#Prevents infections

[theygender]

Having a vagina honestly sucks bc it's like you have to do fucking alchemy just to prevent yourself from getting sick. You've got an intricate ecosystem of microorganisms down there that you're dependent on for your own well-being and they can be set off by the tiniest fucking thing

Keeping your pubes too short can cause yeast infections, but letting them get too long can also cause yeast infections. Washing the area with specialized soap can help prevent yeast infections, but it can also cause them. Your periods can cause yeast infections, and so can the medicine you take to stop your periods. Having sex can cause yeast infections, especially if the person you're having sex with is diabetic (???). Being diabetic can cause yeast infections. Wearing the wrong clothes or eating the wrong things can cause yeast infections. Not getting enough fucking sleep can cause yeast infections. The list is neverending

Luckily, yeast infections are fairly easy to treat with OTC medicine that you can find at any Walmart. BUT! Even if all of your symptoms indicate that you have a yeast infection, you have to take a test first to confirm that it's a yeast infection (they do not sell the tests at Walmart) bc you might actually have the opposite of a yeast infection (bacterial vaginosis) which has the exact same symptoms as a yeast infection but is caused by an imbalance of different microorganisms. And if you use yeast infection medicine to treat a bacterial infection it will light your pussy on fire. So if you have a bacterial infection, you must instead visit your local witch doctor (gynecologist) and get prescribed special potions (antibiotics) to treat it

Antibiotics can also cause yeast infections

[gumjrop]

This year’s flu shot will be missing a strain of influenza it’s protected against for more than a decade.

That’s because there have been no confirmed flu cases caused by the Influenza B/Yamagata lineage since spring 2020. And the Food and Drug Administration decided this year that the strain now poses little to no threat to human health.

Scientists have concluded that widespread physical distancing and masking practiced during the early days of COVID-19 appear to have pushed B/Yamagata into oblivion.

This surprised many who study influenza, as it would be the first documented instance of a virus going extinct due to changes in human behavior, said Dr. Rebecca Wurtz, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

“It is such an interesting and unique story,” Wurtz said, adding that if it were not for COVID, B/Yamagata would still be circulating.

One reason COVID mitigation efforts were so effective at eliminating B/Yamagata is there was already a fair amount of immunity in the population against this strain of flu, which was also circulating at a lower level, said Dr. Kawsar Talaat, an infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 was a brand new virus that no one had encountered before; therefore, masking and isolation only slowed its transmission, but did not stop it.

The absence of B/Yamagata won’t change the experience of getting this year’s flu shot, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to everyone over 6 months old. And unvaccinated people are no less likely to get the flu, as B/Victoria and two influenza A lineages are still circulating widely and making people sick. Talaat said the disappearance of B/Yamagata doesn’t appear to have lessened the overall burden of flu, noting that the level of illness that can be attributed to any strain varies from year to year.

The CDC estimates that between 12,000 and 51,000 people die every year from influenza.

However, the manufacturing process is simplified now that the vaccine is trivalent — designed to protect against three flu viruses — instead of quadrivalent, protecting against four. That change allows more doses to be produced, said Talaat.

Ultimately, the costs of continuing to include protection against B/Yamagata in the flu shot outweigh its benefits, said Talaat.

"If you include a strain for which you don't think anybody's going to get infected into a vaccine, there are some potential risks and no potential benefits," she said. "Even though the risks might be infinitesimal, the benefits are also infinitesimal."

Scientists and public health experts have discussed for the past couple years whether to pull B/Yamagata from the flu vaccine or wait for a possible reemergence, said Kevin R. McCarthy, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research. But McCarthy agrees that continuing to vaccinate people against B/Yamagata does not benefit public health.

Additionally, there is a slight chance of B/Yamagata accidentally infecting the workers who manufacture the flu vaccine. The viruses, grown in eggs, are inactivated before being put into the shots: You cannot get influenza from the flu shot. But worker exposure to live B/Yamagata might occur before it's rendered harmless.

That hypothetically could lead to a reintroduction of a virus that populations have waning immunity to because B/Yamagata is no longer making people sick. While that risk is very low, McCarthy said it doesn’t make sense to produce thousands of gallons of a likely extinct virus.

It is possible that B/Yamagata continues to exist in pockets of the world that have less comprehensive flu surveillance. However, scientists aren’t worried that it is hiding in animals because humans are the only host population for B lineage flu viruses.

Scientists determined that B/Yamagata disappeared in a relatively short period of time, and this in and of itself is a success, said McCarthy. That required collaboration and data sharing from people all over the world, including countries that the U.S. has more tenuous diplomatic relationships with, like China and Russia.

