Good Hygiene- No Excuse

There is no worst turn off then meeting a guy with bad hygiene. Bad body odour, flaky skin, bad breath, the list goes on. Your first impression may be the only chance you have, so don't blow it. Its easy to maintain good hygiene and it should be a no brainer to want to do.

Courtesy of  Elev8

Here are 5 items that no man should be without.


1-Body Wash for Your Skin Type-Instead of relying on your old standby, choose a skin cleanser based on your skin. First, narrow down whether your go-to bar of soap or liquid cleanser is right for your skin type:

2-Floss Good oral hygiene will not only give you a healthy smile and fresh breath; it may reduce your chances of heart disease. Surprised? Studies have found that people who have periodontal disease — gingivitis and periodontitis — have double the risk of a condition called atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of arteries. Flossing, in particular, will remove more than just stray poppy seeds; it also removes plaque that causes gum disease, inflammation and tooth decay.

3-Shaving Cream It may seem OK to substitute your face soap or body wash for shaving cream, but trust us: Shaving cream will make your skin happy. Shaving cream, gel or lotion creates a layer of protection between your skin and the razor blade. That protective layer reduces the drag of the blade, in turn reducing the irritation you have from shaving, such as shaving bumps and razor burn. Choose a thick gel or cream with hydrating ingredients, and let it sit on your skin for a few minutes to soften hairs before shaving.
8 Ways To Maintain Your Health

4-Antiperspirant or Deodorant Americans spend more than $1 billion every year on products to stop sweat and body odor [source: Grossman]. It’s big business and a big job — the body has about 2.6 million sweat glands, and a person can produce 1 to 3 liters of sweat in just an hour in a hot climate [source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram]. To combat odor, wetness or both, you’ll want to have an antiperspirant or deodorant (or a combination) in your arsenal. Antiperspirants work by temporarily plugging up your pores, making it impossible for the sweat to escape. Deodorants won’t stop your sweat. Instead, they mask body odor with fragrance and by reducing the number of odor-causing bacteria on our skin.

5-Moisturizer- Just as you’d consider your skin type when searching for the right body wash, you should consider your particular skin needs when buying a moisturizer. If you have normal skin, the world of moisturizers is wide open to you. If you don’t have normal skin, and many of us don’t, you’ll need to be a little pickier.

Male Urinary Track Infection (UTI)

UTI is occurring more and more in men.

Courtesy of Men's Health:

Even though urinary infections in men, especially boys and young men, are less common than in women, it is still important to recognize the symptoms and get treatment quickly. Infections of the urinary system (the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra) can be very serious - even life threatening.

Function of the urinary system
The function of the urinary system is to rid the body of liquid waste (about a quart and a half per day of urine) keep a healthy balance of substances and salts in the blood and produce a hormone that contributes to the formation of red blood cells. The flow of urine helps prevent infection by washing out infections. The prostate gland also produces fluids that slow bacterial growth.

Causes of urinary tract infection (UTI)
Urine is normally sterile but under certain circumstances bacteria, often E-coli that live in the colon, moves into the urethra causing an infection called urethritis. The infection may move up the system to the bladder, called cystitis, or to the kidneys, pyelonephritis.

Micro organisms called chlamydia and mycoplasma can both be transmitted sexually. When this happens both partners have to be treated for the infection.

Men with abnormalities of the urinary tract, such as kidney stones or an enlarged prostate, are more prone to urinary infection.

Men who have a catheter or tube placed in the bladder are more susceptible to infection.

Men with diabetes or any disease that suppresses the immune system are more prone to UTI.

World AIDS Day- Still More to Do

AIDS Vaccine Shows Promise

Scientists and government leaders have already started mapping out how to try to improve the world's first successful AIDS vaccine, which protected one in three people from getting HIV in a large study in Thailand.

That's not good enough for immediate use, researchers say. Yet it is a watershed event in the 26 years since the AIDS virus was discovered. Recent setbacks led many scientists to think a successful vaccine would never be possible.

The World Health Organization and the U.N. agency UNAIDS said the results "instilled new hope" in the field, even though it likely will be years before a vaccine might be widely available.

"This is truly a great moment for world medicine," said Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the U.S. Army Surgeon General. The Army helped sponsor the study, the world's largest of an AIDS vaccine.

It was the first time scientists tried preventing HIV the same way they treat it — with a combination approach. The study used two vaccines that work in different ways, and that may be one reason the strategy worked, even though neither vaccine did when tested individually in earlier trials, scientists say.

