World AIDS Day 2026 is about access. UNAIDS says the tools exist; the question is who can reach them. protecht.health/blog/world-a...
Protecht Health
One-stop sexual health care, hep C, HIV, STI testing, PrEP, and harm reduction all in one place, is the model more cities need. Great to see Central Outreach expanding access on Pittsburgh's North Side.
The new HepCMyWay Center of Excellence combines hepatitis C testing and treatment with HIV and STI testing, PrEP, harm reduction, and connections to opioid-use disorder treatment. qburgh.com/central-outr...
From quiet, hidden quarantine to undetectable and a widening set of treatments and preventions. Worth remembering how much progress stigma hasn't caught up to yet.
STD prevention and treatment. During my childhood it was just kinda an understood thing that there was this list of STDs that, if you got them you were going to spend the rest of a potentially short life quietly quarantining yourself as you tried to hide the debilitating symptoms until you died.
Testing negative isn't "clean." Testing positive isn't "dirty." Just information, and taking care of each other. Well said.
Plus you learn a hell of a lot about a person when you tell them "hey I might have been exposed to [STI]". Concern is normal. Blaming you and treating you like you're garbage are not. And testing negative is not "clean", and positive is not "dirty". 😑😑😑
Sexual health access keeps getting quietly chipped away by discomfort, not by evidence. Grateful for clinic staff who see this happen up close and say so.
Thinking about how we had to take down the free condom dispenser where I worked because some lady was going to complain to the state that her kid saw it. I worked in an STI clinic. This can’t be how we decide things.
This is what normalizing testing actually looks like: just another line item in a busy day, no drama attached.
A website update at 7:30am, five hours of on-air pitching (including my three-hour show), a COVID & flu shot, periodic STD testing, and a union meeting. The burger and beer at the end of this marathon day is as fulfilling as I thought it would be.
Helpful study for anyone on PrEP, regardless of regimen: regular testing is what actually catches these, not the schedule you're on.
3229 MSM PrEP users (51% daily, 43.2% event-driven). Baseline STI: 33.7% (event-driven 29.8%<daily 37%, p=.001). STI incidence ~39.4/100 person-yrs similar across regimens.🦠
A great reminder from someone who takes this seriously professionally: testing every few months keeps everyone safer, no matter what kind of sex you're having or with whom.
Getting tested regularly ensures that I can continue to provide a safe and hygienic service for everyone ❤️ Testing is quick, easy, recommended once every 3 months for anyone who is having any form of sex with anyone (most of you too!!!!). It helps keep us all safe and free to have more sexy fun 💋
Testing regularly has nothing to do with trust and everything to do with care. More people framing it this way, please.
Yep, I'm ethically non-monogamous and STI testing is common in those circles. Meanwhile some monogamous people just never get tested. Oh, because they trust their sexual partner. But diseases *don't care* about you trusting a person. Diseases have no morality. No good or bad, just opportunity.
More of this - frontline training like this is how we make STI/HIV care in pregnancy routine, not scary. 👏
Join BASHH’s ‘STIs and HIV in Pregnancy: A training event for midwives.’ Delivered by national experts, the course will explore diagnosis, management and prevention of HIV and STIs in pregnancy, with a focus on the vital role midwives play in patient care. Register today: bit.ly/4yjhydS
Access matters as much as the test itself. No appointment, just show up: this is what makes routine testing feel doable.
Looking for an STI check-up? Walk-in testing is available at our Moor Market base today - No appointment necessary, just call in. Walk-in testing is also available at our Royal Hallamshire Hospital site during routine clinic hours (see our website for details) #sexualhealth #STIScreening
Free, confidential, rapid testing shouldn't be hard to find. Grateful for orgs like Gay Health Task Force and The Center making it easier.
NATIONAL LGBT CENTER AWARENESS DAY Today, the Gay Health Task Force wants to give a BIG shout-out to our friends and community partners at The Center (Western Montana LGBTQ+ Community Center) in Missoula! 💜 For free, confidential, and rapid HIV/STI testing visit gayhealthtaskforce.org
Most of what makes an STI test go smoothly happens before you walk in. Bring your last result and its date, a few notes on partners and protection, and a short list of questions. CDC notes not every checkup includes STI testing, so ask what the panel covers. protecht.health/blog/what-to...
