In this day and age, getting tested for HIV is a necessity
By Mary Wade Triplett
After several years of having sex with a variety of partners, Samantha Jones is finally confronted by a potential boyfriend who gives her an ultimatum: Take an HIV test if she wants the relationship to go any further.
Samantha obliges, although the thought of getting a positive result makes her so anxious that she faints before she hears the nurse tell her the test is negative.
Of course, Samantha was a character on the TV series “Sex and the City,” but her circumstance is very real. In fact, at least three of the main characters had run-ins with sexually transmitted diseases during the course of the show. Charlotte caught pubic lice, aka crabs, from a guy she casually dated during a beach vacation; Miranda learned she had chlamydia during a routine checkup. While public health nurses at Monongalia County Health Department do not see many cases of pubic lice, chlamydia is the most common STD in the state; Monongalia County has one of the highest chlamydia rates.
It just goes to show that anybody who has sex is at risk for STDs. But your chance of getting one increases if you engage in risky behavior, and there are steps to take to help keep yourself safe and healthy.
While that is true for all STDs, today, June 27, is National HIV Testing Day. Unlike chlamydia or pubic lice, HIV is not curable, although these days it is treatable. Left untreated, someone with HIV can develop AIDS. Typically, a person with AIDS who goes untreated has a survival rate of about three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Launched in 1995 by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, National HIV Testing Day was created to encourage people to get tested for HIV, to be familiar with their status and, if necessary, to link them to treatment.
So, what is HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus? It’s a virus spread through certain body fluids—including blood, semen and breast milk—that attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells, known as T cells. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and diseases. Once these opportunistic illnesses develop, the person is considered to have AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
This year’s theme for National HIV Testing Day is “Doing It My Way, Testing for HIV.” The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 should be tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care. One in seven people with HIV do not know that they have it.
Those with certain risk factors should get tested more often. For example, people with more than one sex partner, people with other STDs, gay and bisexual men and people who inject drugs are at high risk and should get tested at least once a year.
Like the “Sex and the City” writers, the creators of National HIV Testing Day know it can be a stressful process. That’s why “Doing It My Way” encourages people to be consistent and up front with HIV testing to show that it’s a normal part of life. The CDC has created an online toolkit that people can adapt and use for posts, with suggested messages such as telling your friends why getting tested for HIV is important to you. You can also take a pledge promising you will get tested in 2018.
MCHD’s Clinical Services makes getting tested very easy. Testing for HIV and for all STDs is free. Treatment for STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea are free as well. People who get a positive HIV result are referred for treatment. You can make an appointment by calling 304-598-5119.
And HIV test results are usually back in two days, which cuts down on the anxiety by not having to wait so long.
Knowing that you are HIV-free, like Samantha Jones, will take a load off of your mind and will encourage you to be safe in the future. If you get a different result, then you can begin getting the treatment that will help keep you well.
So, make the pledge today, the one that will help you live a healthier life.
Samantha obliges, although the thought of getting a positive result makes her so anxious that she faints before she hears the nurse tell her the test is negative.
Of course, Samantha was a character on the TV series “Sex and the City,” but her circumstance is very real. In fact, at least three of the main characters had run-ins with sexually transmitted diseases during the course of the show. Charlotte caught pubic lice, aka crabs, from a guy she casually dated during a beach vacation; Miranda learned she had chlamydia during a routine checkup. While public health nurses at Monongalia County Health Department do not see many cases of pubic lice, chlamydia is the most common STD in the state; Monongalia County has one of the highest chlamydia rates.
It just goes to show that anybody who has sex is at risk for STDs. But your chance of getting one increases if you engage in risky behavior, and there are steps to take to help keep yourself safe and healthy.
While that is true for all STDs, today, June 27, is National HIV Testing Day. Unlike chlamydia or pubic lice, HIV is not curable, although these days it is treatable. Left untreated, someone with HIV can develop AIDS. Typically, a person with AIDS who goes untreated has a survival rate of about three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Launched in 1995 by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, National HIV Testing Day was created to encourage people to get tested for HIV, to be familiar with their status and, if necessary, to link them to treatment.
So, what is HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus? It’s a virus spread through certain body fluids—including blood, semen and breast milk—that attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells, known as T cells. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and diseases. Once these opportunistic illnesses develop, the person is considered to have AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
This year’s theme for National HIV Testing Day is “Doing It My Way, Testing for HIV.” The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 should be tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care. One in seven people with HIV do not know that they have it.
Those with certain risk factors should get tested more often. For example, people with more than one sex partner, people with other STDs, gay and bisexual men and people who inject drugs are at high risk and should get tested at least once a year.
Like the “Sex and the City” writers, the creators of National HIV Testing Day know it can be a stressful process. That’s why “Doing It My Way” encourages people to be consistent and up front with HIV testing to show that it’s a normal part of life. The CDC has created an online toolkit that people can adapt and use for posts, with suggested messages such as telling your friends why getting tested for HIV is important to you. You can also take a pledge promising you will get tested in 2018.
MCHD’s Clinical Services makes getting tested very easy. Testing for HIV and for all STDs is free. Treatment for STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea are free as well. People who get a positive HIV result are referred for treatment. You can make an appointment by calling 304-598-5119.
And HIV test results are usually back in two days, which cuts down on the anxiety by not having to wait so long.
Knowing that you are HIV-free, like Samantha Jones, will take a load off of your mind and will encourage you to be safe in the future. If you get a different result, then you can begin getting the treatment that will help keep you well.
So, make the pledge today, the one that will help you live a healthier life.
Mary Wade Triplett is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.
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