As a female of Jamaican descent who frequents the dancehall from time to time (not as much as I used to but occasionally) the recent story posted on another blog was quite alarming. As someone that works in the healthcare field it obviously wasn't the first time I had encountered a situation like this. In fact I have come across other people like this in a non-professional setting as well. So I thought that it would be a good idea to have my friend 'GlamrgalRN' who is an experienced Registered Nurse with expertise in HIV/AIDS be a contributor this week. She is also of Jamaican descent, so this holds a dear place in her heart. She as well as I both work at prominent healthcare institutions in NYC. And to the men who think you can look a nurse or a healthcare worker cuz wi get check every year, so we automatically clean, the only thing we are mandated to be tested for is Tuberculosis. Also bear in mind even if a nurse tested positive do you think she will lose her job, or is required to tell her partners??? Ignorance truly is bliss. So take the time to read GlamrgalRN's post. It may seem like overkill, but it is never too late too educate and protect yourselves!
GlamrgalRN says:
In light of the recent events that have occurred in the dancehall scene, 3 things continue to baffle me:
1- People are surprised at what this young lady ALLEGEDLY did
2- People aren’t getting tested regularly
3- People are still going raw dog
Although quite disturbing, I for one am not surprised. I just have about a lot questions. Why are Caribbean people still in denial, especially when HIV/AIDS in the islands is as bad as Africa? Is it because she was a party girl and looks good and didn’t “appear” sick? People wouldn’t be so wicked? Not in America? According to the CDC, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the US, currently, is 1.1 million, with DC and NY in the lead!!! FL and ATL are right behind. How many from that number do you think is coping effectively enough to take care of their self and not endanger the public? What about those people that are coping yet would rather maintain confidentiality, even to their mates who could be negative? Do you think a nurse or Dr. will snitch? Guess what, no one is going to sacrifice their license or livelihood because HIPAA protects all patients, even those with AIDS who are having unprotected sex.
In addition, about a quarter of that 1.1 million don’t even know they’re infected. People aren’t getting tested as they should and a lot of people feel they would rather not know. Well, just because you don’t know you have doesn’t mean you can’t transmit it. What is for sure is that the medication does prolong lives and reduce viral loads to undetectable levels. Although this isn’t a cure, people with HIV are living longer with less of those opportunistic diseases that scared the hell out of us in the 80’s. And with undetectable levels, it makes transmission a little more difficult. But it appears that since that AIDS doesn’t make you look sick like in the 80’s, people think it went away or something.
Which brings me to my final question: why are people still riding bareback?? Your health is your own responsibility. Even if people know that they are HIV+ doesn’t mean they’re going to tell their sex partners. A few bloggers on that other website had there own methods of determining who had it. Some mentioned that the girlfriends of some of the men that had contact with the deceased, had babies, which means they were ok. As an ex labor and delivery nurse, and now I spend part- time in the women’s health clinic, nothing could be further from the truth. You don’t lose your reproductive right if your are HIV+. I have seen HIV+ women getting infertility treatment. You can be HIV+ and have a baby. Although an OB provider may make it seem mandatory, undiagnosed pregnant women have the option of HIV testing prenatally. However, HIV is 1 of the 12 or so newborn tests that the state requires, and if baby is +, we know what mom is. It costs the state less money to give people good prenatal care with HIV meds than to take care of babies born with it, which is <1% now. So having a baby doesn’t mean anything.
What about the thousands of kids that were born with it at the height of the epidemic. They’re entering adulthood now and have lived with the disease all their life. For a lot of them who have few symptoms and are living normally, it’s probably not even worth mentioning. I have seen that as well. So why take that chance and put your health in someone else’s hands? When I go to work, do you think I look at someone and say “he doesn’t look sick so I guess I will do this blood draw without gloves”? Hell no! Standard Precautions: everyone is a potential risk to me! Why can’t we treat our potential sex partners the same way? At the end of the day, I truly believe us women have the power. Especially since research has shown that male to female is much easier than female to male transmission, we should be much more vigilant. If you don’t boots up, you not getting! Afraid of offending someone you really like, use pregnancy as an excuse. “I’m not on birth control and I don’t believe in abortion”. It’s funny, but it seems most men are afraid of breeding than they are of catching something, and pregnancies can be fixed, depending on what you believe. And if he refuses to boots up, red flag! Not worth your life!
So what I’m really trying to say is that your health is your own responsibility. You can’t depend on no one but yourself. No one has to disclose their status. And just because someone says they’re negative, doesn’t mean squat. If you’re truly going to be monogamous with someone, get tested together. Dept. of health does it for free, results in 20min from a cheek swab. Still protect yourself and retest in 3-6months and take it from there. Otherwise, no glove no love. That simple. Trust me, that girl wasn’t the first to do what people are saying she did, and I can assure you, she is not the last.
Pass this on to someone, you may save a life.
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