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The first ever.

With the holiday season well and truly upon us remembering to take your pill after a tipple to many may soon become a thing of the past!! We’ve all done it – got carried away with the holiday buzz, had a few too many cocktails and forgotten to take our pill!

But a brand new contraceptive patch could mean that if your big night out turned into a BIG night out - the morning after panic can be gone forever!

Ortho Evra is the first skin patch that has been approved for birth control. The weekly prescription patch works very much like oral contraceptive pills as it releases the same hormones through the skin and into the blood stream to prevent pregnancy. The patch will soon be widely available on the NHS across the whole of the UK.
But unlike the daily oral contraceptive, the patch is applied to the skin on a weekly basis – which means that once it is applied you can forget about it for seven days!

What the experts say…

The Family Planning Association has welcomed the new contraceptive patch. The chief executive of the organisation Anne Weyman has said that is great news and a real step forward for women.

“The patch has already had a good reception in America and we expect it to prove popular here with women who want to use hormonal contraception. The patch works in the same way as the pill, but you don’t have to remember to take it everyday. Instead, a woman changes her patch just once a week and this new method should prove useful in helping to reduce unplanned pregnancies.”

The Patch - What’s it all about then?

What is it?
It’s a thin, beige patch that is roughly the size of a matchbox.

How does it work?
It works very much in the same way as oral contraceptive pills. It contains the same hormones (progestin and estrogin) and releases the hormones at the same daily rate as the pill. Wearing the patch keeps a woman from ovulating – which means she doesn’t release an egg that can be fertilised.

How effective is it?
When used correctly it is over 99 per cent effective!

How do I use it?
A new patch is applied every week for three weeks. The first patch is applied on the first day of the menstrual cycle. A week after wearing the patch it’s removed and a new one applied immediately. This will be called Change Day. The patch can be changed at any time of the day and the used patch is disposed off. After three weeks you have a patch-free week when you will get your period.

Where does it go?
The patch can be worn on most areas of the body as long as they are clean, dry and hair free! It’s normally put on the arm, bottom or lower abdomen but should not be put on the breasts or any skin that is sore or irritated.

What if it falls off?!
The patch is very sticky and should stay on during a bath, swimming, saunas or exercise – so it’s ideal for your holiday! If it does fall off it needs to be reapplied as soon as possible or a new patch stuck on. If the patch has been off for less than 24 hours no additional contraception is needed – but any longer and you need to use extra protection!

Any side effects?
You might get some when you first start using the patch but these should stop after a few months. They include

• Headaches
• Sickness
• Bleeding between periods
• Mood changes
• Weight gain or loss

• You don’t have to remember it everyday – you only have to remember to replace the patch once each week.
• It’s very effective when used correctly.
• It’s easy to use.
• It does not interfere with sex.
• As the hormones do not need to be absorbed by the stomach the effectiveness of the contraception is not affected by sickness or diarrhoea – making this form of contraception ideal for your holiday when a change of climate, food and alcohol can sometimes cause some sickness!

• It may be visible depending on where you wear it.
• It might cause some skin irritation for some women.
• It can be affected by some prescription drugs.

THE Catholic church will refuse to implement the government’s new guidelines on sexual health in its schools unless controversial moves to allow the morning-after pill to be dispensed on school grounds are dropped.

Father Joe Chambers, the church representative on the group, has resigned in protest at the report’s contents, and the church is making clear its intention to campaign strongly on the issue unless the guidelines are dramatically revised.

Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic church in Scotland, said: “If the report is not amended or altered substantially and becomes the blueprint or template for the government’s public document, then we will not accept it. These measures would not be in the curriculum of Catholic schools.”

Chambers will write to Malcolm Chisholm, the health minister, setting out his objections to the report’s recommendations and demand that the minister reject key elements of the working group’s report.

