10. It’s AIDS Awareness Month.
9. You’ve been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.
8. You’ve shared dirty needle works.
7. You’ve had unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal sex.
6. Advances in HIV/AIDS research are taking the disease into a chronic
manageable state.
5. You’re starting a new relationship and want to know the status of you and
your partner.
4. You want to practice socially, politically and sexually correct
behavior.
3. Early detection and treatment of HIV can preserve your health for many,
many years.
2. You want to stop the spread of HIV.
1. Do it for you!
So, what do you do now? There are many sites throughout the Austin area
that provide anonymous counseling and testing. Usually the initial appointment
lasts about 30 minutes and includes prevention and risk reduction information
and drawing blood for the HIV antibody test. The blood test checks for
antibodies for HIV, not the virus. Then, at a follow-up appointment in about
two weeks, test results are provided by the same counselor, questions are
answered, and if the results are positive, the counselor will make suggestions
for referrals to service providers that can help assess immune system
functioning and other medical and social needs. During the pre- and post-test
counseling, the sessions are individualized to focus on the needs of the person
being tested. Most testing sites request a $10 donation. For information about
test sites in the Austin area, call AIDS Services of Austin’s info line.
Lynn Cockerill & Maureen Pilon
ASA Info Line
This article appears in October 4 • 1996 and October 4 • 1996 (Cover).