Nurses sharing plain language STI info is exactly the kind of resource more people need easy access to.
Chlamydia: factsheet on sexually transmitted infections This factsheet discusses chlamydia; it is part of a collection on sexually transmitted infections. #nurse #nursing #healthcare #sexualhealth #chlamydia #health #nurse #factsheet #STI www.nursingtimes.net/public-healt...
Making HIV testing part of routine care, in the language that reaches people, is exactly the kind of normalizing we need more of. Grateful for orgs doing this work for NLAAD and beyond.
Make getting tested for #HIV part of your routine health care. Get tested today to know your status! Haz que la prueba del #VIH sea parte de tu cuidado habitual de la salud. ¡Hazte la prueba hoy para saber si tienes o no el VIH! #NLAAD #GetTested #PrevencionVIH https://ow.ly/EuXb50ZXJcE
Doxy-PEP access expanding to all genders in SF is the kind of policy win worth amplifying. Prevention should be available to everyone.
Wonderful news out of San Francisco! (link in the comments) Doxy-PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) - doxycycline taken up to 72 hours, preferably up to 24 hours, after condomless sex to prevent STI acquisition (chlamydia, syphilis) - is now being recommended for people of all genders.
Love seeing industry-standard STI testing highlighted as a safer-sex priority. More partnerships like this, please.
Thanks AVN Magazine for press nod for CrashPad's new Safer Sex Sponsor, ProDx Health! We are excited to increase awareness and access to industry-standard STI testing. avn.com/press/video/...
CDC guidance pairs doxy-PEP with STI testing at the start and every 3 to 6 months. A May 2026 study found it kept lowering chlamydia and syphilis, but the gonorrhea benefit faded as resistance grew. What the guidance says, and why you still test. protecht.health/blog/doxy-pe...
Testing isn't just an HIV conversation — STIs, HPV, and routine sexual healthcare all deserve the same attention. Great reporting from @mambaonline on what's being overlooked.
🏳️🌈 Gay men's health is about more than HIV. Hidden STIs, HPV-related cancers, chemsex and stigma are among the neglected issues highlighted at a recent OUT LGBT Well-being seminar in Johannesburg. Here's what experts say needs to change ⬇️ www.mambaonline.com/2026/10/09/e...
Clear, findable testing info is community care. Make it easy to find and people will use it.
Sharing knowledge and responsibility keeps the entire community safer. 😇 Loose translation of the message : thank you for naming a quick and thorough STI testing clinic on your website, knowing its existence allows me to get tested more regularly. *** When we’re you last tested?
Half of teens surveyed said they learned nothing or not enough about accessing sexual health services. This is exactly the kind of storytelling that starts closing that gap.
52% of 16–17-year-olds surveyed in England in 2025 said they’d learnt nothing or not enough about accessing sexual health services. Help fund my London film exploring testing and stigma. Donate/share: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/gW38LN0n #SexualHealth #STITesting #crowdfunder #shorts
Shaming people for being sexually active does nothing. Supporting them in getting tested does everything.
People rather slut shame sexually active individuals because it’s easier than just shaming people who don’t take care of their sexual health. Why the fuck aren’t you getting tested and practicing safe sex???
Testing as part of self-care and care for your partners, this is exactly the kind of normal we want to see more of 🧡
Continuing to keep myself clean & safe, as well as my lovers. Getting tested is sexy, even if the bandages are not 😅. STD testing is a part of being a Luxury Companion. So is safe sex: clean test results & condoms. #OurSky
Could not agree more. The more these conversations feel normal, the easier it is for people to get tested and get support without shame.
🤔 What happens when HIV becomes something we feel more comfortable talking about? Sharing experiences can help someone else feel understood, find support or feel more confident about getting tested. The welcome they receive matters. 🧡 #GettingToZero #EndStigma #HIV
Negative covers the day the sample was taken. Positive often starts a short sequence: HIV.gov says a positive must always be confirmed with further testing. Inconclusive means no clear answer yet, and usually a repeat test. A plain-language guide to all three.
A negative result only covers the day it was taken. Window periods, as a plan: about 2 weeks after exposure for chlamydia and gonorrhea, about 4 for syphilis and HIV (HIV tests range from 10 to 90 days by type), then retest. Practical timeline in our new post. protecht.health/blog/sti-win...