A circle for women to talk about our health challenges and successes, share tips, vent, find solace and sisterhood as we navigate illness, health and the space in between.
This is a Female Only Woman Centered Health Support Circle
Guidelines and Rules
Welcome Sister: If you were observed female at birth or assigned female at birth you are welcome here. If you are not female, you will be banned. If you are a female who identifies differently than as a woman there is a place for you here but it is not a place for you to center discussions on your identity or police woman centered language.
Please be Mindful: This is a support circle, not a debate circle. Respect other women's health decisions. If you have strong opinions on a health topic please consider making your own posts on the topic and not derailing someone else's post or comments, especially if they state they are not looking for advice. Sometimes discussion or debate will also best be had in other Circles, like /o/STEM or /o/WomensLiberation. Dangerous and misleading information is subject to deletion.
Our Health is not your Pot of Gold: No advertising, spam, sales, MLM, or self promotion of businesses and/or products.
Please be Careful: This space is not private, this space is not "safe". Nothing here should be construed as medical advice, posts and comments here have not been vetted by a doctor. Always check in with your primary care provider for appropriate diagnosis and treatment for health concerns.
On Building the Space: When you post your story or comment on someone else's post you are helping build this women's centered support space. Your voice is important; sharing our stories, gifs, tips and tricks, memes, health news, rants, and raves is important. There are very few places left that center women, by actively participating you are helping us build this one.
The Sitewide Rules and Sitewide Guidelines are both enforced here.
“ New syphilis infections plummeted in the U.S. starting in the 1940s when antibiotics became widely available. They fell to their lowest ever by 1998, when fewer than 7,000 new cases were reported nationwide. The CDC was so encouraged by the progress it launched a plan to eliminate syphilis in the U.S.
But by 2002, cases began rising again, largely among gay and bisexual men, and they kept going. In late 2013, CDC ended its elimination campaign in the face of limited funding and escalating cases, which that year surpassed 17,000.
By 2020, cases had reached nearly 41,700, and they spiked even further last year, to more than 52,000.
The rate of cases has been rising, too, hitting about 16 per 100,000 people last year. That's the highest in three decades.
Rates are highest in men who have sex with men, and among Black and Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. While the rate for women is lower than it is for men, officials noted that it's has been rising more dramatically — up about 50% last year.
That ties to another problem — the rise in congenital syphilis, in which infected moms pass the virus on to their babies, potentially leading to death of the child or health problems like deafness and blindness. Annual congenital syphilis cases numbered only about 300 a decade ago; they surged to nearly 2,700 last year. Of last year's tally, 211 were stillbirths or infant deaths, Mena said.
The increases in syphilis and other STDs may have several causes, experts say. Testing and prevention efforts have been hobbled by years of inadequate funding, and spread may have gotten worse — especially during the pandemic — as a result of delayed diagnosis and treatment. Drug and alcohol use may have contributed to risky sexual behavior. Condom use has been declining.
And there may have been a surge in sexual activity as people emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns. "People are feeling liberated," Saag said.”