life & style // 10

Stop HIV & hep C now

» Are you positive youre negative?

Andrea Arscott Contributor

I: disappointing to hear that some people out there are still of the opinion that HIV and hep C safety doesn’t apply to them. This type of thinking puts themselves and others at risk. Wake up, and get a whiff of this: if you’ve ever had sex (with or without a condom), or if you've ever had unprotected oral sex without talking about sexually transmitted infections

you may find yourself lying ina bed of thorns.

HIV does not discriminate, and the only way to know

doesn’t know the answer or hasn't been tested since having sex with others, take responsibility, and go get tested together before doing anything you might both regret.

I work in an HIV and hep C program, and when I do workshops on these topics,

: participants sometimes say,

: “I wish I had known that 20

: years ago.” If they were better : informed, maybe they could

: have prevented their illnesses. : Don’t wait a decade or two to

: learn about something you

: could’ve stopped. If you're going : : to have sex, take ownership

: of your sexual health and get : tested.

There are several different

: ways to find out if you're HIV- : positive, and it’s wise to have

: atest at least once a year if

: youre engaging in activities (STIs) prior to rolling in the hay, : that involve swapping blood or : sexual fluids. Simply make an

: appointment with your doctor, : visit a youth, drop-in, or STI

: clinic, or go to a public health

whether or not someone is HIV- ? unit during testing hours. Be

positive is to ask. If your partner specific and name the STIs : and illnesses you want to be

: checked for.

The doctor or nurse will

: visit.) This particular test looks : for HIV antibodies in your body, : : which would indicate the virus : isin your system. If you prefer, : have the test done anonymously : : by attaching a fake name or : : numbered code to your blood

sample. Choosing this method

: allows you to phone in for the : results with your fictitious : Name.

Accessing the public health

: unit is your best option if you : don’t want to wait a week or two : : for the outcome. The nurses

: offer point-of-care rapid HIV

: testing, in which a nurse pricks : your finger to obtain a drop of

: blood. The benefit: you get the

: results in 10 to 20 minutes. This : : test also works by detecting HIV : : antibodies in your system. :

If the results are positive

: for either test, you'll have to : test again to get an accurate : : reading. There’s a one to six : draw blood from your arm, send : : it to the lab for testing, and

: call you with the results within : two weeks. (They may instead : require you to call them,

: depending on the clinic you

month window period to take

: into consideration for HIV.

: This means that the test will

: only reveal if you contracted

: HIV from sexual partners from : one month to six months ago

PC not running like it should?

» Six things to improve computer performance

Mark Hendricks The Omega

Rvs knows the pain of a slow computer. When your once fast computer turns into a sluggish beast it can be incredibly frustrating.

Here are some tips for you on things you can try if your computer is running slowly before taking it in and handing it over to tech support.

Check for unwanted programs. Many times when you're downloading free files they'll come with attachments; even when declining all the optional extras witha

may still appear. Having too many of these can really choke a computer’s performance. Try AdwCleaner for a good free adware cleaner that should help remove any unwanted programs.

Clean your registry and cookies. Temporary files, like cookies, which are designed to track where you've been on the Internet, can eventually bog

cleaning of your cookies and your registry can help keep

: things like new. CCleaner is

: a good free cleaning program : that can remove these files

: easily.

Defragment your

: hard drive. Defragmenting

: your hard drive regularly is

: important. You can think

: of defragmenting as your

: computer doing a sorting of

: its files. Your computer will

: reorganize your files’ position

: on your hard drive into the

: tightest space, removing all

: the excess space between

: caused by files being added :

: and deleted. This will help your :

: computer more quickly access

: the needed files. Defraggler is

download, unwanted programs : 4 good free defragmentation : program that works faster

: than your computer’s default

: defragmenter.

Get rid of your start-up

: programs. Your computer

: has a large list of programs

: that it will launch at start-

: up. Each of these programs

: will not only slow down the

: start-up process but also

: rob a bit of your computer’s

: performance when running. To : stop this from happening, run down your computer. A regular MSConfig and go to the start- : up tab. From there you can

: uncheck anything you don’t

: want running. Most of these

: programs are safe to remove,

: especially updaters which

: will run when you launch the : application anyways.

Clean up your desktop.

: This won't help your computer : run faster, but will help it start : up faster. Every icon you have

: on your desktop is one more

: thing your computer has to

: load every time it boots up.

: Even organizing your desktop : files into folders will help your : computer start faster.

Regularly shut down

: your computer. Leaving your : computer running constantly : can result in a build-up of

: background files which will

: eventually drain your system

: performance. It’s not a

: guaranteed fix, but it’s a good : habit to get into to keep your

: computer running well.

These are just a few things

: that are easy to try yourself

: before resorting to bringing

: your computer in and paying

: for someone to look at it. You : can also find detailed tutorials : of how to do all of these

: suggestions online if you're

: still confused. Google is your

: friend.

: and before—not from recent

dates. You'll also need to have a

positive that you're negative). Now, let’s say you discover

that you’re HIV-positive. This : in no way Means you give up

: on life. People can live long

: and happy lives with HIV. If

: you take care of your health

: and start treatment when

: your doctor advises, you can

survive 50 plus years and live

: longer than if you had cancer or : : another illness. One may also

: show no symptoms of HIV and : feel healthy for years.

Once an HIV diagnosis is

: made, you'll need to contact

anyone you may have put at

: risk. If you'd rather not make : these phone calls, a public

: health nurse can make them for : : you. She will contact previous : partners, tell them they’ve been : : exposed to HIV and that they : need to get checked out. The

: nurse will not disclose your

: name or information. Another : option is to use inspot.org to

: send an anonymous e-card

theotherpress.ca

: to notify previous partners

: that they’ve been exposed to : second screening if the first one : : comes out negative (just to be

an STI. If you pass an STI on

: tosomeone else, that person

: may not have symptoms for

: months, but can transmit the

: STI to others because they are : considered a carrier. This is

: why it’s important to notify

: previous lovers—and also why : it’s especially important to get : tested even if you think you

: might be negative.

My message is simple: get tested; know your status; and

: stop the spread of hep C, HIV, : and other STIs.

Get tested for hep C,

: HIV, and STIs at the New

: Westminster Health Unit at 218- : 610 Sixth Street in Royal City

: Mall the 3rd Thursday of the

: month from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. or

the ist Wednesday of the month

: from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Ask for

free condoms! You can also

: get your questions answered : by emailing sexyquestions@ : purposesociety.org

YouTube Beauty Tutorial Classics

» Zoella’s How To: Messy Bun

Sophie Isbister Life & Style Editor Mlifeandstyle @theotherpress.ca

lassic summertime problem: youTe going to the beach or

lake and you don’t want to wash your hair because heck, it’s just going to get dirty again anyway. That’s where this chic messy bun tutorial comes in. Zoella, an adorable British YouTuber, has been doing beauty tutorials since 2009—this one will have you fun-in-the-sunning in under six minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8dI6PSpOXE