Ask/Tell. Talk about it. Get tested.

OK, it's more than one thing, but all are important.

Ask/Tell.

If you care about your own health, bring up the question of HIV with your partner(s). Don't depend on them to tell you. Sometimes they don't want to tell. Being rejected over-and-over has a way of discouraging honesty. And maybe they just don't want to deal with it, thinking things will never get that far. If you care, bring up the topic yourself.

Talk about it.

The old Act Up poster said "Silence = Death". Today, we don't talk much about HIV and it shows. 15% to 30% of all new cases of HIV occur among individuals younger than 25 years. They don't know what it was like back in the late '80s and early '90s, so they don't think they have to worry. It's so much easier to come up with excuses than to deal with it.

The party can continue, but lets do it with our eyes wide open. Talk about what's going on and how to be safe and safer. It takes more than "just say no" to make a difference.

Get tested.

To be honest, just about everyone is at risk. In the old days, testing positive was pretty much a death sentence. Today, catching it early can mean the difference between staying healthy vs. trashing you immune system, and helps ensure you don't pass it on to others unknowingly.

Is it fun to find out you're HIV+? Not a chance. But it also sucks to find out that someone else caught it from you.

Not getting tested helps no one. It doesn't help you. And it doesn't help the other people in your life.