I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the very informative 9th Annual Kaua‘i Wellness Expo last weekend. One presentation was called “Let’s Talk About it”. The presenters were Lori Miller, director of Kaua‘i Hospice, who spoke of death and
I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the very informative 9th Annual Kaua‘i Wellness Expo last weekend.
One presentation was called “Let’s Talk About it”. The presenters were Lori Miller, director of Kaua‘i Hospice, who spoke of death and dying with dignity; Renae Hamilton from the YWCA, speaking about domestic violence and DQ Jackson, director of Malama Pono Health Services, speaking about sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
The “Corner” has covered suicide and domestic violence, so let’s talk about sexually transmitted diseases. What you learn could save your life.
The mission of Malama Pono Health Services is to “Stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, STDs and infectious hepatitis on Kaua‘i through education and to provide services to persons infected with or affected by these diseases.” It is a United Way agency.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and can cause AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body’s cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy (cancerous growths).
We are exposed daily to infections and viruses. Our bodies fight them off all the time. But if we get the HIV virus, it weakens and can eventually destroy our immune system. We can’t fight off these everyday disease germs as well, so we get sick and may eventually die from one.
It used to be that people would get the HIV virus and it would become AIDS within a couple of years, but now medical and pharmaceutical research has developed drugs and therapies that can cause people to live a very long time with HIV. But a person has to start these therapies soon. HIV is progressive and the longer one waits, the longer the virus has to develop and get strong. Malama Pono tests for HIV. Not only that, but it is confidential and free of charge. Results are ready in 15 minutes.
Then if a person finds out they are HIV-positive, (they have the virus), Malama Pono helps them learn about the resources to deal with it. Periodically they have fundraisers, and they are always open to receive donations.
Malama Pono provides a variety of specialized, culturally appropriate HIV education programs for the community. All of their health educators are trained and certified by the state Department of Health. They offer HIV risk reduction literature and condoms are free and available by request.
I repeat: Condoms are free and available by request.
They also offer:
• HIV Information Sessions. These are 1-to 2-hour HIV information sessions for different groups. Whether basic or detailed, Malama Pono shares a broad open range of information tailored for each unique group based on what the group wants or needs. They request at least a week of notice.
• Individual Counseling Sessions. Their counseling is client-centered and is tailored to those things you can do to keep yourself healthy and well.
• Outreach Programs. They do outreach to the highest risk populations, including women, transgendered persons and men who have sex with men. They will meet with you in an environment where you feel the most comfortable. If you know a group of people you think they should talk to, please call them and let them know.
• STD and Hepatitis B and C Education. There are many different STDs. So many that Malama Pono has an entire brochure with their names, symptoms, how they are transmitted, and what happens if you don’t get care. I honestly recommend that teens educate themselves about them, as some STDs can lead to sterility, heart, liver and brain damage, and death. AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease. So are hepatitis B, and C. The hepatitis family affects one’s liver. Hepatitis C is fatal in some instances. Malama Pono tests for Hepatitis B and C free of charge. Results are ready in two or three days.
Here is a list of STIs. Chlamydia, NGU (nongonococcal urethritis), HPV (genital warts), gonorrhea, hepatitis B, herpes, HIV/AIDS, syphilis, vaginitis. You can Google them for more information, but it might be easier to stop by Malama Pono for its pink brochure.
Malama Pono is at 4357 Rice St. Suite 10, in Lihu’e. Its office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, and its phone number is 246-9577.
All STDs are spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex. Abstinence is the only absolute way to avoid STDs, but condoms can help tremendously. Hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV and AIDS, can also be spread through sharing needles with users who have those diseases. It can also be spread by contact with blood that is infected with the virus.
Emergency technicians have special procedures they follow when they help bleeding people, to keep themselves free from tainted blood. Be aware that you could get diseases if infected blood somehow gets into your body.
Hepatitis C can lie dormant a long time. I recently saw a friend in her 60s who just found out she had Hepatitis C. She figures she got it from some unsafe behavior that she quit in the 1970s.
OK, so I’ve said it. Be educated. Be safe. Use good judgment. There are many ways to show you love someone other than having sex. In fact, Planned Parenthood has a brochure titled “101 ways to Make Love Without Doin’ It.”
Love is a feeling, a consciousness, a special sharing between people, and doesn’t have to be expressed physically to be real. But if you choose to have sex with your lover, don’t have unprotected sex.
Stay healthy and happy.
• Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i convened a support group of adults in our community to ‘step into the corner’ for our teens, to answer questions and give support to youth and their families on a wide variety of issues. Email questions or concerns facing youth and families today to Annaleah Atkinson at aatkinson@haleopio.org.
