According to Guillermo Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS, one of the most difficult things with HIV is the stigma associated with the epidemic and the level of homophobia, trans-phobia, and AIDS phobia that they face as a community. Hispanics and Latinos are late testers for HIV, which for many means that they’re living with the virus or the disease without even knowing.
What Can You Do?
There are many places where you can get tested for FREE and patients can receive their results in a matter of minutes.To find a testing site near you, use AAA’s testing locator, Get Tested; text your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948); or call 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636). You can also use a home testing kit available in drugstores or online.
Protect yourself and your partner. Today, more tools than ever are available to prevent HIV. According to the CDC, you can:
- Use condoms the right way every time you have sex. Learn the right way to use a male condom or a female condom.
- Choose less risky sexual behaviors.
- Limit your number of sexual partners.
- Never share needles.
- Talk to your doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), taking medicine daily to prevent HIV infection, if you are at very high risk for HIV.
- Talk to your doctor about post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if you think you may have been exposed to HIV within the last 3 days through sex, sharing needles and works, or a sexual assault.
Everyone ages 15 through 64 should get tested during their routine checkup. Men having sex with other men are particularly a high-risk group, but anyone who is having sex, unprotected sex, multiple sex partners, should definitely get tested as soon as possible.