Read more about it here: AIDS Vaccine

Canadian HIV Vaccine Ready To Be Tested on Humans

I truly hope that a vaccine is made available soon. The many lives that this disease has effected directly or indirectly, the emotional pain, the political struggles, the turnished relationships. It's time for it to go!--Avenue Road

Canadian HIV vaccine ready for human testsAn HIV/AIDS vaccine developed in Canada has passed safety tests in animals and the researchers are awaiting approval to begin human trials in the U.S.
Dozens of HIV vaccines have already been developed and tested in animal models but only a handful have been tested in humans, none successfully.(Canadian Press)
CBC News
"It is a very important milestone for us," said Yong Kang, a professor of microbiology at the University of Western Ontario in London who has been working on the vaccine for 20 years.
Kang said he expects to get the go-ahead soon from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human toxicology tests and two phases of clinical trials in the United States.
If all three trials are successful, the vaccine should be available within the next decade, Kang told CBC News on the phone while attending a meeting in South Korea.
According to a 2008 United Nations report on the global AIDS epidemic, 33 million people were living with HIV in 2007. Two million people died of causes related to the disease that year.
Dozens of HIV vaccines have already been developed and tested in animal models, but few have been tested in humans, none successfully. A promising trial in 2007 by pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. was shut down after those receiving the vaccine contracted HIV at a higher rate than those who received the placebo.
Kang has partnered with a Curacom, a South Korean holding company, that has agreed to open an office in London, Ont., to help fund research in Kang's lab and commercialize the vaccine.
A test vaccine is being manufactured in a lab in Maryland near Washington, D.C.
Lab tests showed the vaccine produced no adverse effects or safety risks during immunology tests on animals.
The toxicology tests are expected to include 40 to 50 HIV-positive volunteers in the U.S., and will be designed to test whether the vaccine is toxic in humans.

Courtesy of CBC News

Barebacking- Why?

Why are we... from Eric Leven on Vimeo.

Resolutions/Promises- Wellness Approach

Well it's a new year with new beginnings, new challenges and new rewards. I guess that's what its all about. Each New Year thousand of people make many resolutions of various promises to themselves about what they plan to do this year. The big "New Year's Resolution".

Well the biggest one is getting into shape. How many people do you know who have said that they're going to go on a diet, lose 10, 20, 30 lbs. You head into the gym in the month of January and its pack. Everyone dying to lose that holiday weight from over stuffing himself or herself. All the "New Year's Resolutionist" trying to keep good to their promise. In a few weeks for some reason a good portion of them disappear from the gym. Either they have met their goals and have decided to stop or they have just given up. Most likely given up. And you will see them next January doing the same thing.

Getting into shape and becoming healthier isn't just about losing a few pounds, but it’s about modifying your life-style to be better balance. So that you can a obtain a better state of wellness in your life. That includes exercise, healthier eating, finding a better balance between work and play. To help reduce stress, which tends to leads or at least acts as a main indicator in an unbalance life.

I think the "New Year's Resolutionist" that have decided to lose a few pounds and have a healthier life should start off by finding a good wellness program. I recently caught an episode of the Martha Stewart Show where they were discussing their wellness program campaign that started this week. They have a good easy to follow program that really emphasizes life-balance. I would recommend it. It can be found through there Body and Soul magazine section called Whole Living.

Also for those gym bunny. I suggest taking on a Yoga class. I recently took up Yoga with a very close friend and found that it not only was a good form of exercise that did provide some strength training, but it was also a good therapeutic approach on incorporating wellness in your life through the commentary that the teacher provide. There are many types of yoga style out there and I'm sure there is one suited for you. The style that I have taking on is called Axel Molema hatha yoga excellent class and teacher. I recommend it.

Play It Safe

Okay Boys and Girls. Spring is coming and I'm sure there are a lot of frisky homos out there. So here is this spring's public service announcement. Last Year I posted an article on the dangers of catching syphilis, especially for those with HIV. This time around I'm focusing on Genital Herpes. Yap the dreaded GH!

