Spring fever is in the the air,but...
AIDS
should be on your mind.
Spring break flings can mean pregnancy disease and even death.
story by Susanna Lööf
This weekend, hundreds of KU students will take off for Padre Island, Panama Beach and similar locations. A week later, they will return with great tans and snapshots.
But for some students, yet another souvenir of the vacation will appear in the third week of April. They will head to Watkins Health Center to find out what memories they are suffering from.
Twice as many students tested for sexually transmitted diseases during the third week of April than during other weeks, said Charles Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins.
Yockey said that students had more sex than usual in places where more people have STDs.
That is when spring break flings start causing troubles.
An STD common in southern spring break destinations is shen- croid, a bacterial infection similar to syphilis. The infection is common in warmer places, such as south of Dallas, Yockey said. The largest risk spring break infections involves AIDS.
Tamara Morris, vice president of Planned Parenthood of Mid-Missouri and Eastern Kansas headquarters, said more people called to ask about getting tested for HIV after spring break than after any other break.
"Students seem to be aware of the risks," she said. "But they also seem to feel invincible, like it can't happen to them."
But it does. A survey done by the American College Health Association and the Center for Disease Control shows that 2.1 of 1,000 college students are HIV positive. According to that statistic, about 50 students at the University of Kansas would be infected.
Here is where to go for AIDS testing:
Watkins Memorial Health Center
No appointment needed.
Cost: $19, including counseling before and after the test.
Waiting time for result: Two days if the test is confidential,
which means that you give your real name, and the result will go on your health records. If you take the test anonymously,
the result will take two weeks.
Appointments can be made at 843-0721.
Cost: $16, including counseling before and after the test.
Waiting time for result: Two weeks
Lawrence/Douglas County Health Department, 336 Missouri St.
Appointments are preferred but not needed. They can be made at 832-0281.
Cost: $15, including counseling before and after the test.
Waiting time for results: Two weeks
Planned Parenthood. 1420 Kasold Drive.
An AIDS test shows whether HIV antibodies are in the blood. Antibodies develop about six weeks after a sexual encounter. You should be tested six weeks after the encounter and again two to three months after the first test.
But it is important to remember that HIV can be prevented, Yockey said.
"This doesn't happen to anyone," he said. "You have to put yourself at risk for these things to happen."
During spring break, more students than usual risk getting infected because they drink more alcohol than usual.
Illustration by Rose Sit
"When you've had too much to drink, you're having a good time, and you're leaving tomorrow, sometimes your judgment is not good," Yockey said.
To avoid AIDS and other STDs, students need to think about the risks before they act, Yockey advised.
if you wouldn't do it sober, you shouldn't do it drunk," he said. On average, four students a day are tested for AIDS at Watkins, Yockey said. Before Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV positive, about three students a week came to Watkins to be tested. This increased again when Tommy Morrison announced that he was infected with the virus.
Another indication of how many students have unsafe sex is also reflected in pregnancy test statistics at Watkins, Yockey said.
"If you put yourself at risk for pregnancy, you're also putting yourself at risk for HIV," Yockey said.
Yockey said that it was a major step to get tested for most students, because it was to admit that they had put themselves at risk.
"You're saying to yourself: I might have it. I put myself at risk. I might be positive," Yockey said.
Many students deny the risks and have unprotected sex, Yockey said. For many, that is easier than facing the truth, because the truth takes the fun out of life.
"But the fun part of life is enjoying health," Yockey said. "I'm not trying to spoil your life. I'm trying to improve your life."
Hill Topics
March 18,1996
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