Health 2008

Australians indulging in careless sexual habits

It usually begins with stony-faced children learning about their sexual organs for the first time. What follows are adolescents asking tough and sometimes embarrassing questions about sexuality to whoever will listen, and then young adults giggling over a banana in Physical Education classes. Regardless of the order of events, it’s assumed that somewhere on the journey into adulthood, generations of Australians… read more

WHO goes for the cut

The question surrounding circumcision has been raging for years among the medical profession-to cut or not to cut.In 1983, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), declared an official policy that discouraged routine circumcision in public hospitals. Today, circumcision is not practised in state public hospitals, except for those in Queensland. Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) publicly supported the practice of circumcision based on research conducted on Africa, saying circumcision could reduce… read more

Concert for a cure

Concert for the cure is a charity concept devised by 21-year-old Nick Vindin and his friends. Based in Sydney, the eight-member group stage concerts and functions, using music to involve young Australians in raising awareness and funding for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. “I knew after losing my mum that there was something I wanted to do. But I also knew that I didn’t know what that was…” read more

Allergies are on the rise

In her final year of high school, Minh-Thu Xuan, 17, cannot do dissections in science. The reason? She’s allergic to the rubber gloves used. She’s also allergic to dust, preservatives, shellfish and more. “I’m basically allergic to life,” she says. read more

Pushed to the limit

Stevie McKenzie*, 26, is a registered nurse in Sydney who specialises in psychiatry, and has been nursing for two years. Like many nurses, his day is often exhausting with long and unsociable hours. A typical day starts for Stevie at 7am, 1pm or 9.15pm and begins with a handover from the previous shift and the challenging task of allocating nurses to the high number of patients. The shift continues with administering medications, monitoring patients, answering questions patients and relatives and chasing up test results. read more

Lose the fat get fit for free

How many times have you walked past the station to find an enthused gym-junkie handing out fliers, tempting you with the prospect to have the body you’ve always wanted? Each time, you politely smile and decline the offer. Sure, you’d love to have chissled abs, but you just don’t have the time, or the money. I’ve been a member of a gym for four years and on average, I go would be once every three months. read more

Cyberchondiracs

Louise Evans, 33, is living with the burden of multiple sclerosis – not that she definitely has the condition. Several years ago Louise felt a tingling sensation in her limbs and, after searching the Internet, concluded that she had MS.
Although Louise is a young, intelligent woman with an impressive international career in risk management, she refuses to see a GP or specialist. She’d rather hope that her self-diagnosis is wrong than have her worst fears confirmed. But deep down, Louise is convinced that one day… read more

The good, the bad and the ugly

A quirky wallet-sized health card that addresses sexual myths has found its way into the wallets of young people around Sydney. The card is intended to raise awareness of chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) among Generation Y. It targets mainly 16-24 year olds who, as a whole, are suffering from a rise in sexual infections and made up 55 per cent of those infected with chlamydia in 2006. read more

Ignoring skin cancer at our peril

While Australia may have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world the ‘slip, slop, slap’ message still isn’t getting through. Kay Coppa, Skin Cancer Prevention Manager with The Cancer Council NSW, says Australians are informed about the need for sun protection but are choosing to ignore it, and 1,300 people are dying from skin cancer ever year. read more

Sound out of the silence

Andrew Ng is different from other 19-year-olds in one small but significant way. The grey piece of plastic that curves behind his right ear is a cochlear implant. It is not something you notice immediately when he greets you with a confident grin. His mother Sue, can recall the moment the implant was turned on for the first time. His mother Sue, can recall the moment the implant was turned on for the first time… read more