: in the name of beauty, it will be

: a worthwhile sacrifice.

Hopefully one of these

: tricks will help you in your

: quest to look less like a morning
: zombie, at least until you get

: that new sleep schedule under

: control.