Health
Take Charge of Your Sexual Health: Get Tested
Young people encouraged to get tested for STDs
April is sexually transmitted disease (STD) awareness month. It is essential to know about STDs and how prevention and testing is critical to overall health.
However, STD Awareness Month is not just about awareness but also about action. Bay Area health officials, including those in Marin County, are urging everyone who is sexually active, especially young people, to take charge of their sexual health. Young people and men who have sex with men are at particular risk and should get tested more often.
STD testing is now more crucial than ever because rates are continuing to rise, increasing steadily in Marin and statewide since 2013. Rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis continue to grow, and syphilis has re-emerged as a significant public health concern. In California, 283 infants were born with syphilis in 2017.
Chlamydia, the most common STD in California, is easily preventable and treatable but can cause serious health problems such as infertility if left untreated. In Marin, between 2013 and 2017, chlamydia rates almost doubled, going from 405 cases to 757 annual cases. Most of these cases are in young women. National statistics estimate that one out of every two young people will have an STD before age 25.
“Quite often, someone can have an STD and not show any symptoms. The only way to stop the ongoing spread of STDs is for more people to get checked regularly and encourage their partners to get checked as well,” said Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin’s Deputy Public Health Officer. “Young women get tested routinely when they seek reproductive health care and birth control, but not enough young men seek the preventative care that they need.”
In Marin, there are many partners taking action to make sure everyone in the community has access to health care. The Marin Community Clinics (MCC) recently launched a drop-in STD clinic on Mondays and Thursday evenings from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 3260 Kerner Ave. in San Rafael. Additionally, it partners with local agencies such as Huckleberry Youth Programs, North Bay Community Services in Novato, and the School Wellness Centers in the Tamalpais Union High School District to bring health services to teens.
In an ideal world, everyone who needs STD checks would be routinely engaged in care, have insurance, and be able to approach the subject of sexual health with ease. However, there are many barriers to people obtaining health care and seeking preventative care including racial inequity, poverty, and stigma. In the case of an untreated STD, there can be some severe consequences.
Fortunately, there are many tools besides testing to prevent STDs, including HIV. Young people can get vaccinated for human papillomavirus virus (HPV), which is the most common STD and can cause cervical cancer. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), consisting of taking one pill a day, effectively prevents HIV. Additionally, practicing safe sex, using condoms and talking to partners about sexual health, are tried and accurate methods of STD and HIV prevention.
In Marin County, the Family Pact Program provides STD services free of charge. More information about health care services are at the HHS website.
Community
Calif. Dept. of Public Health: Got Milk Allergies? Don’t Eat Dave’s Bakery Cornbread
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.” The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.
By California Black Media
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.”
The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.
“This warning applies only to the Corn Bread produced by Bake R Us, DBA Dave’s Baking Company and distributed to schools, retail facilities and in vending machines primarily in southern California,” the DCPH statement reads.
“This product should not be confused with other similarly named companies with national distribution,” it continues.
According to the CDPH, although the corn bread product contains whey, which is a milk allergen, there is no allergy warning label on the packaging, though it is required by state law.
So far, authorities say, no illnesses have been reported in the state, but if anyone finds the products on sale anywhere in the state, they should call the CDPH complaint hotline at (800) 495-3232 or file a report online at CDPH.ca.gov
The CDPH is also recommending that people who have eaten the product and are experiencing any reaction or ill effects should consult their health care provider.
Bay Area
East Bay Regional Park District Issues Rattlesnake Advisory
The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active. Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.
The Richmond Standard
The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active.
Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.
Visitors are encouraged to avoid hiking alone in case of an emergency, to scan the ground ahead as they walk, jog or ride, stay on trails avoiding tall grass, and to look carefully around and under logs and rocks before sitting down. Keep your dog on your leash to be extra safe, park officials said.
If you encounter a rattlesnake, leave it alone – it is unlawful to capture or harm one. Move carefully and slowly away or around it and give it plenty of space, park officials said.
Those who are bitten by a rattlesnake are instructed to stay calm by lying down with the affected limb lower than the heart, then having someone call 911.
Getting medical attention is critical.
Those bitten should not use tourniquets, “sucking,” or snake bite kits. If you are by yourself, walk calmly to the nearest source of help to dial 911, do not run.
If bitten by any other type of snake, wash the wound with soap and water or an antiseptic and seek medical attention.
Not sure what bit you? Check the bite for two puncture marks (in rare cases one) associated with intense, burning pain, which is typical of a rattlesnake bite. Other snakebites can leave marks without associated burning pain.
The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Snakes are important to the natural environment, helping to control rodents and other reptile populations. But enjoy them from afar.
For more information, download the Park District’s Common Snakes brochure or watch our Gopher Snake or Rattlesnake video to learn how to tell the difference between rattlesnakes and gopher snakes. Additional information is available at ebparks.org/safety/wildlife-encounters.
Alameda County
A Safe Place, Bay Area Domestic Violence Community Organization, Opens New Service Center in Oakland
Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence. The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.
By Courtney Slocum Riley
Special to The Post
Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence.
The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.
Domestic violence occurrences and offenses account for a considerable amount of all violent crimes in Alameda County. A Safe Place is attempting to provide a safe place for families to heal. A Safe Place is the only comprehensive domestic violence assistance program including a safehouse, in Oakland.
The grand opening celebration will also serve as a fundraiser to build out healing, therapeutic spaces for children and adult victims and survivors and survivors of domestic violence (male and female).
The new service center will expand the work of the organization, founded in 1976 when a group of women working in San Francisco came together to address the urgent need for a shelter in the East Bay. A year later, they founded A Safe Place (ASP) in Oakland. Run solely by volunteers, they set up a crisis line to offer crisis counseling and information to battered women and their children.
The organization serves over 500 adults and children annually through a host of services including crisis counseling via 24-hour crisis line, emergency motel and safehouse sheltering, mental health services (counseling and support groups).
Under the leadership of Executive Director, Carolyn Russell, the organization has grown from a single program into the comprehensive domestic violence and assistance program. ASP strives to meet the growing and diverse needs of our growing community.
The organization hopes to complete all the upgrades and therapeutic room improvements by August 2024. The public is invited to donate to the effort by using the website at www.asafeplace.org/donate. The organization also accepts in-kind gifts as well as items from the organization’s Amazon Wishlist.
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