“I think the fact that we can do that shows that we can get some things right,” he said.

Sarah Boden is an independent health and science journalist based in Pittsburgh.

[axonspro]

Top 7 Benefits of Using Kajal for Your Eye Health and Beauty

Top 7 Benefits of Using Kajal for Your Eye Health and Beauty Kajal, also known as kohl, is a traditional cosmetic product that has been used for centuries to enhance the beauty of eyes in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is a black powder that is applied around the eyes to create a dramatic and alluring look. But, did you know that Kajal also has several benefits for your eye…

[reasonsforhope]

"A large clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown that a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug gives young women total protection from HIV infection.

The trial tested whether the six-month injection of lenacapavir would provide better protection against HIV infection than two other drugs, both daily pills. All three medications are pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) drugs.

Physician-scientist Linda-Gail Bekker, principal investigator for the South African part of the study, tells Nadine Dreyer what makes this breakthough so significant and what to expect next.

Tell us about the trial and what it set out to achieve

The Purpose 1 trial with 5,000 participants took place at three sites in Uganda and 25 sites in South Africa to test the efficacy of lenacapavir and two other drugs.

Lenacapavir (Len LA) is a fusion capside inhibitor. It interferes with the HIV capsid, a protein shell that protects HIV’s genetic material and enzymes needed for replication. It is administered just under the skin, once every six months.

The randomised controlled trial, sponsored by the drug developers Gilead Sciences, tested several things.

The first was whether a six-monthly injection of lenacapavir was safe and would provide better protection against HIV infection as PrEP for women between the ages of 16 and 25 years than Truvada F/TDF, a daily PrEP pill in wide use that has been available for more than a decade.

Secondly, the trial also tested whether Descovy F/TAF, a newer daily pill, was as effective as F/TDF...

The trial had three arms. Young women were randomly assigned to one of the arms in a 2:2:1 ratio (Len LA: F/TAF oral: F/TDF oral) in a double blinded fashion. This means neither the participants nor the researchers knew which treatment participants were receiving until the clinical trial was over.

In eastern and southern Africa, young women are the population who bear the brunt of new HIV infections. They also find a daily PrEP regimen challenging to maintain, for a number of social and structural reasons.

During the randomised phase of the trial none of the 2,134 women who received lenacapavir contracted HIV. There was 100 percent efficiency.

By comparison, 16 of the 1,068 women (or 1.5%) who took Truvada (F/TDF) and 39 of 2,136 (1.8%) who received Descovy (F/TAF) contracted the HIV virus...

What is the significance of these trials?

This breakthrough gives great hope that we have a proven, highly effective prevention tool to protect people from HIV.

There were 1.3 million new HIV infections globally in the past year. Although that’s fewer than the 2 million infections seen in 2010, it is clear that at this rate we are not going to meet the HIV new infection target that UNAIDS set for 2025 (fewer than 500,000 globally) or potentially even the goal to end Aids by 2030...

For young people, the daily decision to take a pill or use a condom or take a pill at the time of sexual intercourse can be very challenging.

HIV scientists and activists hope that young people may find that having to make this “prevention decision” only twice a year may reduce unpredictability and barriers.

For a young woman who struggles to get to an appointment at a clinic in a town or who can’t keep pills without facing stigma or violence, an injection just twice a year is the option that could keep her free of HIV.

What happens now?

The plan is that the Purpose 1 trial will go on but now in an “open label” phase. This means that study participants will be “unblinded”: they will be told whether they have been in the “injectable” or oral TDF or oral TAF groups.

They will be offered the choice of PrEP they would prefer as the trial continues.

A sister trial is also under way: Purpose 2 is being conducted in a number of regions including some sites in Africa among cisgender men, and transgender and nonbinary people who have sex with men.

It’s important to conduct trials among different groups because we have seen differences in effectiveness. Whether the sex is anal or vaginal is important and may have an impact on effectiveness.

How long until the drug is rolled out?

We have read in a Gilead Sciences press statement that within the next couple of months [from July 2024] the company will submit the dossier with all the results to a number of country regulators, particularly the Ugandan and South African regulators.

The World Health Organization will also review the data and may issue recommendations.

We hope then that this new drug will be adopted into WHO and country guidelines.

We also hope we may begin to see the drug being tested in more studies to understand better how to incorporate it into real world settings.

Price is a critical factor to ensure access and distribution in the public sector where it is badly needed.