The report on sexual health will be submitted to the Scottish executive this week. Chisholm and his team of civil servants will decide whether to include its recommendations in a document on sexual health plans which the executive is to publish in the autumn. The executive document will then form the basis for a wide-ranging public consultation.

The working group was set up to make recommendations on reducing teenage pregnancies and cutting the number of sexually transmitted diseases.

Joanne Robertson
Times Online

Customers of a Dundee tattoo parlour are being contacted by health officials and offered precautionary tests for HIV and Hepatitis C infection.

The move was made after the establishment was closed down following an investigation into hygiene and cleaning procedures.

The Piercing Point in Mains Road, Dundee, opened last September initially offering body piercing and later offering tattoos.

Health officials from NHS Tayside, which has set up a helpline, stressed the risk of infection was "very low".

Dr Mike Roworth, consultant in public health medicine, said: "It is very important to stress there is no evidence that anyone has become infected and our actions at this stage are purely precautionary.

"I would very much like to be able to reassure customers who had procedures at this parlour that the risks of infection are low.

"However, in the circumstances I believe it is appropriate to contact these people directly to offer reassurance, advice and testing and to give other customers the opportunity to come forward for testing if they are particularly concerned."

Piercing Point was closed down after a complaint about hygiene by a customer and subsequent visits by environmental health officers from Dundee City Council.

Officials became concerned that poor infection control could leave clients exposed to blood-borne infections.

The parlour's records suggested that eight people from Tayside and Fife had undergone tattoo procedures and a further 55 were believed to have had body piercings.

Dr Roworth added: "Clearly we recognise that people may be worried by this news and we have already written to customers who we know from records had tattoos or piercing at the parlour.

"It may be however that the records kept by the parlour are not exhaustive.

"I would therefore advise any customer who has had a procedure at this shop since September 2002 and who does not hear from us within the next few days to contact the helpline to discuss testing."

The tattoo palour's owner, Greg Haining, defended his business.

"Hygiene is never perfect and you must try your best to eliminate problems.

"There were a few problems, but we had them in hand and were eliminating them," he said.

"There was no reason to issue a prohibition order."

Mr Haining added that he was consulting his solicitor over the matter.

Concerned customers can contact the helpline on 0800 783 0566 .

BBC News

The facilities for people with HIV at Jersey's General Hospital are being described as "appalling" by a Jersey charity.
The annual report from the Aids and HIV charity ACET is released on Tuesday.

The charity is warning of a crisis in sexual health problems in Jersey.

It claims the results of a recent UK government report are reflected in Jersey.

'Understaffed' clinic

There has been an increase in a range of sexually-transmitted diseases in the island.

Rosemary Ruddy, the executive director of ACET, said Jersey politicians need to wake up to reality and invest in a sexual health strategy.

She said while there is a group of civil servants looking at the issues there is no budget to make improvements.

Mrs Ruddy said there were no proper facilities at the General Hospital to help people with HIV or other sexual diseases.

She said there was just a "small, understaffed" clinic with limited opening times and no private area to discuss patients' concerns.

She said: "This is why we're asking that politicians push this up the political agenda and provide the resources needed to put in some good preventative sexual health education and to invest in the services that we have here.

"It's extremely important that people come forward and have sexual ill health treated."

The Health and Social Services committee said: "We aim to meet the health and social care needs of the people of Jersey, through promoting the health and social well-being of individuals, families and the community, and providing prompt, high quality services based on assessed need and agreed entitlement."

BBC News

An electric shaver especially designed for shaving pubic hair into different shapes has gone on sale in Britain.

Remington hope the Bikini Trim and Shape will prove a hit with the growing number of women who want to be a little more creative.

A survey of 500 women commissioned by the company found 36% had trimmed their hair into a specific design.

The most popular shape was a heart but others choose the first letter of their partner's name.

Kay Downs, managing director of Remington UK, said: "We are responding to the soaring popularity of bikini trimming and shaping and we are the first-ever UK company to create a product to meet these market demands."

