6-26 Health in brief

The Edmond Sun

June 25, 2009 11:33 pm

— National HIV Testing Day
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 250,000 of the one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States are unaware of their status. As of Dec. 31, 2007, there were about 4,286 people living with HIV/AIDS in Oklahoma. That is 235 more people infected than the previous year, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health HIV/STD Service.
June 26-28 is OKC Pride Weekend. On Saturday, free HIV testing will be offered at Memorial Park, Northwest 36th Street and North Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City from 2-6 p.m. On Sunday, testing will be offered on the 39th Street strip (next to Angles Club), 2117 N.W. 39th St., in Oklahoma City from 2-5 p.m. For more information, call Sunshine Schillings of the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund at 408-4013.

Catholic Charities trains faith community nurses
On July 16, Catholic Charities of Oklahoma will offer its second annual conference for nurses, health professionals, clergy and anyone interested in gaining skills in developing or expanding a caring ministry.
The conference, titled “Seeing Beyond the Ordinary: Healing Ministries of Faith Community Nursing,” will be from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond.
For registration information, call Marilyn Seiler, Faith Community Resource Center at Catholic Charities, 523-3006.
or e-mail her at mseiler@catholiccharitiesok.org or visit www.fcnaok.org.

Energy gum can be a health risk for children and teens
The health of teenagers and children can be at risk if “energy” gum is used in excessive quantities, warns the Oklahoma Poison Control Center. The young bodies of children and teenagers are not used to handling the effects caused by caffeine. Symptoms of caffeine intoxication may include restlessness; nervousness; excitement; inability to sleep; flushing of the face; increased urination; stomach problems; muscle twitching; a rambling flow of thought and speech; irritability; and irregular or rapid heartbeat. In rare cases, disorientation, delusions, hallucinations and psychosis (a loss of contact with reality) may occur.
The poison center is staffed 24 hours a day by specially trained pharmacists and registered nurses. The Oklahoma Poison Control Center is a program of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy at the OU Health Sciences Center.