HIV costs/ The Importance of Getting Tested

So there are two articles that really were interesting to me this week that I received in my Google alerts. One being about the financial costs over a lifetime of someone with HIV. The other addressing the issue with new HIV infections. My general say for both of these issues is to get tested and be safe!

I am pretty sure my infection was transmitted from someone who was not actively taking medication or any treatment for their illness. I don't want to be the one to say this, but of course, that's what we are here for. My opinion on the matter is this. When you are taking care of yourself and being treated for HIV, the common sense of it all is that you are extremely less likely to infect someone. The fact that you can go into "remission" or basically, become un-detectable is my point in a nutshell. I don't know if I am the first one to say such a thing, but having a healthy T-cell count and an un-detectable viral load are, in a sense, a cure. It will make you less likely to pass the virus on to others, but should not make you think that it is OK to have sex without a condom. The problem with that is, so many people don't get the treatment they need soon enough. Again, you are not cured of HIV being that it is still in your body, and has the small chance of being passed on, but highly unlikely. If you don't get tested, and are not getting treatment for it, of course it will spread like wild fire. Example, what we see now.

There are now apps apparently, home tests, and free testing sites all over to find out your status. What I don't understand are people who would rather go on un-knowing, or un-treated. If you can be given the chance to live, why would you ignore that chance, yet continue to have the fear of HIV infection. Knowing very well, you could be infected simply because, you don't know if you are not infected.

Bad transition here, but to the financial point of it all. Imagine a world without HIV or AIDs and the costs on insurance and taking care of someone. If it was a non-issue, I am sure it could alleviate a lot of financial stress governments are facing. This is a win win for conservatives and non-conservatives alike. The thing with HIV and AIDs is that there are so many programs that are ran by donations that help and assist with this epidemic. So the fact that, this, and many other terminal illnesses, are not just paid for or taken care of through insurance. The support from the people is very important, and there are so many more people we could get involved. Just for the cause of HIV and AIDs, I am doing the AIDs Walk NY this year. This is run by GMHC and financial support goes through a network of support for the issue, and the community. Anything that could be done, can make the difference. It's annoying how people are scared to get infected, but will do nothing to make a difference in possibly getting infected. YOU can be that change. Make a donation today, spread the word, and do the little or the most that you can. Thanks for reading, supporting, and sharing.

One Love- Chris

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