Gilead Sciences has said it will offer licences to companies that make generic drugs, which is another critical way to get prices down.

In an ideal world, governments will be able to purchase this affordably and it will be offered to all who want it and need protection against HIV."

-via The Conversation, July 3, 2024

[abbeyofcyn]

Happy Birthday!

To me :^)

Well, technically tomorrow 2 June, but I somehow finished this today.

I thought I'd have finished the Krang infection comic by now so I could have a happy birthday ending, but we're not there yet.

I uh never draw backgrounds or like to colour, but I love fully coloured pieces and well here we are. Trying my best to create something out of my comfort zone.

As a bday gift to myself I'm going to watch the new spiderverse tomorrow evening!

[riliphins]

[3liza]

two girls on the dash simultaneously got UTIs today, this is terrible

[iliveinprocrasti-nationn]

fauci saying “vulnerable people will fall by the wayside” and that some will die but that’s ok because we’re not going to see the “tsunami of cases” we’ve seen before is so dehumanising. so babies with no immune system, elderly people, disabled people, and people without adequate access to healthcare can all die of covid. but it’s ok guys because actually they’re just falling to the wayside and everyone else will go back to normal and be fine (sarcasm).

my death or the deaths of my family or friends wouldn’t be us “falling by the wayside”, it would be us being failed by our government, healthcare systems, and communities who have refused to take coronavirus seriously despite mounting anecdotal and scientific evidence of the harm this virus does. fact that people can accept the deaths of vulnerable groups just because they want to eat in a restaurant or don’t want to wear a mask is horrifying

[robbieeeeeeeee3]

“The Flesh Disease Prevention.”

Welcome to our Flesh Orientation Protocol safety Tape.

Currently, we have been dealing with a deadly and viscous disease.

It causes humans to become meaty, flesh-like creatures.

If you or any friends, relatives, lovers, or any person shows symptoms of this disease. Please contact the F.D.D Department. (Flesh Disease Disruption)

Whoever shows signs of this virus will be quarantined and tested on by our best doctors and scientists to find a cure for this disease.

Here are some symptoms you should look out for,These symptoms include:

Coughing Blood

Fever

Nausea

Boils Growing on skin

Weakness

Fatigue

Mold.

Saggy Skin and Muscles.

Rot

And depletion of Sanity and human appearance

——————————————————-

There are currently 6 known stages to this viscous disease:

Stage 1:

Person is first infected. starting off As a Cold, Very intense Coughing, but no really serious symptoms to panic

Stage 2:

Cold has now turned into an intense fever, violent coughing and small boils appearing on the skin. Intense nausea and fatigue, feeling weak.

Stage 3:

Boils grow to abnormal sizes, the areas of the skin where the boils are start to sag and become very wrinkly. Coughing up blood and fever starts to get worse.

Stage 4:

You are infected. Your jaw begins to sag and tears away from the skin. Blood will leak from your skin, mouth, and eyes. Moldy and rotten patches on skin, skin will also begin to rot and tear away, turning a dark color like frostbite, but instead of dark blue, dark purple, or just black, it turns into a fleshtone salmon red.

Stage 5:

No more hope for you now. You could have stopped the infection where it started. You could have saved yourself from the agony. But you just told yourself, “I’ll get better... It’s just a fever, right?” Yeah... just a... fever.

Stage 6:

…………………..

Thanks for Watching our Flesh Disease safety tape, Please be careful during this is horrible virus pandemic.

Stay Safe. Remain Uninfected.

Because once you get the virus.

There’s no Going Back.

There is no cure.

Death is unfortunately your only option once you’re infected in stage 3.

Thanks For Watching.

[constantvariations]

thinking about the adam's red sclera you were talking about. if his aura is constantly trying to prevent it from getting worse, would someone with aura amp semblance like jaune be able to cure it? it wouldn't give him back his vision, but stop the chronic pain maybe?

it also gets me thinking about the fact that blake has chronic pain on her scar where he stabbed her (i cant recall where the chronic pain fact was mentioned nor implied, so i cant really tell if it's canon or fanon), which got talked about a lot back when the volume was out

In theory, I don't see why an Aura boost couldn't help cure an infection. It completely closed Weiss's injury and that was complete impalement open to the air! A true feast for bacteria. I imagine even modern doctors would struggle with a wound like that

Once again, though, we bump against the reality that a) Adam shouldn't have this infection after literal years. (6 years minimum if my math from the comics is right.) It should've either been healed or taken out to prevent more damage, and b) Auras aren't consistent throughout RWBY because the writers care more about Events than Story. In some cases, Aura will stand up to incredible amounts of force and others be shattered in a single hit, even with the same character! (Ex. Ghira in the v5 fight vs the ambush in the Adam short/Yang in pretty much any fight yet going down in a single hit from Neo in v8.) Scars are just another Event for the writers, story and logic be damned. (Seriously, how the fuck did Cinder lose both her arm and eye? I don't think the writers know. Or care.)

