This week marked National HIV Testing Day, an annual day of action organized on behalf of the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA). The annual event raises awareness of the continued need to remain vigilant of the need to be tested for HIV/AIDS, even 30 years after the first cases of AIDS were reported in the U.S and the disease became a national health crisis.
While the spread of HIV/AIDS has been stalled with a vigorous public health campaign and new treatments that have been developed since the 1980’s, National HIV Testing Day remains an important event. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention notes that 40 percent of people infected with HIV don’t find out they have a problem until they come down with full-blown AIDS, which dramatically affects that type of medication and other treatment they can receive to prolong their life and live with the disease.
According to the CDC, anyone who answers “yes” to one of the following questions should be regularly tested:
- Have you injected drugs or steroids or shared equipment (such as needles, syringes, works) with others?
- Have you had unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex with men who have sex with men, multiple partners, or anonymous partners?
- Have you exchanged sex for drugs or money?
- Have you been diagnosed with or treated for hepatitis, tuberculosis (TB), or a sexually transmitted disease (STD), like syphilis?
- Have you had unprotected sex with someone who could answer yes to any of the above questions?
A testing site close to your home can be found on the CDC website by simply entering your address.
The cost of HIV/AIDS medication for those that have tested positive can be an incredible burden, because while great headway has been made in allowing people to live long after a positive diagnosis, there is still no cure or vaccine for the disease. A diagnosis will mean a complicated and expensive medication regime. At CanadaDrugs.com, Canadian Pharmacy, we assist many HIV/AIDS patients in having an affordable alternative to purchasing their literal life-saving drugs. The cost of HIV/AIDS medications can quickly drive most people into the level of catastrophic drug coverage in their insurance plans, but for those without insurance, or with inadequate coverage, we can help lower the costs on many of the first-line therapy drugs that are prescribed to treat HIV/AIDS. Our team of pharmacists act as a resource for more affordable access to standard first-line therapy combinations drugs such as:
- Sustiva (efavirenz)
- Viread (tenofovir)
- Emtriva (emtricitabine)
- Reyataz (atazanavir)
- Norvir (ritonovir)
- Prezista (darunavir)
Tags: aids meds, aids testing, hiv meds, hiv testing
