Do you think you have been exposed to HIV?  It's vital that PEP is started as soon as possible after any possible exposure to HIV — preferably within a few hours.

The diagnosis of two Australian patients so far this year with a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhoea has sparked growing concern for the over use of antibiotics.

If your thinking about starting PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) having as much information as possible is essential before making your decision.

PrEP is a prescription medication which is a combination of two different drugs, and is taken once daily by people in order to prevent them from becoming infected with HIV. It must be started 7 days before exposure and continued for 28 days after exposure.

If your thinking about starting PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) having as much information as possible is essential before making your decision.

PrEP is a prescription medication which is a combination of two different drugs, and is taken once daily by people in order to prevent them from becoming infected with HIV. It must be started 7 days before exposure and continued for 28 days after exposure.

We are here to help you!

If you are thinking about about suicide then talking to somebody that you trust is a good start, but there are many things that you can do to keep yourself safe and to work through the tough times.

Talk to someone you trust
This can be a family member or friend, a colleague, teacher, minister, your local doctor, or an anonymous 24-hour telephone counselling service such as Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Stay healthy
Exercising and eating well can help you to feel better and manage difficult life events.

Avoid drugs and alcohol
Many drugs are depressants and can make you feel worse. They don’t help to solve problems.

Write down your feelings
This can help you to understand yourself better and help you to think about alternative solutions to problems.

Avoid being alone
If you are having thoughts about suicide, stay with a family member or friend or have someone stay with you until your thoughts decrease.

Set yourself small goals
This can help you move forward and feel in control.

A great list of links and important contacts for more information and help.

• Visit the Let's Talk website
• ACT Suicide Prevention Services
• Lifeline Australia – Ph: 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline – Ph: 1800 551 800
• ACT Crisis and Assessment Team – Ph: 1800 629 354
• Suicide Call Back Service – Ph: 1300 659 467
• Mensline Australia – Ph: 1300 78 99 87
• Carers ACT – Ph: 02 6296 9900
• headspace – Ph: 02 6201 5343
• eheadspace
• Multicultural Mental Health Australia
• OzHelp Foundation Ltd – Ph: 1300 OZHELP (1300 694 357)
• StandBy - Ph: 0423 063 839
• QLife Support Service – Ph: 1800 184 527
• LIFE Living is for everyone
• Mens Health
• Working Together – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practices:

A new bill cracking down on dodgy health practitioners, including gay conversion therapists, will be introduced to the Victorian Parliament. The Victorian Health Minister said they will be on the look out for unregistered providers.

Concerns that gonorrhea may become "untreatable" due to growing antibiotic-resistance has led Britain's chief medical officer, to reportedly write to doctors and pharmacies across Britain to sound the alarm.  The STI is increasingly caused by strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae that resist antibiotic treatment.

Nomograms representing the range of "normal" penis size measurements across all ages and races may help alleviate anxiety about penis size among male patients and may also be useful for research purposes. In total, 17 studies with up to 15,521 males underwent penis size measurement by health professionals.

Look out guys because the next generation condoms are on their way! Researchers are using brain scanning technology to test the "pleasure" attributes of a new type of condom that feel like... well... nothing at all! The new thinner and stronger hydrogel material have properties similar to human skin.

Good news for men who love coffee, a new study suggests drinking more than three cups of Italian-style coffee can halve a man's risk of prostate cancer. Drinking Italian-style coffee could significantly reduce a man's risk of prostate cancer, according to a new study by the Laboratory of Translational Medicine.

Listerine gargle every day helps to slow spread of gonorrhoea, study finds. Researchers at Melbourne clinic conduct clinical trial and say mouthwash a cheap and effective control measure. Daily rinsing and gargling with a commercial brand of mouthwash could help control the spread of gonorrhoea.

Firstly I want to be totally frank and admit the obvious - PrEP is a  game changer for the MSM (Men who have sex with men) community. Its efficacy is unrivalled (when the daily Truvada regimen is adhered to) and the swathe of studies showing its potential to dramatically reduce and possibly eliminate new HIV infections...

“Boys boys all types of boys, black white Puerto Rican Chinese boys”.

So rapped Missy Elliot in her 2002 single Work It and I for one say, hell yeah!!! Until Mr Right locks me in the cellar, I see no reason not to fully explore the bounty offered in this hot little queer and mixed-race world — and I suspect a few of you adopt a similar approach to your own sex life.

Free and confidential sexual health testing and/or education @ headspace Canberra

1st Wednesday of each month!

Individual appointments for young people will run for approximately 30 minutes, between 1pm and 4pm. You do not need to be a client of headspace Canberra, but you do need to be under the age of 25.

You can speak to your headspace worker, call headspace on 02 6201 5343 to book an appointment, or visit headspace for more information. See flyer here.

“We are not dirty, we are not a threat, and we are not disease vectors.” Dr. Richard Wolitski, director of the Office for HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told the crowd at the US Conference on AIDS, talking about HIV+ men with undetectable viral loads.

Gay and bisexual men are now four times more likely to attempt suicide in their lifetime than heterosexual men. Researchers now estimate that suicide kills more gay and bisexual men than AIDS. 

A 2011 British survey found 12% of women would give up two to ten years of their lives just to be their ideal weight, while 29% of men think about their appearance at least five times a day. So what makes an ideal body, and why do we want one so badly?.