Get Tested!

[venussonata.livejournal.com]

Combine this with the knowledge that 1 in 5 Americans has an STD, and 80% of those people aren't aware that they're infected.

June 27th is national HIV testing day.

Clinics around the country will be giving free HIV tests with results in under 20 minutes. It is confidential and they will provide counseling.

Call 1-800-342-2437 to schedule an appointment.

Comments

[hollsh.livejournal.com]

Oh fuck, I'm off the charts. *LOL*

Been with the same man for 6 years, tested and clean, though. :)

[casualflex.livejournal.com]

Im all kinds of off the chart...!

Ive always practiced safer sex though, and have never had anything :) Im now monogamous too, so golden!

[hollsh.livejournal.com]

Ah, I figure if you're safe and you're not hurting anyone, go nuts, eh?

Maintainer Note

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

Hi there. In the future, it's important to avoid comments that use "clean" to mean STI-Free. Using "clean" that way implies that people who have STIs are "dirty," and we prefer not to further that harmful stereotype. We realize you can't edit comments, so we simply ask that you keep this note in mind for the future.

For more information on this policy, you can read our guidelines here:
http://www.vaginapagina.com/faq.php?#WhyCantIUseClean

Thanks!
Tori
for the VP Team
contact_vp

Re: Maintainer Note

[hollsh.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't mean that STI's are dirty at all, just a figure of speech, I suppose.

I'll keep that in mind.

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info.

Would you also consider cross posting this to vp_bulletins, VP's community space for ads, events, and activism reminders?

Tori
for the VP Team
contact_vp

[casualflex.livejournal.com]

Yeah.. plus I sleep almost exclusively with women... and the risk is much lower than with PIV sex... so Im sure that helped :D

[sour-mash.livejournal.com]

I thought that HIV test take 2 weeks for results. At least thats how long I had to wait a couple months ago when I got tested for it, the longest 2 weeks of my life.

[slow-awakening.livejournal.com]

I was a virgin till 25 too! Not anymore but I've only been with one guy and he was STD free as well. I trusted him.

*high five* I always felt alone being 25 and never having sex. I am very happy that I am not anymore but it feels good to see there are others out there :)

[hollsh.livejournal.com]

I did both, literally, but I was very, very careful every time.

[terasa.livejournal.com]

Wait a minute...if 80% of people with an STI aren't aware they have one, then how do WE know 80% of them don't know?

-- Terasa

[verbranden.livejournal.com]

I think it's the same way they say that X% of rapes/sexual assualts go unreported, using past figures with some formulas to come up with an approximation. Statistics are headache inducing, really.

[gothstar.livejournal.com]

i think that's if they do a blood test?


i'm pretty sure it's the mouth swabs that are superfast.

[comatose.livejournal.com]

So, just out of curiousity.... If I've slept with 4 people.

1st one hadn't slept with anyone before.
2nd one had slept with only one person before me.
3rd one had slept with 7 other people.
4th one hadn't slept with anyone before.

How many people have I approximately been exposed to? If that's even possible to approximate...

I've never been very good at maths.

[comatose.livejournal.com]

128?

Pshhhh.

[comatose.livejournal.com]

I think that what I'm about to say is something different.

I know that if you are exposed to HIV, presence of the virus doesn't show up for several months.

That's if I remember correctly.

But if you don't know that you've been exposed to the virus and several months go by, I don't think it takes very long at all.

My best friend had a scare when he was exposed to HIV. He and his partner (well, they weren't really partners, they kind of were shacking up together) went to get tested after the accident had occured. His partner came back as being HIV positive. So my best friend went to get the medication that could possibly prevent the virus from... well, continuing to spread.

Before they could put him on the medication they had to test him to see if he was already HIV. He found out in a very short time. I think within the hour if I remember correctly. The results came back as HIV positive. He had already contracted the virus unknowingly, months earlier.

So, that's the only way I know that you can find out quickly. I actually wish I didn't know that.

[comatose.livejournal.com]

to see if he was already HIV *positive.

is what I meant to say

[scien.livejournal.com]

I think sour_mash meant the length of time between getting the test done at a clinic and being given the results.

[fierceawakening.livejournal.com]

This thing seems oversimplifying to me, though I can't put my finger on exactly why.

Are we talking about people who don't use protection? Are we factoring in risk? How? It seems to be saying any kind of sex with anyone will taint you somehow and that just bothers me considerably. Of course testing is something anyone responsible should do, but this thing reads much more to me as if it's inflating risk so as to encourage people never to have sex, not to "be sluts", etc. I don't like it.

[misslynn.livejournal.com]

i was a virgin till 23, and have only slept with my future husband... who's only slept with me :)

nothing wrong with it at all.

(and i love the icon. hee hee.)

[sour-mash.livejournal.com]

No, I got the mouth swab

[sour-mash.livejournal.com]

yes'em. That's what I ment.

Some answers

[venussonata.livejournal.com]

The tests are typically a fingerstick, similar to a blood sugar test. They tend to shy away from the cheek swab test because it resulted in many false positives over time. Yes, it does only take 20 minutes and doesn't even require a blood draw. :)

The HIV antibodies show up in an infected person's blood from 2 weeks to 6 months after exposure.

[adina77.livejournal.com]

I've had sex with 9 people thus far. My bf is being the last I'll ever have. That means 511 people!

I emailed my bf the info on scheduling an appointment since we want to get tested. We both been tested before we met and came out negative but want to get tested together again :). Thanks!

[scien.livejournal.com]

Yep, it's a huge oversimplification. I'm sure we've all heard it said that if you have sex with someone, you are also exchanging fluids with all his past parters. However, this chart makes no distinction between protected and unprotected sex, and is in fact kind of random. As it says, it assumes that all your partners have had the same number of partners as you. This is highly unlikely. The guy you sleep with may have not so much as kissed anyone before, or he may have had unprotected sex with a hundred women.

Really, what are the odds of sleeping with ten people, each of whom have slept with precisely ten people themselves?

Basically, your behaviour, choices and precautions matter far more than the number of people you have slept with. That chart makes multiple partners look exceedingly dangerous, which is sad, although I do of course agree with their message that in general people underestimate the likelihood of contracting an STI.