Of the 79% of women in the survey who said they trimmed their pubic hair, 27% have had a Brazilian Wax - noted for leaving a "racing strip" of hair down the centre of the bikini area.

Other treatments mentioned included The Tiffany - where hair is trimmed into the shape of a small box; The Beckham - a Mohican tuft down the middle; and The Hollywood - a complete shave.

The only other country Remington have so far launched the shaver is the US.

Ananova.com

Many fertility clinics treating HIV positive patients are putting not only their partners, but other patients at risk, according to a UK survey. Only a few have separate storage systems for sperm from HIV positive men - or make sure that treatments to remove the virus from sperm have worked before they use it in IVF treatments.

The demand for fertility treatments from HIV positive patients is growing fast, according to the survey carried out by experts from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

This is partly due to the success of antiretroviral drugs in extending the lives of patients, who might previously not even considered the possibility of having a baby. However, the survey shows that only a handful of clinics are doing all they can to protect their patients from the risk of HIV transmission.

Small safety

It found that only 6% of the clinics who replied to the survey had separate storage facilities for sperm from HIV positive patients, which would minimise the risk of infected semen being inadvertently used in another couple's IVF treatment.

Dr Louise Frodsham, who presented the research at the annual European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting in Madrid on Tuesday, said: "This is a very small minority.

"While there has never been a case of HIV being transmitted in this way, we know that hepatitis C can be.

"We feel that separate storage facilities are essential.

Many clinics were "failing to meet minimum safety standards", she said.

Of the 12 clinics that offered a technique called "sperm washing", which aims to flush any remaining HIV from the surface of the sperm, only two carried out further testing afterwards to make sure there was no HIV present.

"We know that sperm washing fails in about 5% of cases, " she said: "This puts women and the unborn child at a significant risk of seroconversion (infection)."

Too expensive

A lack of government funding of sperm washing in clinics meant that HIV positive couples unable to afford the procedure privately would be more likely to have unprotected sex in their desire to have a child.

Dr Frodsham said: "Sperm washing is not a fertility treatment - it should be funded as an HIV prevention measure."

A spokesman for the HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust said that the procedures to prevent cross-infection were "straightforward", and that all clinics should be able to follow them.

However, he added: "I don't think that non HIV-positive women should be worrying that their children or themselves have been infected with HIV during fertility treatment."

By Martin Hutchinson
BBC News Online health staff in Madrid

Lesbians are more than twice as likely to suffer from a hormone-related condition, fuelling theories that hormones play a role in developing their sexuality. Little is known about the origins of polycystic ovarian syndrome - one in ten women has the condition, which is linked to an excess of male sex hormones in the bloodstream.

Symptoms include excess hair, acne, and obesity, as well as a heightened risk of more serious health problems such as diabetes. Patients also often suffer fertility problems.

The latest research, presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Madrid on Monday, came from a clinic which is one of only two in the UK to offer fertility treatment to lesbian women.

Doctors there noticed a "staggering" number of lesbian women, who, on investigation, were found to be suffering either from polycystic ovary syndrome, or a less serious but related condition in which their ovaries showed many of the same features, but without the external symptoms. The researchers found that prevalence of this symptomless condition was 80% in the lesbian women they saw, compared with just 32% of their heterosexual patients.

Full-blown polycystic ovarian syndrome was present in 38% of lesbians, and 14% of the heterosexual women.

No proof

Lead researcher Dr Rina Agrawal said that the results suggested "significantly greater" rates of hormone imbalance in the lesbian women.

She said that while there was no evidence that polycystic ovaries could be implicated as a cause of lesbianism, it was possible that this hormone imbalance could be linked to both the medical condition and sexuality.

She said: "We do hypothesize that hyperandrogenism, which is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome, may be one of the factors contributing to the sexual orientation of women.".

Previous studies have linked hormone imbalances with sexual orientation - and the possibility has been raised that exposure to higher levels of certain hormones early in life, perhaps even pre-natally, may be influential.

