September 27, 2012 | Health Matters

Today is Gay Men's HIV Awareness Day

Today is Gay Men's HIV Awareness Day, a day in which everyone is encouraged to get tested for HIV. For some people it is a scary thing to do, but knowing your status now can save you a lot of heartache in the future. And most cities have created a strong foundation of support for those who test positive.

As well, home testing has now become available online (and should be available in pharmacies within the month) in the US. OraQuick is the first approved in-home oral HIV test. The test costs about $40.

The National Association of People with AIDS reminds us all that since 2008, many things have remained the same in our battle against the disease. There are still over 1.1 million Americans living today with HIV. One in five gay men in major cities is living with HIV, but nearly half of them don't even know it. And of new infections, three-quarters come from these same people who didn't know they were infected.

Do yourself a favor and get tested.