National HIV Testing Day (and Hulk Hogan)

This Friday is National HIV Testing Day. People should know their status, but every year I fall into the same trap...

I wake up, take a shower, and head out for a test, hoping against hope for a negative result. It's kind of like Charlie Brown trying to kick that football- it never quite goes my way. Still, somewhere in my mind I think that a year's worth of eating Cheetos will have finally chased HIV from my system.

Of course, I am kidding. But recent HIV testing news has not been a laughing matter, especially the NY Post article on a recent, isolated rash of false positive test results from Ora-Sure tests. (The mouth swabbing one.) My friend, Nick, works at the Virginia Department of Health, and he said they give pre-counselling about the potential for a false positive, which he says is extremely rare in their experiences.

And, as a safeguard, if someone tests positive with the swabbing, they get the more accurate blood test to verify the results.

If you live in Virginia, you can get a list of testing sites here. If you're not in Virginia, find a testing center near you by going here.

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In pop culture news, Hulk Hogan has been having a rough go lately- a divorce, his son's car accident. Did you hear the death threat phone call he received? There was speculation that it came from the family of the victim of the car wreck, but all I could think about was this YouTube video some guy made awhile back.

All I'm saying in regard to the death threat is this: "Don't rule out Sid Justice."

Check out Hogan's reference to HIV testing at the end of the YouTube clip. Classic stuff. Makes you wonder what the next episode would have been like had the guy (presuming he didn't) told the truth and said he'd never been tested.

Positively Yours,

Shawn