NATIONAL HIV TESTING DAY
Have you every wondered or worried if you should be getting an HIV test?
This coming Monday is National HIV Testing Day. It’s a day when everyone should stop and consider getting an HIV test.
This is an annual event put on by the National Association of People with Aids. Its official intent is to encourage at-risk individuals to get voluntary HIV counseling and testing.
Few people stop and think about the risk factors, and hence don’t consider getting an HIV test. The fact remains if you’re sexually active, you’re at risk, and should get an HIV test.
Gary Hylton will tell you learn from the mistakes he made after he found out he was HIV positive. “The easiest way to deal with it then was to ignore it. That’s what I did. It was my biggest mistake and now I’m in a wheelchair,” says Gary.
Sadly, it’s those most at risk who still take a cavalier attitude about AIDS. That’s what National HIV Testing Day is all about.
Across the country, thousands of HIV counseling and testing sites, state and local health departments, and community-based HIV/AIDS service providers will participate in events associated with National HIV Testing Day. The key is to slow and hopefully stop the spread of AIDS, and especially to stop any new infections from occurring.
Patricia Caffrey, an AIDS worker at the Rivington House Healthcare Facility says, “It helps people take a step back. People should be asking themselves whether they are engaging in any risk behavior. They need to be wondering whether they are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. In addition they need to consider getting an HIV test to know where they stand right now.”
For the first time, more than a million Americans are HIV-infected. But the biggest problem is that more than 25% don’t know their HIV status.
Those over 50 represent one of the fastest-growing groups. And according to a recent study, the number of women with AIDS climbed 15% between 1999 and 2003, compared with a 1% increase in men.
Four out of five American women with HIV were infected through heterosexual sex, which some estimate will surpass homosexual transmission within a decade if left unchecked.
“Unprotected sex is sex without the use of a condom or without any kind of barrier that prevents the transmission of fluids back and forth. People who engage in unprotected sex are those who are really at risk. That could really be most of the population,” says Caffrey.
Gary wants people to learn from his errors by getting tested and practicing safe sex. “It’s important to be careful and remember your life you want to live.” urges Gary.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 180,000 to 280,000 people nationwide are HIV positive but are unaware of their status.
It’s worth getting an HIV test on the slightest suspicion of risk. A positive test means you’ll get the help you’ll need. And getting tested and finding that the result is negative helps people get the information they need to stay uninfected.
Nationwide there will be health fairs, community outreach, and special events related to HIV testing. Most HIV testing locations will operate extended hours.
For more information National HIV Testing Day, including locations, go to:
http://www.hivtest.org/
www.napwa.org/hivtestinfo/
www.vcny.org
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