Week 12: Infectious Conditions

9:50PM 4/24/2019

This week’s chapter wasn’t anything new when it came to describing our immune systems and how diseases work and are transmitted, but it was very informative when it talked about STD’s, their symptoms, and their modes of transmission. Obviously your immune system works to eliminate foreign pathogens and objects from your body, while vaccines are a man-made means to boost your immunity to certain contagions. I’m currently waiting on my immune system to clear out a cold I have, but it’s taking it’s sweet time. I could be doing more to help my immune system, such as getting a lot of sleep and ingesting more vitamin C, but life doesn’t slow down just because you have the sniffles.

What was more interesting to me was the variety of sexually transmitted infections and diseases covered and how you can protect yourself from contracting them. The best way to ensure you don’t suffer from the horrors of HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, and HPV is to be abstinent, but in the current culture that’s very few and far between. Also, the suggested low risk behaviors are, in my mind, pretty unrealistic and boring. I take my precautions by always wearing a condom and asking about a partner’s sexual health and history before engaging in sexual activity, and I’m satisfied with that level of risk prevention. Overall, the last thing I want is an STD, especially one of the more severe ones, and I think that by not having unprotected sex with multiple people and by practicing common safety precautions I should be okay.

Moving on to my health aspect, I completed my SMART goal of going to the gym last week, so I’m going to up the ante to three days next week. I need to keep working and stay on track to achieve my goal. Regarding my diet, I’ve cleaned it up a bit but I could do better as well. I’ve been eating a little more ice cream at ECC than I should, going up to 2-3 times a week instead of once. The devil’s in the details, so that’s another smart goal for the week: to bring the ice cream back to once a week. I’m happy with my progress so far, but I could be in a better spot with some extra effort, so I’m going to keep that in mind heading into week 13.

Here’s a photo of me on a shooting trip with a couple of my friends. Shooting is very fun when it’s done in a safe, controlled environment such as a shooting range. It’s an excellent form of stress release, especially for men.