Imagine this scenario: you’re done sleeping around, having one-night stands, playing the field. You’ve dated a bazillion girls or guys and you finally realize what it is that makes you tick. You’ve found the right person-finally. They’re the cat’s meow, the hottest, the best of the best. You’re ready to change your crazy ways and watch television on the couch with your significant other. You no longer feel you have to make the scene, hit the clubs, go out and spend money to be happy and feel fulfilled. But it’s too late. You haven’t been to a STD clinic in the longest time and when you finally go-together-you find out you have HIV.

Slow down. It sounded so good there for awhile. What happened? Well maybe you haven’t been as responsible as you might have been. Sure it’s easy to look back in hindsight and say, I should have done that, why didn’t I do that? But taking responsibility for such epic things is much harder when you’re going through it. So, listen up: before you find that one right person-the one that makes you get all tingly and that you can see spending the rest of your life with-go to a STD clinic and have testing administered for HIV and other potential life-altering illnesses.

There’s nothing wrong with being out there and doing your “thang” as the kids today call it (if the kids lived in the 1980s, that is). But while you are out there, you should be doing all the right things. First off, you should never even have to worry about becoming infected with HIV because you have been practicing safe sex and using condoms your entire life. What? That’s not true? You’ve cheated? Welcome to the terror dome. Rapid HIV test is available.

There are so many illnesses, disease and viruses that fall into the STD category. It’s a great thing that clinics specializing in sexually transmitted diseases are out there in abundance. But they’re not doing anyone any good if they are not visited. HIV may be the biggest bummer possible, yet millions of Americans catch over twenty five different STDs a year in this country. Do your best to NOT make the list. Safe sex is the first thing you can do to remain healthy-testing is next on the list. It’s much better to know. If you have become infected with anything treatment can begin sooner rather than later.

The bottom line is that rates of HIV infection are rising in four new groups. Here’s a brief rundown on these groups and another call for testing to commence as soon as possible…

Suburban & Rural People

Early on in the HIV epidemic, the big cities were infused by cash by the federal government and charities. According to published reports statistics show HIV rates increasing in rural communities all across America

The Elderly
The number of Americans over the age of 50 infected with HIV is steadily rising. Whether it is because of longer life spans or the popularity of Erectile Dysfunction drugs, older Americans should undergo testing just like their younger counterparts.

Women
In America men still outnumber women regarding HIV infection, but there are countries where the infection rates of women outnumber that of men by a significant margin. Since the mid-eighties rates of infection in women has nearly tripled. Currently, one out of every four HIV infected individuals in America is a woman. Testing is imperative.

Young People
These days, some young people view HIV as a disease that is controllable with medicines, and they do not realize the significance of becoming infected. This has directly affected infection rates in the young. Teens need testing at the same rates as adults if not a higher rate. In fact, many new studies show that the amount of new infections can be dramatically decreased with younger testing and treatment.

You may have heard of a virus that is sweeping the planet at the moment called HIV. This article is going to take a closer look at HIV. What it does, how it is contracted and how it is kept under control as well as the implications contracting this disease will have for you.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. Many people actually think that HIV is a disease not a virus. The truth is that the virus, HIV, causes the disease known as AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome. This is because the virus attacks the human immune system to the extent that the immune system can no longer function. This then leaves the infected person open to all kinds of infections. The most common ones, the ones that most often take the lives of the person infected with HIV, are pneumonia and tuberculosis.

It is possible to contract HIV through the exchange of intimate bodily fluids. This would be things like blood and semen, not saliva or urine. This means that promiscuity places you at a very high risk for contracting the virus since condoms are not truly able to prevent the virus from leaving the host’s body and entering yours. The virus is much smaller than the inevitable gaps between the molecules of the latex the condoms are made from. It also means that if you are a nurse or doctor or paramedic you are also part of a high risk population as you are working with injured people on a daily basis and may accidentally get some of an infected person’s blood into your blood stream through a scratch in your skin. It is also possible for a mother to transmit the virus to her unborn child through the placenta.

There are drugs known as anti retro virals that can be used to keep the virus under control. The problem is that the virus cannot ever be completely removed from a person’s system, much like a cancer of the immune system. This means that while a person might not be actively suffering from AIDS, they are still infected with HIV and can still pass the virus on to other people, they are in effect in remission rather than cured. These anti retro viral medications have made it possible for a person to live for many years with the virus in their system without suffering from the depressed immune system.

As you can see, HIV is actually quite a complex and tough virus to live with as it cannot be eradicated and it can easily be passed from one person to another with just a moment’s carelessness. This is why it is able to spread so far across the world so quickly. It is doubtful whether a cure for HIV will be found in the near future. In the meantime, all that we can do is learn to live with it and do our best not to get infected with the virus and, if you are already infected, to try and avoid passing it on to anyone else.

Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. We’ll come to a point in our lives when safe sex becomes a priority and we adapt those behaviors. They are great behaviors and anyone who comes to the conclusion that engaging in safe sex-as opposed to rolling the dice every time one has sex-should be commended. But for most of these people there was a sex life before the epiphany of safe sex behavior- and this is where HIV testing should come into play.

We’ve engaged in testing our entire lives. In fact, these days babies engage in testing to get into a good preschool! We have had tests in school, for jobs and for fun. STD testing should be high on the list, but unfortunately sometimes it’s easier to turn a blind eye to our past behavior and start fresh at some arbitrary time. For anyone who engages in sexual behavior, testing for HIV and other STDs should be a priority.

Yes, it is sometimes difficult to face past behavior. Sometimes we think of things that we have done in the past and are faces scrunch. This is called growing up and becoming responsible (it may also be called sobriety, but that’s a whole other article!) For those of us who have turned a page in our lives for the better, congratulations, but have testing performed to make sure you’re healthy.

It may be a bummer to face a positive diagnosis, but because of the treatment available these days, HIV testing is the best possible route to take. Only after one realizes they are positive can they apply real, medical treatment to their new-found positive behavior. It’s part of the responsibility that you have undertaken. A positive diagnosis for HIV does not mean a death sentence. It means it is time to get the care and medicine you need to remain as healthy as you currently feel.

And what if the testing administered shows that you are negative? Just think about the stress that will be relieved from your shoulders. Just think about that little voice in the back of your head that visits you at night as you attempt to fall asleep that whispers to your battered brain: What if… What if…?

Testing for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is quick and easy. Some clinics can have your results back in an hour, although the average wait is a few days as your blood sample goes out to a professional lab for the test(s) to be run. As stated earlier in the article, people infected are not struck down in the prime of their life any more.

Testing

The mode of testing for the HIV virus is a blood test called the HIV Antibody Test. This HIV testing searches for antibodies made by the immune system in response to an HIV infection and is 99.5% accurate.

In the case of a positive test, a follow up test is performed using the same blood sample. It is called the “Reflex to Western Blot Confirmation” (also known as an EIA test).

Treatment

The first drug to hit the market for HIV infection was AZT. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration way back in 1987. There was finally help available for those suffering from HIV and AIDS. The drug worked on your T cell count. These are the cells that help your body fight all forms of infection. A T cell count is the measure of the strength of your immune system.

AZT was only the first of a series of drugs that would be prescribed after the testing procedure would come back positive. Although AZT and similar drugs helped prolong life, the quality of life was typically poor. Today there are new drugs on the market called protease inhibitors. The statistics on prolonged life and quality of life are significantly higher with these drugs.

Can you contract it from kissing and hugging? If you have sex with someone who has it, do you automatically contract it? These are just a few of the many questions posed by people concerned about HIV. The truth is, HIV is not contracted as easily as a lot of people tend to think. It is extremely rare for HIV to be transmitted through kissing, hugging, or the toilet seat.

HIV is a virus that is carried in blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and in some cases breast milk. In order to contract HIV you need to have an exposure to one of these infected bodily fluids. Additionally, the infected fluid then needs to make it’s way into your bloodstream. The means of transmission are often reflected in those who have contracted HIV. HIV is noticeably prevalent in intravenous drug users and individuals engaging in unprotected receptive anal sex. The obvious reason for this is that these acts create a direct opening to the bloodstream. Needles literally go directly to the blood stream, while anal lining simply tears during intercourse and creates a pathway.

It’s not that these are the only ways to get HIV, they are just considered higher risk activities. For example, many people are concerned with contracting HIV from receiving oral sex. Is it possible? Absolutely. Is it probable? Absolutely not. You’ll notice that saliva was not listed as one of the fluids that carries HIV. That was no mistake – HIV is not carried in saliva. From oral sex, the only (somewhat) likely fluid you would be exposed to would be blood. On top of that, even if the person was HIV positive, and they were actively bleeding in their mouth, that blood still needs to make it’s way into your bloodstream. HIV is not the type of virus to dig through the skin. It needs a direct entrance (i.e. a cut or open sore).

As I mentioned before, certain acts are considered more risky than others. The acts are generally considered risky because they are more likely to create a direct exposure to the bloodstream. IV drug users who share needles are at an elevated risk, because a dirty needle goes directly into the bloodstream. People who engage in receptive anal sex are also at risk, because the anal lining often tears during intercourse which opens the pathway to the blood. Vaginal lining is more durable and doesn’t tear as easily, so the risk is lessened with vaginal intercourse. And of course, using protection always plays a large factor in protecting yourself against HIV.

So, if you have ever asked “how do you get HIV?”, consider the factors involved before worrying. If you didn’t see any blood, and/or you didn’t have any cuts that may have been exposed – take a sigh of relief. Chances are that everything is going to be fine. However, if you think you may have been a bit risky or just want the peace of mind, get tested. The testing process is easy and you’ll be glad you did.