Posted on 06/27/2002 6:48:14 PM PDT by chance33_98
Woman urges AIDS testing
Victim proof HIV is a local problem
By MEGAN COOLEY
Staff writer
COEUR d'ALENE -- AIDS used to give Janie Sampson the willies.
The disease was something for other people -- homosexuals and intravenous drug users. It certainly wasn't a North Idaho problem. That's what Sampson, 38, thought until she got AIDS herself.
"Don't think that AIDS is not here and don't think because you're not an IV drug user or don't sleep around that you can't get it," Sampson warned.
The mother of two wants people, whether they consider themselves high-risk or not, to get tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. She carried on for 10 years not knowing she was HIV positive. Had she known, Sampson could have begun treatment that might have delayed the onset of AIDS and would have changed her practices. The North Idaho AIDS Coalition and Panhandle Health District are helping Sampson get the message out. Today is National HIV Testing Day and the organizations will sponsor free and confidential HIV screening to determine whether participants should be tested. Advice will be given on how to reduce the risk of contracting HIV. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It wears down the body's ability to fight off disease. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS.
Today's screenings will take place between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the coalition's office, 410 Sherman Ave., Suite 215.
"If HIV had a question to ask you the only question it would ask is, 'are you human?'" said coalition spokesperson Candace Rice. "It can get anybody if they're not careful."
In North Idaho, 80 people are living with AIDS or HIV, according to Jeff Lee, the sexually transmitted disease/AIDS program coordinator for Panhandle Health District. It's estimated that another 23 or so have either the virus or the disease but don't know or haven't reported it.
"It's not who you are, it's what you do," Lee said. "If you're putting yourself at risk, you may find out one day you've got HIV."
HIV can be present for years without ever showing a symptom.
People put themselves at risk by engaging in unprotected sex, having sex with multiple partners with unknown HIV or AIDS status, injecting oneself with drugs and sharing the equipment to do so.
Another risk factor is having sex despite already carrying a sexually transmitted disease. The sores from one STD are open invitations for the HIV virus to enter the body, Lee said.
"The only 100 percent way of not catching something is to be abstinent," he said. "This is followed by being in a mutually monogamous relationship and then using condoms or dental dams during sexual activity."
Long gone are the days when only homosexuals were encouraged to get tested. There's been a resurgence in risky behavior among gay and straight people alike and more drug users are sharing needles, according to the coalition.
People under age 25 make up half of all new HIV infections in the United States, Lee said, and HIV remains a leading cause of death among young people. "They're getting the majority of sexually transmitted diseases, they lack information and they lack access to health care," Lee said.
Young people also tend to have more partners than older adults.
Many don't even know they're infected, which spreads the virus to others unaware of their partners' status. This was the case for Sampson, who had seven partners between the time she was infected (1989) and the time she was diagnosed (1999).
Sampson, a Coeur d'Alene resident, speaks about HIV testing and AIDS at schools and to other groups. At first, going public with her disease was difficult. "One friend didn't want me to use her toilet," Sampson said. "She wasn't doing it to be mean, she was just scared."
When Sampson was first diagnosed, she was very ill. She'd lost much of her hair and quite a bit of weight. She's healthier now, but that almost bothers her. Sampson doesn't want people to be lax about their risk and about the disease.
"I get a little nervous because I'm healthy now," she said. "People start to think there's a cure. When people saw me when I looked like crap they were a little more scared."
Although medications manage the disease and the virus better now than they did 20 years ago when AIDS was first discovered, scientists have not yet found a cure. AIDS is still a fatal disease.
"We don't see the victims like we did in the early and mid 1980s," Lee said. "It goes in cycles of awareness ... We're encouraging people to find out what their status is."
I think who you are has a lot to do with what you do...logic completely lost to those on the left.
It is for sure that she didn't catch this stuff by swimming in the local pool.
"Don't think that AIDS is not here and don't think because you're not an IV drug user or don't sleep around that you can't get it," Sampson warned.So ... just how DID she "get it"????
"If HIV had a question to ask you the only question it would ask is, 'are you human?'" said coalition spokesperson Candace Rice. "It can get anybody if they're not careful."Not careful about what? IV drugs and sleeping around, or option "c" above?
"It's not who you are, it's what you do," Lee said. "If you're putting yourself at risk, you may find out one day you've got HIV."Duh.
People put themselves at risk by engaging in unprotected sex, having sex with multiple partners with unknown HIV or AIDS status, injecting oneself with drugs and sharing the equipment to do so.IOW, Sampson was wrong.
"The only 100 percent way of not catching something is to be abstinent," he said. "This is followed by being in a mutually monogamous relationship and then using condoms or dental dams during sexual activity."Why would a mutually monogamous relationship require condoms and dental dams? Because the concept is considered purely hypothetical and unrealistic??
Someone who lives a promiscuous lifestyle wants to believe that everyone does it. And, anymore, they may be right for the most part.
Doesn't that say it all?
They need articles like this to pound into their heads that what they are doing could kill them. I don't mind them. Who knows this article might wake someone up and save their life?
That's the million dollar question....and it conveniently went unanswered.
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