As for Blake's wound, that is 110% fanon. I have no idea how a stab just above the hip would lead to chronic pain. Perhaps in flashbacks or nightmares she would relive the pain, but unless there were complications with the healing (considering she was leaping on rooftops shortly after, this is not the case), that should be the only pain she gets. I can only hope someone made an ignorant mistake rather than deliberately foisting more suffering onto Blake just so Adam would look worse

[axonspro]

Top 7 Benefits of Using Kajal for Your Eye Health and Beauty

Top 7 Benefits of Using Kajal for Your Eye Health and Beauty Kajal, also known as kohl, is a traditional cosmetic product that has been used for centuries to enhance the beauty of eyes in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is a black powder that is applied around the eyes to create a dramatic and alluring look. But, did you know that Kajal also has several benefits for your eye…

[reasonsforhope]

"Five people have gone into remission thanks to advancements in medicine — and a sixth patient may also now be free of HIV.

One of the biggest breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS prevention in recent years is the widespread use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). 

This drug therapy, approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2012, has been a key player in preventing HIV transmission through sex or injection drug use. Antiretroviral drugs, such as PrEP, also slow the replication of the virus and prevent it from progressing to AIDS.

Although PrEP has become a more accessible treatment for the virus, scientists have been hurriedly working towards cures for HIV for decades — and we’re finally seeing some results.

In February of this year, scientists in Germany confirmed a fifth-ever patient had been cured of HIV after receiving stem cell transplants that include genetic mutations that carry a resistance to HIV. 

But it looks like a sixth patient may soon be able to join this very exclusive club. 

The man, referred to as the “Geneva patient,” underwent a stem cell transplant after cancer treatment, though these cells did not include the HIV-resistant genetic mutation. 

Still, he went off antiretroviral therapy for HIV in November 2021, and his viral load remains undetectable. 

Instead, doctors are researching whether a drug called ruxolitinib may be partially responsible for his recovery. 

Ruxolitinib decreases inflammation associated with HIV by blocking two proteins, JAK1 and JAK2. This helps kill off “reservoir cells” that lay dormant in the body and have a potential to cause rebounds in patients with HIV.

Experts say the AIDS crisis can end by 2030 across the globe — as long as leaders prioritize this goal. 

A new report from UNAIDS shows a clear, optimistic path to ending the AIDS crisis. (This looks like a 90% reduction in cases by 2030.)

The organization’s report includes data and case studies that show that ending AIDS is a political and financial choice — and that governments that have prioritized a path towards progress are seeing extraordinary results.

By following the data, science, and evidence; tackling inequality; and ensuring sufficient and sustainable funding across communities, the global community could wipe out the AIDS pandemic by the end of the decade.

The report demonstrates that progress has been strongest in the countries and regions that have the most financial investments, like eastern and southern Africa, where new HIV infections have been reduced by 57% since 2010. 

Investments in treatments, education, and access to care have also led to a 58% reduction in new HIV infections among children from 2010 to 2022 — the lowest number since the 1980’s.

Plus, the number of people on antiretroviral treatment around the globe has risen from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022.

The moral of the story? This goal can be achieved, if world leaders put their minds — and wallets — to it. 

A region in Australia might be the first place in the world to reach the United Nations targets for ending HIV transmission. 

Researchers believe that the central district of Sydney, Australia is close to becoming the first locality in the world to reach the UN’s target for ending transmission of HIV. 

Specifically, new infections among gay men have fallen by 88% between 2010 and 2022. In fact, there were only 11 new HIV cases recorded in central Sydney last year, and almost all HIV-positive Australians are on antiretroviral drugs. 

... "These numbers show us that virtual elimination of HIV transmissions is possible. Now, we need to look closely at what has worked in Sydney, and adapt it for other cities and regions across Australia.”

Namibia is ahead of schedule in UN targets to end HIV/AIDS. 

Although the virus is still the leading cause of death in Namibia, the country is well on track to hit 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets before its 2030 deadline. 

In Namibia, 92% of people know their HIV status, 99% of people living with HIV are on treatment, and 94% of people living with HIV who are on treatment are virally suppressed.

