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.