A new strain of HIV has emerged in Cuba, according to research published in Vice magazine last week. It can develop into AIDS within three years, compared to the average timespan of 10 years.

When I saw that article shared on my Facebook feed, I thought it was really scary. Then I thought about the fact that I’ve never actually been tested for HIV.

According to aids.gov, more than 1.2 million people are living with an HIV infection but about one in seven infected people don’t know that they have it. And one in four new HIV infections are in people ages 13–24. About 2–4 weeks after an initial infection, you can get flu-like symptoms but not always. You can be infected with HIV and not show any symptoms until it progresses toward AIDS.
After reading that information, it freaked me out that I could have HIV and not know. So for peace of mind — and because it’s the responsible thing to do — I decided to get tested.

I’d gotten routine STD screenings, but HIV tests were never really encouraged by my doctor along with STD tests. And while people talk about how casual sex in college can lead to STDs, HIV never really seemed like something that could happen to us.

Every Wednesday, the Onondaga County Health Department offers free, anonymous rapid HIV tests in downtown Syracuse at the John H. Mulroy Civic Center. So I made the 20-minute walk downtown, and the closer I got, the more nervous I realized I was, because the “what if” of that situation can be a lot scarier than the reality.

I didn’t have to wait long before my number — no name because it’s anonymous — was called. The rapid test doesn’t actually detect if you have HIV for sure. But it tells you if you don’t have it. If it comes up positive, there’s a chance you have it, but further testing is required. If it’s negative, that means you don’t have HIV — as long as the test was done 90 days after engaging in any behavior that could put you at risk.

The test is very simple and, true to its name, rapid. They prick your finger for a blood sample, put it on the test stick and set a timer for 10 minutes, which is the time it takes for the test to show its results.

It felt like the longest 10 minutes of my life.

While we were waiting for the test to develop, the tester — I’m not sure if he was a nurse, doctor or volunteer — asked me general questions about the sexual orientation, number and types of partners I had been with. But he also asked me if previous partners knew their HIV status. I assumed they were negative — but how many people actually know if their HIV status is positive or negative? Some might, but I think a lot of college students figure that if they’ve been relatively safe, it’s very unlikely they’d be infected. And they’re probably right. But wouldn’t it be better to know?

Ten minutes ticked by as I talked nervously with the man conducting the test. The rational part of me knew I didn’t really have to worry. But the other part of me thought about the fact that I couldn’t say with 100 percent certainty that I didn’t have HIV. The timer went off, and the nurse picked up the rapid-test stick to see the result.
It came back negative.

But I’d like to think that even if it came back positive, I would still write this column encouraging people to get tested. I have a feeling there are a lot of college students who assume it can’t happen to them when maybe — for some — it already has.

I feel like there’s a stigma about getting tested. But there shouldn’t be. Because the person who doesn’t know their HIV status is a lot more dangerous than the person who does.

Kate Beckman is a sophomore magazine journalism major. Her column appears every week in Pulp. You can reach her at kebeckma@syr.edu or follow her on Twitter at @Kate_Beckman.

Published on February 25, 2015 at 12:01 am