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HEALTH
It' not on th le
The bathr m cale mea ur
tot I b dy weight-m I, b n
c
Overwei ht? - t' not on t
c rt
An
Gues What'
new at North Detroit
General Hospital?
- Free blood pre sure test
ing.
- 30 minute walk-In/Walk-out
physical exam for'
work/school/sports.
- Free call-In physician con
sultations & medical second
opinion.
- Same day call-In appoint
ment to see a physician.
- Same day call-In non-nar
cotic prescription renewal.
(after consultation)
- And, we've till got our
great urgent care e nter, family
practice & specialty cllnlcsl
CALL US - 369·3000
AIDS. Ev ry minute on Black man,
woman or child i bing in e t d
with HIY that cause AIDS.
A half-hearted attempt to reverse
thi tide of tati tic will not likely
uffice. Denial, ignorance, inaction
and magical thinking are, causing us
to reap the whirlwind ... we are bury
ing our children daily. WAKE UP!
WAKE up! WAKE UP!
Other AIDS related topics to ap
pear in upcoming editions are:AIDS
and the workplace; After the Diag
no is; How AIDS is/is not trans
mitted; How to U e a Condom: Safer
Sex/Uri afe Sex; Po itive Living
With Aids; Confidentiality and Aid ;
Re latio n hips-Family, Friend,
Partner; Reduce Your Risk of AIDS;
HIY and Pregnancy; I AIDS
. treatable; Alcohol, Drug and AId ;
Wholistic Approach to elf-care', and
many others.
Anyone wanting additional infor
mation contact Elizabeth M. Gidney,
M.D. (313) 861-4646.
. DEPART ENT OF HEALTH & HU AN SERVICES
PublIC HaIth SeMCe
z
with AIDS are Black. We are near
"checkmate" .
LA T D M R, To th r ading audience of tne Laboratory te t u ually tell
when the FDA approved uch Michi an itizen, PEACE! whether one ha b en expo ed to the
produc for over-the-counter In an effort to further tir and ig- virus as th immune y tem respond
sale, the drug companie that nite united fforts of our people to by making antibodie to HIY. Trans-
make Gyne-l..otrimin, Moni - halt th rna ive onslaught of Black mi ion by sexual contact (anal,
tat 7, and everal imilar anti- 1 b A . d I vaginal, oral) i the major route of
peop e y cq uire m-
fungal creams launched ad." . S d (AIDS) transference. Other ways the di e e
mun e icien y yn rome ,
full- cale marketing war. I am ubmitting this erie of articles. i transmitted i th baring of dirty
The print ad usually men- Michigan, with a Black popula- contaminated needle and works,
tion in small type that if you tion of 14 p rcent, logs the e statis- followed by HIY-infected mothers
have symptoms of a vaginal ti: (during pregnancy, delivery or
infection you should ee a breast feeding).
doctor before you buy an * 45-48 percent of all AIDS Most people te t po itive with 3
over-th -counter drug. And, cases are Black men, women and months after expo ure. However, it
the package inserts for the' children.' can take years for orne people to
products are required to * 66 percent of all children born develop detectable antibodies.
repeat this warning. with AIDS are Black. Likewise, the appearance of signs
The problem is that * and symptoms (weight 10 ,night
- 80 percent of all females with
women without easy acre sweats, weakn ,loss of ppetite,
AIDS are Black
to gyn.:cological care, like fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth
poor women' and teenagers, 90 percent of IV drug users . lesions and kin rash) can take years
may ignore the warning and with AIDS are Black men and to occur.
simply respond to the hard women. "We are killed all the day long!
sell; so may others who have In Detroit where Blacks make up Every hour one Black man, woman
some other problems entirely, 63 percent of the population, 7� per- or child in the United states dies of
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HEALTH
TALK
my tery
. To ow how much of your body
wight com from fat m nd how
mu h come from 1 n body
(mainly muscle) i to know your
b dy compo ition. Th m t p ti
cal and inexpe ive method for -
e ing your percentage of body fat
i kinfold me urem nts. The urn
in
ter
1 im-
Next ...
How weight Chan -A look at
e rgy balan e and calori count
ing.
ed in an equation
"When.1 found
out I had HIVat
age 17, I ·Iearned
mat anyone can
get it,"
On� in 250 Americans is infected with HIV.
"I'm 19 years old. And twQ years ago, I found
out I had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Knowing that 1 could die has been scary. But
what's even worse is knowing that my friends
didn't learn a thing from all this. They're still
doing what I did that got me infected.
"I think it's Cause people my age think they're
invincible. But I'm living proof that we're not."
To find out how you can prevent HI¥. call the
CDC National AIDS Hodin at 1-800-H2-AIDS.
\ \ I I r: I I \
II I " I I I' I I
I I I \ I ,I •
tWaf
"
"A report on worn n'
he lth," trump th voi
from th TV t. The "report"
i a ale pitch for Gyne
Lotrimin, which h "fr d
women from needing cI
pre cription" to treat their
vaginal infections.
Of course, w n women
are absolutely ure an anti
fungal cream i what th y
need, uch products might in
deed ave them a trip to th
doctor. The big que tion,
however, is how can they be
sure?
Vagina . 1 IJI
by ye t or other fungi are
indeed quite common.
Though not serious, they do
cause intense itching and an
unpleasant discharge, and
they may recur in susceptible
women.
Pregnant women and
women on oral contracep
tives or antibiotics seem espe
ciall y subject to such
infections, which may also be
aggravated I in the
premenstrual phase of a
woman's cycle. Diabetes or a
tendency toward it also
predispo e women to yeast
infections.
Futherrnore , early
symptoms of sexually trans
mitted diseases such as
gonorrhea or chlamydia may
be indtstlnguishabte from
those of common yeast or
bacterial intections.
A woman who has
chlamydia and does not
recognize it would run the
risk of serious illness later.
Or, on the contrary, itching
and discomfort may simply
arise from irritation or an al
lergy to some feminine
hygiene product. Maybe. a
steroid cream is needed in
stead of an anti-fungal cream,
or 'perhaps no medication at
all, just more thorough exter
nal cleansing.
Another problem: While
these medications may ave
you a trip to the doctor, they
aren't cheap ($17-$18a tube).
Health insurance won't cover
them, whereas some policies
do pick up the cost of
prescription drugs, including
refills if nece ary.
0, IF YOU'RE ab-
olutely ure an anti-fungal
cream is what you need, and
have discussed the problem
with your doctor, you might
find these O'I'C products use
ful.
. But, don't skip the medical
care you reed, and don't buy
elf-care products you don't
need, no matter how per
suasive the pitch.