Comic Strip: Heather Gets an HIV Test

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Dialogue

[GRAPHIC]

Heather — a woman in her mid to late 50s — is holding her phone and her dating app shows she has a new match. She has a big smile on her face as a text bubble appears showing their conversation

Guy: “Friday night dinner?”

Heather: “It’s a date!”

[GRAPHIC]

Heather is getting ready for her date. Tosses her birth control pills in the trash can on the way out the door.

“So glad I don’t need birth control anymore!”

[GRAPHIC]

Heather is out on her date, they are sitting close and he has his arm around her.

Guy: “Want to get out of here?”

Heather: “Your place or mine?”

[SUPER]

Later that week…

[GRAPHIC]

Heather and her friend are sitting on the couch at Heather’s house. Throughout the conversation, they are both holding glasses of wine, eating snacks, petting a cat, etc.

Friend: “So tell me about the date!”

Heather: “It was alright. You know me, I’m not looking for anything serious. Just having fun getting back out there since the divorce. Dating at 56 has been an adventure so far.”

Friend: “And what about Brad? Are you still seeing him?”

Heather: “Casually.”

Friend: “Wow, I’m totally living vicariously through you. By the way, what are you doing for protection? Are you still on the pill?”

Heather: “No, I got off that a few weeks ago. One good thing about menopause is that you don’t have to worry about getting pregnant. Whew!”

Friend: “But what about STIs?”

Heather: “I’m not too worried.”

Friend: “Not to put a chill on Netflix and chill, but since I’m a nurse, I feel like I need to tell you that STIs are actually on the rise. They’ve doubled in people in their mid-50s and older in the last decade.”

Heather: “Really? Why?”

Friend: “Some of it is from people like you, who are getting back out there with new partners after a divorce, thinking they no longer need protection. And menopause itself can make you more likely to get STIs.”

Heather: “Oh, wow. Menopause really is the gift that keeps on giving.”

[GRAPHIC]

Changes in the vagina, like loss of elasticity and dryness, make you more prone to tearing, which makes it easier to get STIs.

Friend: “Maybe you should get an HIV test. Just to be safe.”

Heather: “That sounds scary.”

Friend: “It’s really just a simple blood test. And not knowing is a lot scarier though, right?

Heather: “I guess. Yeah.”

[ SUPER]

You can get an HIV test at:

Your healthcare provider’s office

Local health departments

HIV testing clinics

Friend: “If you have HIV and you get treated, you can still live a long, healthy life. But if you ignore something like that, it can be life-threatening.”

Heather: “Thanks. You always give me good advice. I’ll do it! I’ll find a place tomorrow. Now let’s get to the main event of the evening. Turn on “Love Is Blind!”

[GRAPHIC]

The next day…

Heather is at the check-in desk at an HIV testing clinic.

Heather thinks to herself: “Positive or negative, at least I’ll know.”

For more information, please visit HealthyWomen.org/HIV.