However, Dr Agrawal said there was no possibility that treatments for the ovary condition might be able to influence sexuality.

"We do not view lesbianism as a disease that is in need of a cure."

Illness threat

Dr Adam Balen, a gynaecologist from Leeds, said that the study did not prove that polycystic ovaries "caused" lesbianism - or vice versa.

He said: "Polycystic ovary syndrome is an extremely common condition - this study is not suggesting that women with this condition are more likely to be lesbians.".

However, Dr Agrawal said that the high rates of the illness among lesbian women she encountered meant that doctors should be on the lookout for its telltale signs among their lesbian patients - in order to make sure that their wider health was not at risk.

"Our study emphasizes the importance of treating these women in a non-judgemental and non-biased manner so that clinicians may offer them appropriate health advice."

By Martin Hutchinson
BBC News Online health staff in Madrid

Men facing cancer treatment may not have to rely on a limited supply of frozen sperm to have children, as doctors hail the success of putting testicle tissue in storage instead. The new technique preserves the "germ cells" which make sperm, which are frozen and then transplanted back into the man when he is given the all-clear from the disease.

Remarkably, the frozen cells then "re-colonise" the testicle, and start producing enough sperm to allow fertility doctors to extract it from semen.

The Greek scientist behind the advance has already managed to grow these germ cells within the testicle of a rat, and says that storing testicle tissue instead of sperm will be a much better idea for would-be fathers.

Dr Nikalaos Sofikitis, from the Laboratory for Molecular Urology in Ioannina, Greece, recruited 22 men for a pioneering trial into the technique.

Testicle removed

All had testicular cancer, and six had the affected testicle removed by surgeons, and were about to be given the same combination of chemotherapy drugs that would kill all their sperm-producing cells.

Tissue was taken and stored from all six, and three were selected to have these germ cells transplanted back into their bodies.

All three showed signs that the germ cells had taken hold in the body, started dividing and "recolonising" the testicle - and started to make sperm again.

Although one had a very low concentration of normal-looking sperm, the other two had reasonable concentrations which would make it feasible for viable sperm to be extracted from their semen and used in IVF.

Baby attempt

Dr Sofikitis said that one of the men was already trying for a baby using fertility techniques.

He said: "The technique is much better because the main maintains a larger amount of genetic information than if he had simply frozen his sperm."

He said that there were a variety of uses for the technique, including the preservation of endangered species.

It is not only patients with testicular cancer who might benefit, but also those with any type of cancer that requires fertility-wrecking chemotherapy treatment.

By Martin Hutchinson
BBC News Online health staff in Madrid

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service today called for a change in health guidelines to make it easier for women to have an early medical abortion.

For an early-term abortion, a woman takes two separate drugs and under current rules she must go to a clinic or hospital both times to take them under supervision.

But the BPAS wants women to be able take the second drug at home 48 hours after having the first at the clinic.

The BPAS has applied to the Department of Health for approval to launch a study to prove the idea is acceptable and does not compromise safety.

It pointed out this is already standard practice in America for early medical abortion, which can be given for pregnancies of up to nine weeks.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the BPAS, said: "We think a woman should be able to obtain an abortion with as little hassle as possible.

"We feel she is already under enough stress as a result of an unwanted pregnancy and we want to make the whole process of obtaining an abortion as simply straightforward and stress-free as possible."

BPAS is Britain's largest provider of abortion services and currently carries out 3,000 early medical abortions each year.

After counselling, the woman goes to the clinic for tablets of mifepristone which block the pregnancy hormones and make the pregnancy unsustainable.

Then 48 hours later she returns to the clinic and has the drug misoprostol which causes the pregnancy to be expelled. She later returns to the clinic for a check-up.

Ms Furedi said many women who came to BPAS for an early medical abortion said they resented returning to the clinic just to receive the second dose of drugs.

