Who"s Getting AIDS? Why HIV Testing Is Still Important
Look back...
what kind of life have you been leading? Have you had a ton of fun? Have you partaken in beer pong and other drinking games during college? Have you ever prided yourself on the amount of tail you've gotten? Maybe you've lived exactly the opposite way.
Maybe you've had fun...
but not to extremes.
Maybe you didn't so much drink in college as you...
um, studied.
Maybe you've only had one or two long-term love affairs, between which have been barren wastelands of celibacy.
Either way, folks, both lifestyles deserve a round of HIV testing.
The reason is that there is no one constituency that excels in positive HIV test results.
Okay, there ARE the high-risk groups, and we all know who falls into those categories, but that's just not us.
Yet the threat of catching this awful virus still looms large for anyone who chooses his or her life outside of the proverbial closet.
In Liberace and Carrie's case: the literal closet-but that's another article all together.
This one merely suggests that anyone involved in sexual shenanigans-whether one-on-one or all over the map-owe it to themselves to head to the nearest HIV testing center.
Why? Who is it that contracts HIV in this day and age? New groups currently at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS are indicated below.
Suburban & Rural People Although America's cities have had decades to expand their healthcare services to include persons infected with HIV, most small towns have not.
This is disturbing once you realize that, according to published reports statistics show rates proportionally increasing in rural communities.
The Elderly This is primarily true of New Yorkers.
According to the State Commissioner of Health, the number of residents over the age of 50 infected with HIV is steadily rising.
It is also the percentage of older New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS that seems to be rising at an alarming rate.
In 2008 they represented almost 40% of all cases in New York State.
That is a whopping 20% increase in five years.
Women While it is still true that men outnumber women in U.
S.
rates of HIV infection, there ARE countries in this world where the infection rate of women outnumber that of men.
Since 1985 the U.
S.
rate of infection in women has nearly tripled to 27 percent.
That means that one out of every four HIV-infected people in America are women.
Young People At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic people (including young people) were scared and therefore practiced safe sex.
These days, due to new drugs that-although severely debilitating-prolong life, young people seem to view HIV with less concern than previous generations.
This has directly affected infection rates in the young for the worse.
One quick look at the list above and it is clear that no one is safe from the specter of HIV/AIDS.
There are ways to combat this that include an end to nameless hook-ups and drug-fueled sex binges and DO INCLUDE the practice of monogamy and more importantly-safe sex.
Get yourself to an STD clinic today to commence your HIV testing.
what kind of life have you been leading? Have you had a ton of fun? Have you partaken in beer pong and other drinking games during college? Have you ever prided yourself on the amount of tail you've gotten? Maybe you've lived exactly the opposite way.
Maybe you've had fun...
but not to extremes.
Maybe you didn't so much drink in college as you...
um, studied.
Maybe you've only had one or two long-term love affairs, between which have been barren wastelands of celibacy.
Either way, folks, both lifestyles deserve a round of HIV testing.
The reason is that there is no one constituency that excels in positive HIV test results.
Okay, there ARE the high-risk groups, and we all know who falls into those categories, but that's just not us.
Yet the threat of catching this awful virus still looms large for anyone who chooses his or her life outside of the proverbial closet.
In Liberace and Carrie's case: the literal closet-but that's another article all together.
This one merely suggests that anyone involved in sexual shenanigans-whether one-on-one or all over the map-owe it to themselves to head to the nearest HIV testing center.
Why? Who is it that contracts HIV in this day and age? New groups currently at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS are indicated below.
Suburban & Rural People Although America's cities have had decades to expand their healthcare services to include persons infected with HIV, most small towns have not.
This is disturbing once you realize that, according to published reports statistics show rates proportionally increasing in rural communities.
The Elderly This is primarily true of New Yorkers.
According to the State Commissioner of Health, the number of residents over the age of 50 infected with HIV is steadily rising.
It is also the percentage of older New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS that seems to be rising at an alarming rate.
In 2008 they represented almost 40% of all cases in New York State.
That is a whopping 20% increase in five years.
Women While it is still true that men outnumber women in U.
S.
rates of HIV infection, there ARE countries in this world where the infection rate of women outnumber that of men.
Since 1985 the U.
S.
rate of infection in women has nearly tripled to 27 percent.
That means that one out of every four HIV-infected people in America are women.
Young People At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic people (including young people) were scared and therefore practiced safe sex.
These days, due to new drugs that-although severely debilitating-prolong life, young people seem to view HIV with less concern than previous generations.
This has directly affected infection rates in the young for the worse.
One quick look at the list above and it is clear that no one is safe from the specter of HIV/AIDS.
There are ways to combat this that include an end to nameless hook-ups and drug-fueled sex binges and DO INCLUDE the practice of monogamy and more importantly-safe sex.
Get yourself to an STD clinic today to commence your HIV testing.
Source...