If you’ve had any reckless activities in the past month or two and you’re worried that you have an HIV infection, you really need to get a blood draw from your physician.The rapid HIV tests, the kind that you can do at home, or the kind you can do at a clinic, those are only effective if it’s been 3-6 months since you’ve contracted the virus. What I’m excited about is that there are just more ways to test now. We really don’t have an excuse now. When 20% of the people who have HIV don’t know it, they could be passing it along to a loved one all day everyday.
When you look at HIV infections, they’re by the historically Black colleges and universities. The people greatest at risk are those between the ages of 25-34 and the second highest infection rate is between 13-24. Miami, Baton Rouge and Jacksonville, Florida; those are our top three cities. Then New York, D.C. and Florida. We’ve got to do better.
How does one start the conversation with a partner about testing?
I never have sex with anyone without knowing their HIV status, so let’s get tested together. That way you know for sure where everybody is.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
National HIV/AIDS Testing Day: Why Dr. Rachael Ross Says You Should Be Tested was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
