STD Testing Blog

Archive for the ‘HIV’ Category

Bite me: Teens, Vampires, and Infection

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

BY SU McFAY, R.N.

We come across a lot of interesting stories at the Unzipped news desk, but this one wins the week.  In a weird twist of life imitating art, teenagers are literally biting each other as a way to express affection.  Call it the “Twilight” zone.

Sucking blood is also described as a way to “mark” a loved one.  Some teens are cutting themselves and letting others taste their blood, as a means of being “connected eternally.”  You know, like vampires.

But, we’re not vampires.  We’re humans.  Our bites are notoriously infectious and frequently under-managed.  Approximately 10-15% of human bite wounds become infected.  And the possibility of transmission of disease through human bites is real.  Of the sexually transmitted infections, human bites have been shown to transmit hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and syphilis.   While there is evidence to suggest that it’s biologically possible to spread HIV through human bites, the risk is low.

Teens -  there’s just no safe way to experience this hot new blood-sucking trend.  You can play on Team Edward or Team Jacob, but when it comes to your health, play safe.

Posted in Cultural Attitudes, HIV, Risk, STD awareness | Add Your Comment »

STDs and Viagra: On the Rise

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Before you toss your little blue pills, the researchers at Harvard did not discover that Viagra and other ED drugs cause sexually transmitted diseases.  They don’t.  They do what they are designed to do — help men achieve erections strong enough for sexual intercourse.  What the researchers did discover, however, was that men who take Viagra, Cialis and the others tend to engage in riskier sexual behavior.  In fact, according to the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, men who were prescribed ED drugs are 2 to 3 times more likely to contract an STD, particularly HIV or chlamydia, than men who aren’t popping Viagra.

Earlier research has found that men aged 50 and older are less likely to use a condom and less likely to be tested for HIV compared with people in their 20s.  It’s not hard to understand why this trend is happening.  “We are typically unaccustomed to practice safe sex over the age of 50, because the risk of pregnancy is eliminated,” study lead author Dr. Anupam B. Jena of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Viagra.  Meet Trojan.  Trojan?  Meet Viagra.  Guys — we’re happy you’re enjoying great sex, but please stay safe.  And if you haven’t gotten your routine STD or HIV test, we’re here to help.

Posted in Erectile Dysfunction, HIV, Risk, safe sex | 1 Comment »

STD Awareness Month and Our Youth Obsession

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

April showers bring May flowers…and National STD Awareness month.  You’re ahead of the pack because you’re aware of STDs and HIV.  You’re aware of the risks and aware that there are very easy ways to get tested privately and conveniently. But, if you look at the efforts to raise our country’s STD awareness, you’d think that only young people are vulnerable to STDs and HIV.  This year, the CDC, Planned Parenthood, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and others are sponsoring a great awareness campaign by MTV to encourage young people to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.  It’s called Get Yourself Tested or GYT and it’s a terrific campaign.

But what about the rest of us in our 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond?  While it’s critical to teach young people how to protect themselves, why is this important public health awareness effort so focused on teenagers?  FACT: The highest number of newly acquired cases of HIV/AIDS have been found in middle aged adults, ages 35 to 44.  Next highest age group?  Ages 45 to 54.  The least affected group is the youngest group between the age of 25 to 34.  This is CDC published data.

The new faces of HIV/AIDs are not gay men or the sexually promiscuous or IV drug users.  It’s the woman over 50 who doesn’t use condoms because she’s not worried about getting pregnant.  Or the divorced 42 year dad who’s dating again after many years and doesn’t know how to bring up the subject about using condoms or STD testing.  Viagra, Facebook, online dating, midlife divorce, and lack of awareness may be contributing forces but STDs are no longer an affliction of the young.

And maybe… it’s just that grownups are not so good at using condoms.  In a University of Chicago survey of single women ages 58 to 93, nearly 60% said they didn’t use a condom the last time they had sex. A May 2008 study conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene showed that among single people with at least two sexual partners, 56% of people over age 45 reported using condoms the last time they had sex, compared with 61% of 25-to-44-year-olds and 80% of 18-to-24-year-olds.

