WellNotes

Welcome to WellNotes. WellNotes covers college related health and wellness topics on a semi-monthly basis.

Spring Break Safety

In this edition of WellNotes we offer some information on health and safety issues as they may relate to your spring break. We want you to have a good break and spend your time however you want, but to be safe in doing so. There are some simple but important considerations to make beforehand in relation to sex, STIs, alcohol, date rape, road safety, sunscreen, and tattoos. The following information is meant to help you have a fun and safe spring break. Are you good to go?

SEX

For some college students, Spring Break is inevitably linked to sex. You can have a good time and be safe by considering your boundaries and the risks of sexual activity in certain situations. You have choices in your sexual life. Ask yourself the following questions:

-Will I be sexually active, and if so, to what level?

-How does this choice fit into my own boundaries and values?

-If I choose to be sexually active, how can I stay physically safe?

Alcohol may affect decision making because it impairs judgment and may make us have sex when we otherwise wouldn’t. Not only do we need to deal with the fact that when we sober up, we remember why we normally don’t engage in this behavior, but we have to deal with the reality that we just exposed ourselves to a number of risks. (BACCHUS Network, Safe Spring Break, 2006).

STIs

Of the estimated 333 million new STIs that occur in the world every year, at least 11 million occur in young people under 25 years of age. Moreover, rates of curable STIs in the United States are the highest in the developed world (Safe Spring Break 2006).

HIV, HPV, herpes simplex, hepatitis B and C, gonorrhea, syphilis, and Chlamydia can be transmitted during unprotected intercourse (Safe Spring Break 2006).

“Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common and costly bacterial STD in the U.S. with about three million new cases each year, and health care costs for the infection and its consequences exceed an estimated $3.5 million dollars per year” (American Social Health Association, State of the Nation 2005).

• Chlamydia can result in serious health risks, especially for women. Consequences can include Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), which, without treatment, can cause infertility.
• In the U.S., it is estimated that two-thirds of twelve million cases of STDs diagnosed annually are among people under the age of 25. (BACCHUS Network, Safe Spring Break, 2006).

HIV/AIDS

There are an estimated 39.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Young people ages 15-24 account for approximately half of new adult HIV infections and 28% of the global total of adults living with HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is a serious life-threatening illness that can be avoided by abstinence, sex with someone who has tested negative, and the use of a condom and other protective barriers. Making the right choices in sexual situations will significantly decrease the chance of contracting HIV/AIDS (Safe Spring Break, 2006).

Condom Effectiveness

It is not difficult to prevent HIV and STIs. Consistent condom use is highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. The condom—latex or polyurethane, male or female—is the only technology currently available to prevent HIV transmission during sexual intercourse with an infected partner. While the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HPV infection is unknown, condom use is associated with lower rates of cervical cancer—an HPV associated disease (Safe Spring Break, 2006).

Be prepared with your choice of safe sex; condoms, dental dams, flavored condoms and lube.

Sunscreen

If you are going to a warm sunny beach or a cold snowy white mountain, don’t forget to bring sunscreen and use it! It is easy to forget to use sunscreen in cold conditions such as skiing in the mountains, but the glare of the sun against the bright snow may cause sunburn on any exposed skin surfaces below your goggles. Sunscreen will protect you from the ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer. Sunburn, caused by a type of (UV) light known as UVB, has served as a surrogate for serious conditions like melanoma and basal and squamous cell carcinoma, three forms of skin cancer.

Know Your Itinerary

Whether you are in the woods, backpacking up a mountain, on a cruise, a tropical island, in a foreign country, going on a road trip, volunteering in another city, or just hanging out in a new and different place, have a plan and know what it is. Be sure to communicate with others in your group, or let others know what your plan is if you are alone. Leave information regarding where you are going, how long you will be there, and when you expect to return with someone staying behind. Trust your instincts!

Road Safety

• The risk of having a traffic crash while using a cellular phone is the same as that while driving drunk. (New England Journal Medicine, 2/13/97).
• If you are driving, pay attention. (Do not talk on a cell phone, apply make-up, read a book, take notes, reach for a cigarette that fell onto the floor, or look for a CD, spill a drink, or drive in a severe emotional state, or bad weather). (BACCHUS Network, Safe Spring Break, 2006)
• AVOID driver fatigue at all costs! Your brain begins to shut down when you’re sleepy and performance slips before you actually nod off. Your thinking slows and your judgment may become impaired. If you experience any of the following symptoms, a rest stop may be in order.
• These are signs of driver fatigue: Repeated yawning, closing your eyes (At 60 mph, if you close your eyes for only one second, you’ve traveled 88 feet!), suddenly jerking the wheel to get back into your lane, missing road signs or exits, nodding off, disconnected thoughts, no memory of the last few miles, drifting out of your lane.
• To avoid drowsy driving sleep well the night before the drive, talk to people or listen to up-beat music, make regular stops every two hours, do not take medication that will make you drowsy. (BACCHUS Network, Safe Spring Break, 2006)

Alcohol and Nutrition

• A 12 ounce beer has 150 calories and 13 carbohydrate grams
• A 12 ounce light beer has 100 calories and 5 carbohydrate grams
• A 6 ounce glass of wine has 120 calories and 1.4 carbohydrate grams
• A 6 ounce glass of red wine has 128 calories and 3 carbohydrate grams
• A 1.5 ounce shot of 100-proof liquor has 124 calories
• A mixed drink such as 2 ounces of rum plus 4 ounces of cola total 182 calories and 12 carbohydrate grams

“The process of metabolizing alcohol requires nutrients. As the liver decreases the supply of these nutrients, the blood stream is called upon to replenish the supply. As a result, body cells are deprived of critical nutrients and normal body functions suffer” (Grayson, qtd. in Safe Spring Break, 2006).

Marijuana and Driving

A current literature search that includes outcomes from valid medical marijuana studies reveals that marijuana can damage short term memory, distort perceptions, and impair judgment and complex motor skills while altering heart rate. Marijuana intake can also cause anxiety attacks, paranoia and lethargy, which can seriously affect driving skills (Zweben & OiConnell, 1992; Shalala, 1995; Wickelgren, 1997; Solowij, 1998; Porter, 1999; Stephens, 1999; Joy et al, 2000 qtd. in Safe Spring Break, 2006).

Sexual Assault and Predatory Drugs

A predatory drug is a drug used to incapacitate an individual for purposes of entertainment or to commit a crime (i.e. commit sexual assault, robbery, etc.). Predatory drugs are often added to people’s drinks without their knowledge. At celebratory times like spring break and graduation, people may let their guard down and could be victims to these drugs, regardless of what people are drinking.

Protecting Yourself:

• Drink from tamper proof bottles or cans and insist on opening them yourself
• Be particularly cautious about drinking out of wide-mouthed glasses
• Do not ask someone to watch your drink while you dance, go to the bathroom, etc
• Even if you trust the person watching your drink, he or she could get distracted
• Insist on personally observing while any drink you have is mixed or prepared
• Remember that not just those having alcoholic beverages are at risk of being drugged

Tattoos and Body Modifications

Getting a tattoo may be an appealing spring break activity. In order to get what you want safely, consider the cleanliness of the studio, the artists’ professional knowledge, and the pain and care you will have to take during and afterward. For additional information in body modification, see the spring break WellNotes email, or check out the links on the left side of this page.

On Campus Resources

For more information about healthy/safe spring break, here are some on-campus resource to check out:

• Your RA or RD

• Counseling Center, ext. 7160

• Health Center, ext. 7165

• Student Success & Wellness, ext. 7112

• Campus Safety, ext. 7855

College Outdoors, ext. 7116