Ask Pat

Safe Spring Break

Alcohol Safety

  1. Limit your drinks to about one drink per hour (a drink is considered one 12 oz. beer, 4 oz. glass of wine, or 1 /2 oz. hard liquor ).
  2. Don't drink on an empty stomach.
  3. Don't let others pour your drinks.
  4. Drink slowly (sip don't chug ).
  5. Drink water between alcoholic drinks to stay hydrated.
  6. Set a limit and stick to it.
  7. DO NOT accept drinks from people you don't know.
  8. Keep your drink with you at all times
  9. Drive sober, walk, designate a driver, or carry money for a cab.
  10. Its okay not to drink.
  11. Never leave an intoxicated person alone.

Symptoms of Alcohol Poisoning:

  1. Person is unconscious or semi-conscious and cannot be awakened by shouting, pinching, or prodding.
  2. Person has cold, clammy, pale, or bluish skin.
  3. Person is breathing fewer than eight times per minute, or his/her breathing is irregular with ten or more seconds between breaths.
  4. Person vomits while passed out or doesn't wake up after vomiting.

What to do:

  1. CALL 911
  2. Don't leave the person alone. Turn the person on his/her side to prevent choking in case of vomiting.
  3. Remember that is is better to be safe than sorry. Your friend shouldn't be angry with you for caring.

For more information visit: DHCS - Alcohol and Your Body

Sources:
alcoholprev.colostate.edu

Sexual Safety

  1. Always use a condom
  2. Make sexual decisions sober
  3. Choose low risk sexual activities including intimate kissing or massage
  4. Its okay not to have sex
  5. Visit Ask Pat's Methods of Contraception hot topic for more information

Sources:
cdc.gov
siecus.org

General Safety

Think about your choices and choose well. Some simple suggestions for safety include :

  1. Wear a seatbelt
  2. Don't drive drowsy
  3. Care for yourself and your friends
  4. Play drug free
  5. Use sunscreen
  6. Stay with people you know
  7. Know your surroundings
  8. Stay hydrated wherever you are

It is safe to say that the vast majority of students have a fun, positive, healthy break. The Spring 2005 NCHA survey supports this idea that the majority of our students at CSU make wise decisions about their health and safety.

Hookah

Hookah is gaining popularity among young people in the U.S. but this spring break before you dive in it is important to have all the facts and make an informed decision.

  • Even after smoke passes through hookah water it contains high levels of toxic compounds including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and cancer -causing chemicals (Tobacco Control, 2004 ; Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 1993 )
  • Sharing a waterpipe hookah poses a serious risk of transmission of communicable diseases, including tuberculosis and hepatitis. (Journal of Pediatrics, 2005 )
  • A typical on -hour long wastepipe hookah session involves inhaling 100 -200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette (World Health Organization, 2005 )
  • Hookah tobacco contains the same chemicals found in all tobacco, including nicotine. Secondhand hookah smoke contains the same cancer -causing particulates found in secondhand cigarette smoke. In addition, the charcoal used in the tobacco heating process produces the toxin, carbon monoxide.
  • 91% of weekly hookah smokers said they could not quit
  • Hookah contains 15 times more carbon monoxide than cigarettes
  • Visit Ask Pat's Hookah hot topic for more

Sources:
The BACCHUS Network
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Journal of Pakistan Medical Association
World Health Organizaiton