She pointed out that after taking the second drug, although some women stayed at the clinic for a few hours, around 80% chose to go home.

Those who did so had access to a 24-hour helpline staffed by nurses in case of any problems or concerns. Ms Furedi said there was no evidence to suggest it would be unsafe for women to take the second drug at home.

"Women experiencing a natural early miscarriage aren't confined to hospital and there's no need for women experiencing a drug-induced early miscarriage to be in hospital," she said.

"It has been suggested that without the second visit women would forget to take the misoprostol or take it at the wrong time. But shocking as it may seem, women are not stupid. We are able to remember all kinds of complicated things." Nuala Scarisbrick, of the charity Life, which is opposed to abortion, said the move was a "cynical ploy to get rid of women out of the clinic so they can get more women in".

"Abortion is a multi-million pound industry," she said.

Chemical abortion was bad for women physically because of the high hormone doses involved, she said. "There are numerous stories of extremely heavy bleeding, nausea and vomiting."

She said it was also psychologically damaging because the process was so drawn-out and the woman was fully conscious and aware of what was happening throughout.

"We very much hope that this ploy by the BPAS does not succeed," she said. "Abortion is a deeply unpleasant experience and many woman afterwards say it is something they wish they had not done."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "All abortions in England are currently carried out under Section 1(3) of the Abortion Act which states that any treatment for the termination of pregnancy must be carried out in an NHS hospital or an approved independent sector place.

"There is provision under Section 1(3a) for medical abortion to be carried out in an approved class of place but we have not yet determined what a 'class of place' should be. No 'class of place' will be approved unless we are content that a woman's safety is not at risk."

Press Association
The Guardian

HIV specialists have called on the government to launch a new hard-hitting campaign to increase awareness of the disease.

It follows a continued rise in HIV infections across the UK over the past year.

Figures from the Health Protection Agency show 5,338 people were told they had the disease last year compared to 4,965 in 2001.

The last HIV public awareness campaign was in the late 1980s after the disease first emerged.

Fresh campaign

But a survey by ISIS Research suggests most specialists want a new campaign similar to that used 20 years ago.

A total of 57% of the 30 doctors questioned said the time had come for a fresh drive to increase awareness of HIV.

Just 7% said there was no need for a new campaign, while the reminder were undecided.

Many of these suggested a campaign may have little impact since many people being diagnosed with HIV are from abroad and have contracted the disease before arriving in the UK.

There has been a significant increase in the number of heterosexuals being infected abroad - especially in Africa.

Almost all of the specialists said they believed HIV is on the increase across the UK.

Rebecca Griffiths, a researcher at ISIS, said the findings made a strong case for a new campaign.

"With nearly all the doctors we interviewed citing an increase in cases of HIV in the past three years, any campaign that could potentially raise awareness would have a positive influence in helping to curtail any further progression in the number of HIV sufferers."

However, officials at Terrence Higgins said a 1980s style campaign would not be suitable now.

Colin Dixon, its director of national services, said: "The most important thing about the 'tombstone and iceberg' mass media campaign of the early 80s is that it happened when it did.

"The UK was ahead of the game and this contributed to the relatively small number of HIV infections in this country compared to the rest of Europe.

"The campaign did, however, use shock tactics which in our experience are not generally the most effective way to get appropriate messages across."

Over 41,000 people living in the UK are now believed to be HIV positive. One in three of these do not know they have the disease.

The Department of Health launched a campaign last year, which aimed to encourage more young people to wear condoms to protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Posters were displayed in bars and nightclubs and advertisements were placed in magazines, catering for 18 to 30 year olds backed up a website at playingsafely.co.uk.

A spokesman added: "The campaign is running in tandem with the department's ongoing sexual health and HIV promotion work.

"The Department of Health continues to work with the Terrence Higgins Trust, National Aids Trust, African HIV Policy Network and other voluntary sector organisations to increase awareness of HIV services, prevent transmission and address issues such as stigma."

BBC News