Men's Health Workshops

CSULB does not believe in the last part of sex, drugs and rock and roll. The Beach believes in the one thing possibly more American than rock and roll.

According to the Cal State Long Beach health website, the school offers a health workshop to all male students. The website talks about "sex, drugs and cheeseburgers". Health educator Holly Boettner said that this workshop "is geared towards sexual health, drug prevention and nutrition".

The process starts with an appointment, where the patient meets with Boettner, who explains the educational and clinical components of the workshop. Then, the patient can choose what clinical tests to do, which include STI testing, head-to-toe physicals, and body fat tests. 

"We have an outline about what we can do" said Boettner. "But if someone wants need sexual health help, we're not going to make them sit through the nutrition parts. We try to gear to each individual".

This workshop falls in line with the Family Pact program. "The services are cheaper with the Family Pact program." said Boettner. "For example, blood work is $6.45 with the Pact, but STI tests without it are $12."

photo via csulb health website

"We probably average 1-2 people a week" said Boettner. "It is a good program. But we have limited advertising. It comes down to whether the male uses the health care center for his health needs, as opposed to an outside health care professional."

Even though the semester is almost over, this program continues into Winter and Summer Sessions. For more information, call (562)985-4609.

Health and Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving only three days away, many college students will be going home for their first real meal in almost three months. Thanksgiving is a holiday notorious for family, food and football. Overdoing the food part can be detrimental to your health.

Eating two or three plates of this can be terrible health-wise.
photo from here

The typical Thanksgiving Thursday consists of cooking, football, eating, football, sleeping and football.   And no human person can resist getting second (or even third) plates of turkey and ham with gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing and rolls. According to livestrong.com, a study from the University of Michigan shows that the average person will eat anywhere from 2,000-3,000 calories at Thanksgiving dinner, not including other meals that day. That meal alone has as many calories as people are supposed to eat in a day.

Along with this insane amount of calories, other common Thanksgiving habits can affect your health. Junior Communication Studies major Amanda Ellis falls in line with this other health risk. "I ordered a Thanksgiving dinner for me and my boyfriend from a local restaurant this year" said Ellis. "Typically after eating big meals I like to sleep".

Many people sleep after eating their Thanksgiving meals. According to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation, eating a big turkey dinner makes people sleepy. Turkey contains a chemical called tryptophan, which does cause drowsiness. This chemical combined with the high number of calories leads to a large number of naps after dinner, which can cause weight gain. Instead of napping, people should partake in as much physical activity before and after eating as possible. Lots of families get together and play football, which for some reason has become immensely popular on Thanksgiving. By doing this, your risk of weight gain goes down. 

Last Call for Flu Shots

With winter rapidly approaching, the time to get flu shots is now. The City of Long Beach is teaming up with the Red Cross to set up a few last flu shot clinics around the city.

photo via http://newspaper.li/flu-shots/

These flu shot clinics are available for people 60 and older, or ages 18-59 with a preexisting condition. These conditions include asthma, diabetes, heart, lung, kidney or liver disease, blood disorders or HIV/AIDS.

The shots will be given without appointments. Medicare part B will be accepted, and/or a two dollar donation.

There are four clinics left through the end of November. The next one is Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to noon at Bixby Park, located at 130 Cherry Ave. The other three are the week after Thanksgiving, November 27-30 at the Health Department from 9 a.m. to noon. The Health Department is located at 2525 Grand Ave.

For more information, visit the Long Beach health department website.

Family Pact

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, sexually active 10-24 year olds are at the most risk for getting a sexually transmitted disease. Nearly half of the 19 million new STD's each year happen to someone aged 15-24. College is generally a time of promiscuity and experimentation, so CSULB offers a family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment program to help combat STD's.

The Family PACT program is offered to low-income, California residents who are either uninsured or insured but want to keep confidentiality from parents. Susie Lopez, family Pact coordinator at CSULB, said that low-income means "under $1800 from the student, not including parents money or financial aid."

Lopez said that the process starts by making an appointment. "You must make an appointment with the Student Health Services, then you come in, fill out a one-page form, and someone will let you know right then if you qualify. If you do, they give you a card that you need for the services. In total this takes about 10 minutes."

Example of the health card via family pact website

According to Lopez, there are about 3,000 students currently using this program. This program provides them with a number of benefits, including birth control, STI testing, Pap-smear testing for women, and STI checkups.

For more information about this program, you can visit the PACT website.