In addition to these exciting statistics, new infections have plummeted. The estimated rate of new HIV infections in Namibia is five times lower than it was in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

These encouraging numbers are thanks to the investment and strategic response of PEPFAR, but also to the willingness of local governmental agencies and organizations to adhere to the UN’s Fast-Track approach.

Breakthroughs are being made in HIV vaccine therapies.

Long before we were all asking each other “Pfizer or Moderna?” about our COVID-19 vaccines, scientists have been researching the potential of mRNA vaccines in treating some of the world’s deadliest diseases — like HIV.

And with the success of our mainstream mRNA vaccines, an HIV inoculation remains a goal for researchers across the globe.

Last year, the National Institutes of Health launched a clinical trial of three mRNA vaccines for HIV, and similar studies are being conducted in Rwanda and South Africa, as well. 

CAR T-cell clinical trials are underway to potentially cure HIV.

This spring, UC Davis Health researchers have dosed the second participant in their clinical trial, which poses the use of CAR T-cell therapy as a potential cure for HIV.

The study involves taking a participant’s own white blood cells (called T-cells), and modifying them so they can identify and target HIV cells, ultimately controlling the virus without medication. 

The first participant in the study was dosed with anti-HIV T-cells last August, and the trial is the first of its kind to utilize this technology to potentially treat HIV. 

Of course, the trials have a long way to go, and the lab is still preparing to dose a third participant for the study, but CAR T-cell treatments have been successful for lupus and forms of cancer in the past...

“So far, there have been no adverse events observed that were related to the treatment, and the two participants are doing fine.”

Guidance on how to reduce stigma and discrimination due to HIV/AIDS is reaching people around the globe.

While the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS has significantly decreased — especially towards the LGBTQ+ community — with advancements in treatment and prevention, discrimination is certainly not gone. 

While most people now understand HIV/AIDS better than they did decades ago, those most impacted by the virus (like gay men and low-income women and children) still face ongoing barriers to care and economic security. 

It is vital to maintain awareness and education interventions. 

After all, experts suggest that eliminating discrimination and stigma are key factors in reducing disease.  And not eliminating stigma impedes HIV services, argues UNAIDS, “limiting access to and acceptance of prevention services, engagement in care, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy.” 

Luckily, UNAIDS provides guidance on how to reduce stigma and discrimination in the community, workplace, education, health care, justice, and emergency settings. 

The goal is to, of course, decrease stigma in order to decrease disease, but also to provide folks with the culturally significant support they need to live safe, integrated lives — with or without disease. 

For instance, a 2022 study conducted in Northern Uganda showed that local cultural knowledge passed through Elders was a successful intervention in reducing HIV-related stigma among young people.

“Research in school settings has shown that the use of local cultural stories, songs, myths, riddles, and proverbs increases resilient coping responses among students and strengthens positive and socially accepted morals and values,” the study’s discussion reads. 

So, while an uptick in acceptance gives us hope, it also gives us a directive: Keep telling the accurate, full, and human stories behind HIV/AIDS, and we’ll all be better for it. "

-via GoodGoodGood, August 3, 2023

[queer-assthetic]

Re the horrific US vaccine misinformation campaign in the Philippines:

USAmericans and privileged citizens from the global north generally must really wake up as to how their governments have minimized COVID to their own populations while simultaneously exploiting the global south and denying them health resources. COVID is still around, it's still a pandemic, it's still killing and disabling people domestically and internationally, and it's worse for people in the global south

In the US, the govt has and is continuing to misrepresent the very real dangers of COVID, how it causes long term disability and death, and how it disproportionately affects people of color - especially trans people of color. The current efforts to ban masks will serve to further criminalize the vulnerable and isolate the disabled. The US has allowed anti science viewpoints to grow rampant in this country to the joy of the right and due to the complacency of the left.

These domestic and international consequences are the result of valuing capitalism and economy over human lives. The result of mainstream eugenics, white supremacy, and individualism.

[n7punk]

i want to write, and barring that, i want to, idk, play coral island or something. but instead im sitting in a finger splint just staring at my computer

[caffeinatedopossum]

I'm so tired. I haven't showered or even changed my clothes in a disgusting amount of time because I just don't have the spoons

[goldeneyedgirl]

Sigh.

This tiny asshole decided to attempt to die last weekend. She spent five days in intensive care in the doggy ER, and then came home slightly less close to death as she was.

Look into those eyes. Mabel is the reason no one got fic this week.

But also my little baby porkchop is home and on the mend <3