GH is probably the most commonly spread STD of the entire possible virus that you can get. Catching it can be prevented. Once you have it, its there forever but can be controlled. So below are some basic facts. For more information link tohttp://www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/tc/genital-herpes-topic-overview

What is genital herpes?
Genital herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The disease can be bothersome. But if you are a healthy adult, you do not need to worry that it will cause serious problems.
Most people never have symptoms, or the symptoms are so mild that people do not know that they are infected. But in some people, the disease causes occasional outbreaks of itchy and painful sores in the genital area.
After the first outbreak, the herpes virus stays in the nerve cells below the skin and becomes inactive. It usually becomes active again from time to time, traveling back up to the skin and causing more sores. Things like stress, illness, a new sex partner, or menstruation may trigger a new outbreak. As time goes on, the outbreaks happen less often, heal faster, and don't hurt as much.
What causes genital herpes?
Genital herpes is caused by a virus-either the herpes simplex virus type 1 or the herpes simplex virus type 2. Either virus can cause sores on the lips (cold sores) and sores on the genitals. Type 1 more often causes cold sores, while type 2 more often causes genital sores.
You are more likely to get genital herpes if you:
Have more than one sex partner.
Have a high-risk partner (someone who has more than one sex partner or someone who has genital herpes).
Have unprotected sex (without condoms).
Have sex before age 18.
Have an impaired immune system.
Are a woman. Women are more likely than men to get infected.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms can vary greatly from person to person. Most people never have any symptoms, or the symptoms are so mild that they may not notice them.
Some people have outbreaks of itchy and painful blisters on the penis or around the opening of the vagina. The blisters rupture and turn into oozing shallow sores that take up to 3 weeks to heal. Sometimes people, especially women, also have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and muscle aches. They may also notice an abnormal discharge and pain when they urinate.
Once you have been exposed to genital herpes, it takes 2 to 14 days to have your first outbreak.
Genital herpes infections can be severe in people with impaired immune systems, such as people with HIV.

Hey Dear, Summer Coming. Its Time to Get a Touch Up!

More and more men are going under the knife to give him that more youthful appearance. Over the last decade plastic surgery has become more precise, less painful, and faster and offers a wide range of options. The pursuit for youth, especially in the gay community has never been bigger. It may seem that gone the days when the older gentleman look of a man was considered sexy. The wrinkles around the eyes and forehead, the not so flat stomach, the aging skin are by popular culture no longer cool.

The, as I would call it, George Clooney look use to represent sexual experience and financial stability. The guy that understood the need for foreplay and how to stimulate their partner. The guy who wasn't always about the quick hook ups but did it with some class. The guy that is stable. These at one point seem to be hot. Don't get me wrong. A young tone fit guy was also hot (very) and will continue to be. But now the ever so increasing pressure of staying and looking young has filter into all aspects of life. To the point now that the George Clooney looks reminds people of their grandfather... Yuk!! -- can we say Sugar Daddy!!

It's very common to hear of women going under the knife. But now there is a steady increase of men getting a nip and tuck for some fast results. In the gay community which is already very youth crazy, it's not uncommon to see a poster for Botox plastered on a side of a building or knowing someone who has received some type of cosmetic surgery for the purpose of looking better. The gym takes to long and is hard work and may not get you the results you’re looking for. (I'm sure that this is the slogan for most cosmetic surgeons), especially for the lazy ones. You know who you are!

So here is Avenue Road's Advice:

If your going to do it, just do it. It's so in, it's so gay and I'm sure it's so you. But remember. For any major surgery there is at least 4 to 6 weeks healing time. So if you want to look artificially fabulous for summer, you need to hit the knife NOW!!

Canada Approves AIDS Drug Isentress

Health Canada has granted license approval for a new HIV-AIDS drug, the first in a promising new class of medications.

Drug maker Merck Frosst says it has been given permission to bring Isentress to the Canadian market for treatment of HIV-positive people whose viruses are resistant to multiple other HIV drugs.

AIDS expert Dr. Mark Wainberg says there is tremendous optimism about the drug in the community of HIV patients, doctors and researchers.

The drug's generic name is raltegravir.

It is the first in a new class of drugs known as integrase inhibitors to hit the global AIDS drug market; another drug, eltegravir, is in development by Gilead Sciences Inc. of Foster City, CA.

New classes of AIDS drugs are critical because viruses can develop resistance to existing classes of drugs over time.

Raltegravir works by blocking an enzyme called integrase that the virus needs in order to be able to insert its DNA into the host cell's chromosome.

"The amount of virus in the blood stream goes down much faster with this drug than with other drugs,'' says Wainberg, a professor at McGill University who practices at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital.

"I think it is a drug that has the potential to do so much good. You know, there are even things we hope we can do with it that we don't want to talk about (yet).''

Health Canada licensed the drug for use in combination with other antiretroviral medications for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in ``treatment-experienced'' adult patients who show evidence of viral replication and drug resistance.

The release from the company says the marketing authorization comes with conditions, pending the results of studies to verify the drug's clinical benefit.

Merck Frosst says a notice of compliance - essentially a license to market - with conditions signals ``the promising nature of the clinical evidence in patients with this serious disease and the need for further follow up to verify the clinical benefits.''

