Top 10 things you should know about NTHTD

1. Know where your nearest HIV testing sites are. It can be as simple as a Google search, or going to: https://www.hiv.gov/locator

2. It is a day for the transgender community to go out and activate their positive health regimens. Getting tested regularly is a part of healthy living and knowing your HIV status is beneficial to continuing to live a long and productive life!

3. Not everyone gets tested for HIV. What!? Yes, there are many individuals that are not tested who may or may not be infected with HIV. Although the HIV public health field does a tremendous job getting information about HIV out in communities, not everyone accesses the information.

4. Planning on getting HIV tested together with your prospective partner can have many positive ramifications. What if they adore honesty and frankness? That makes you on top of the game! Even if you’re not planning on having a long term relationship you can still get tested together. Remember, the longest lasting relationship you’ll ever have is with yourself!

5. Serodiscorcant couples (where one person is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative) are in our trans community. Therefore, PrEP is a popular biomedical intervention. PrEP assists in keeping HIV negative individuals from being infected.

6. Taking your HIV medications regularly, following your doctor’s advice and retaining healthy activities can keep HIV positive individuals undetectable which prevent the spread of HIV. Medications have evolved and are better than everall you need to do is stick to a healthy regimen.

7. U = U. Undetectable = Untransmittable. A person living with HIV who has undetectable viral load does not transmit HIV to their partners. This means that someone who is on ART (Anti-Retroviral Therapy) will not pass HIV on to others.

8.There are cities across the nation that participate and celebrate in our longevity, so please know what events are happening in your area on National Transgender HIV Testing Day.Use #NTHTD on Twitter or Facebook to find if there’s an NTHTD event near you!

9. Stigma and discrimination related to HIV is lessening because people are getting tested more and more. The more people that are aware of routine HIV testing, the more normalized it becomes.

10. You are fabulous! You belong to a long line of fabulosity and it will not end with you. You have the power to change the face of HIV and AIDS for everyone, and now is the time to begin that change. Get tested, tell your friends and family to get tested and spread the word about PrEP, ART And U=U!