TEN REASONS NOT TO TAKE AN AIDS TEST

By Sky Gilbert

Pink Panther 27 July 2000



Think about it. Dr. Laura Schlessinger doesn't have a psychology degree, but she gets to give out personal advice on the air. So why shouldn't I be able to give out medical advice in my column?

Here are 10 good reasons not to take the HIV test:

1) It's important to promote safer sex in any way you can. We all know that everyone is at risk for all kinds of venereal diseases (including AIDS) and that we should all -- whether we test positive or negative -- wear condoms in order to be more safe. But doesn't the news that a potential sex partner is HIV negative lull people into a false sense of security and encourage them to consider having unsafe sex? Your partner's status shouldn't be a safe-sex issue. But if you get the test, it might be.

2) Isn't life better without the "pity thing"? There's an actress that I worked with many years ago -- she played the villain in one of my campy musicals. Since then, she's made loads of money playing bossy-bitch women on film and TV. Recently, I saw her on the bus. She said, "Hi," put her hand on my shoulder, peered deep into my eyes and inquired "How are you?" "Fine," I said, because I was. "No, really," she said. "Are you OK? I mean... really?" The insinuation was obvious; I was hiding something. (Pain over my terminal condition?) This happens to me just because I'm gay. Imagine how people would act if they thought I was HIV positive.

3) It's difficult coming out twice. It's tough enough telling people you're gay. If they're ignorant, they take it as bad news. Why have two pieces of bad news to give people, when one is quite enough?

4) Doctors will pressure you to take strong drugs immediately. As soon as you get your positive diagnosis, the doctor sits you down and reviews your "treatment options." When AZT and the cocktails first came out, all the doctors said, "These drugs will work better if you take them right away, symptoms or not." Later they revised that advice. I don't know why, but each time a new drug appears, doctors recommend taking it immediately after your diagnosis, and then change their minds. If you don't get the test, you won't get the pressure.

5) You might end up in jail. Seriously. In May 2000, two Canadians were jailed for neglecting to tell their sex partners that they were HIV positive. But if you don't know whether or not you're positive, how can you be expected to tell anyone?

6) The HIV test is not always accurate, anyway. Lots of common conditions can cause you to have a false positive result on your HIV test. For instance: the cold, the flu, herpes, hepatitis, alcoholism, liver disease, drug use and pregnancy. The criteria for what constitutes a positive result on your test vary from lab to lab, and from country to country. In other words, you could be HIV positive in Canada, but not in the U.K. or Australia. So you might get all worried and depressed, or even take lots of drugs with extreme side effects -- all for nothing!

7) You don't want to worry about dying all the time. Living a healthy life is related to having a positive attitude. It's tough maintaining a positive attitude after a positive HIV diagnosis. The mainstream newspapers are always yelling AIDS death statistics at you. It's scary.

8) I can't say it too many times: the only sex should be safe sex. I know so many couples (especially young ones) who promise to be monogamous when they first meet. They get tested, and if they're both negative, they presume they can have unsafe sex with each other. (AIDS organizations call it "negotiated safety.") Inevitably, one partner strays and doesn't tell the other. Then somebody comes down with a disease -- all because they got too excited about their HIV-negative results.

9) Even if you test positive, you might never get sick. I know many people who were diagnosed with HIV back in the early '80s -- and they've lived happy, drug-free, disease-free lives for the past 20 years. Read What If Everything You Thought About Aids Was Wrong? by Christine Maggiore. It's a great book, featuring testimonials from long-term thrivers. (Much of the information in this column is from Christine's book; you can get it at Glad Day Bookshop.)

10) Because there's only one good reason to get an HIV test. If you're on death's door and you think you might have AIDS, get the test. Maybe those heavy-duty drugs will help. But if you're not sick, you practise safe sex and you're happy, why depress yourself? Why spend all your time being pressured by doctors? Why put up with all the pitying looks from friends and family?

Hey, if they had a magic pill to give us, I wouldn't be suggesting this. But since there's no magic pill, don't take the AIDS test. You'll be a lot happier and a lot less likely to practise unsafe sex.