Clinical trials have shown that raltegravir, in combination with other antiretroviral drugs, was effective at reducing viral load and increasing CD4 cell counts, the two most widely accepted measures of efficacy against HIV/AIDS.

The drug was given a priority review by the Food and Drug Administration, which announced on Oct. 16 that it had approved the drug for use in the U.S.

Gay Men Have Higher Prevalence Of Eating Disorders

According to the study results, more than 15 percent of gay or bisexual men had at some time suffered anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder, or at least certain symptoms of those disorders -- a problem known as a subclinical eating disorder, compared with less than five percent of heterosexual men. In contrast, sexual orientation did not seem to influence the risk of eating disorder symptoms among women. Just below 10 percent of lesbian and bisexual women and eight percent of heterosexual women had ever reported having a subclinical eating dis"It is not clear why gay men have high rates of eating disorders," says Dr. Meyer. "One theory is that the values and norms in the gay men's community promote a body-centered focus and high expectations about physical appearance, so that, similar to what has been theorized about heterosexual women, they may feel pressure to maintain an ideal body image."

To assess this theory, the investigators studied whether gay and bisexual men with greater connection and affiliation with the gay community are more likely to have eating disorders than those who are not affiliated with the gay community. Despite slightly elevated eating disorders among men who were active in gay recreational groups, men who said they felt closely connected to the gay community and who participated in a range of gay and bisexual organizations did not have higher rates of eating disorders than men who were not as closely affiliated with the community.

"Even gay and bisexual men who participate in gay gyms, where body-focus and community values regarding attractiveness would be heightened, did not have higher rates of eating disorders than those gay and bisexual men who participated in non-gay gyms or who did not participate in a gym at all," observes Dr. Meyer. "This suggests that factors other than values and norms in the gay community are related to the higher rates of eating disorder among these men."

As for the findings in women, the researchers reported no differences in rates of eating disorders between lesbian/bisexual women and heterosexual women, suggesting that lesbian/bisexual women are not protected from eating disorders as some previous researchers have suggested. Also, rates of eating disorders of lesbian/bisexual women did not differ significantly from gay/bisexual men. "This shows that there needs to be greater awareness of these problems among gay and bisexual men and women alike, as well as specific interventions to address the issues in this population," the researchers conclude.

Source: Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

Health Care -- Sicko: Must see Movie---

Michael Moore present a overview of the Health System in the USA compared to the rest of the world. And how the HMO are structure to focus on making money as their prime objective as suppose to saving people.

Remember To Get Tested.

There seems to be an increase in cases of syphilis among gay and bisexual men. According to the American CDC this particular strain is highly
deadly and may cause blindness or even a stroke. Syphilis is a sexual transmitted disease caused by bacteria called Treponema Pallidum and can generally be treated with antibiotics.

Here are some basic facts courtesy of http://www.emedicinehealth.com/

Cause:

Transmission most often occurs when one person comes into contact with lesions on an infected person through sexual activity.
Men are more vulnerable to contracting syphilis than women.
The active disease is found most often among men and women aged 15-39 years.

Read More about the STD: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/syphilis/page3_em.htm

If you’re sexually active get tested regularly. Consult your Doctor on how often you should be tested for STDs.

Play Safe and Have Fun.

Gym Season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGAeWZkC6XU

Well the summer is in full swing and you know what that means. Time to get off the couch and hit the gym, because all the hot boys will be there! LOL. It's time for you to pretend that you are trying to actually get into shape and are making an important lifestyle change. If you fit into this category your probably a "Gym Queen". Looking for your next action. It's okay. There are many out there like yourself. You're not alone.

But if you are actually trying to get into better shape, you probably love those guys who stare at themselves in the mirror for most of their time spent in the gym. They do one rep of chest press or bicep curls and get up and spend the next 10 minutes flexing their muscles while holding up the equipment. You hate them but in some little way envy them because usually they have a perfect body. And they know...hence the showcase that they do each time. "Bitches"

To get into better shape doesn't mean doing just 'regular exercise'. But also having a good meal plan and staying active! (This doesn't mean sex)

Here are some my tips:

1- You don't necessarily have obtain a trainer. But you can probably consult the personal trainer at your gym to provide you with some useful exercise routines that you can do on your own at the gym or even at home

2-Consult a Nutrientist to help you out with a meal plan that works for you.

3- Stay active. Join a local sports league like swimming or soccer. Walk, bike or jog. Basically keep moving

4- For motivation, buddy up with a friend.

Here is a god link on how to get started from a professional personal trainer.

http://weighttraining.about.com/od/benefitsofweighttraining/a/benefits.htm