Grownups — here’s our message.  Please hear it.  STDs and HIV are preventable.  Please use condoms every time you have sexual contact.  And please get tested today.  Ask your partner, too.  It’s easy. Call us at 888-215-9543 if you have questions. We’re here to help.

Posted in HIV, STD Statistics, STD Testing, safe sex | Add Your Comment »

What are the symptoms of HIV?

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

If you just typed that sentence into Google, you probably skipped from site to site reading lists of answers that ranged from “nothing” to “it varies” to a laundry list of flu-like signs that spiral into a foreboding list of later stage infection.  Stop.  If you think you may have been exposed to HIV, get an HIV test.  We’re here to help. You can get tested today without an appointment.  No need to take off a day from work, deal with embarrassing questions, or worry about the test appearing on your insurance bill or medical records.

You may be wondering…if I have HIV, would I feel it?  Maybe.  HIV and AIDS, in the very early stages, may feel like the flu.  The virus attacks the immune system so your body can respond with a fever, swollen glands, skin rashes, body aches, or headaches.  But HIV can be silent for years so you cannot rely on symptoms to know if you are infected.  Some people can live with HIV for 8 years and not know it.  After the virus kills off helper T cells (CD4 lymphocytes), the body may weaken and develop chronic symptoms like diarrhea and weight loss.  Very serious symptoms happen in the later stages of infection which is when HIV officially becomes AIDS.  You can learn more about HIV and HIV testing here.

Bottom line?  Worrying about HIV doesn’t help you get answers.  A quick blood test at Labcorp does.  We’re here to help that happen privately, easily, and with a free doctor consultation if your test is positive.  It’s important to know your status for peace of mind but also to prevent transmission of the virus to other people.  Your results are your business and no one else’s.  All states require a legal provision to ensure the highest degree of confidentiality with regard to personal health data, especially HIV data.  Dr. Google provides information, but we’re here to help you find answers.

Posted in HIV | 8 Comments »

NEWS: Tiger Testing Day on January 12!

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Even if you are not six degrees removed from a Tiger Woods mistress, it’s important to get tested for HIV every year or more if you have sexual risk behaviors.  As the Tiger Woods and other celebrity sex scandals teach us, we’re at risk even when we don’t think we are.  To help everyone stay on top of their sexual health, we’re offering free HIV testing on January 12.  Take a minute and tweet about STD Test Express, follow us, tell your friends, and spread the word.  Help take sexual health out of the closet.  It’s as important as staying fit, eating well, using sunscreen, not smoking, and everything else we do to stay healthy. Come on…be a Tiger.

Posted in HIV, STD Testing, safe sex | 2 Comments »

HOTLINE: When is the right time to test?

Monday, November 30th, 2009

This may be the #1 question we hear.  The short answer?  If you are sexually active and have not been tested for HIV or other STDs in the past 12 months, the right time to get tested is right now.  It’s possible that you may have an STD and simply do not know it.  That’s why the CDC and other organizations want everyone who has sex to get a yearly STD test as part of their normal health routine.

Now, if you want to try to “time” an STD test based on what you think was a recent unsafe experience, there is a more nuanced answer.  Let’s say that up until yesterday you were a virgin and never had any sexual contact — vaginal, anal, oral or other.  And yesterday you got busy in an unsafe way with someone who told you, after having a robust night of lovemaking, “Wow, that was great, but I should tell you that I have genital herpes.”  Or HIV or Hepatitis C or another STD.  In that instance, you need to get yourself checked out and think about the timing of the test.

Viral infections like Herpes (HSV-2) and HIV may not develop detectable antibodies to the virus for up to 3 months.  This is called “seroconversion.” The HIV DNA by PCR test will look for DNA cells as early as 28 days after a possible exposure because it’s not looking for antibodies.

This is getting technical but diagnostic screening is simple.  Haven’t been tested in 12 months and you’ve had unsafe sex?  Get tested today and then wear condom.  Enjoy sex responsibly!

We’d love to hear from you.  Do you get tested regularly?

Posted in HIV, Seroconversion, Timing, herpes | 2 Comments »