What
is HIV?
How do I get HIV?
What does HIV do to my body?
Is there a cure for HIV?
How do I find out if I have HIV?
How can I reduce my risk of getting HIV?
How do I learn more about HIV?
What is HIV
?
HIV stands for Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Imagine your
body as an army. HIV attacks the part of your body that fights
disease (the immune system). HIV makes the immune system not work
right.
- Sometimes there are no signs of HIV at first.
- You can't tell if you have HIV until you
get a blood test.
- Also, many people with HIV look healthy
and can transmit HIV.
How do I get HIV?
HIV is only passed by:
- Blood
- Seminal Fluid
- Semen
- Vaginal Fluids
You can get HIV from:
Direct
- Having vaginal, anal or oral sex
- Sharing
injection drug needles and syringes
Indirect
Pregnant mothers can pass HIV to
their babies during childbirth or breastfeeding
HIV is not spread through air or food.
You cannot get HIV from:
- Hugging, kissing, talking to or touching
a person with HIV
- Insect Bite/ Mosquitoes
- Casual Contact
- Sharing a towel with someone
- Using a public bathroom or public
telephone
- Swimming together
- Sharing food and drink
Factors that make you more likely to get HIV:
- Sharing needles and syringes
- Having unprotected
vaginal, anal, or oral sex
- Having
sex for drugs or money
- Having another
STI (sexually transmitted infection),
Hepatitis, or Tuberculosis (TB)
How Risky Is Getting HIV?
- Vaginal, anal
or oral sex without a condom is the main way people get HIV.
- Using condoms prevents your partner's blood, seminal fluid,
semen, and vaginal fluids from getting in your body. Those bodily
fluids have HIV.
- Even in oral sex, there should be some plastic or latex cover
or barrier between you and your partner.
This barrier keeps you from your partner's bodily fluids.
- There are no written cases of anyone getting HIV through kissing,
even French kissing.
- HIV can infect anyone if they have unprotected sex or share
drug needles with infected partners.
What About Shooting Drugs?
- Sharing drug equipment such as needles or syringes is any
easy way to get HIV.
- When you inject the drug in your skin, blood will come up
the needle. When you share someone's needle and it hasn't been
cleaned, the blood left in the needle will be injected into
you. This is how people get infected.
- You don't have to inject drugs like heroin, cocaine or speed.
Sharing needles for injecting steroids
could also infect you.
- If you shoot up drugs and share needles, there is a big risk
for getting HIV and other infections
like Hepatitis B and C.
- IF YOU NEED HELP TO STOP TAKING DRUGS: CALL
National Drug and Alcohol Hotline for help:
1-800-662-43457.
Cleaning Your Works: Making Needles Safe
From HIV And Other STDs
One way to avoid getting HIV is to not
use drugs and share needles. If you do share needles, you have
to know how to clean them. Cleaning needles will kill any HIV
virus on the needle.
You can clean needles and works with household bleach (such as
Clorox).
Tips on Cleaning Needles and Works:
- Get 2 cups and fill them with water
- Fill the syringe with water from
one cup and wait 30 seconds. Throw
out that water and cup.
- Empty the syringe and fill it with
bleach. Wait 30 seconds before rinsing
it out.
- Refill the syringe with bleach
2 more times. Wait at least 30 seconds
before rinsing.
- Fill the syringe with
water from the second container several
times. This will get rid of the bleach.
Tattoos And Body Piercing: What's The Truth?
Some
people are afraid that you can get
HIV through body piercing or tattooing.
You can ask a tattoo parlor to explain
what they do to stop HIV from being passed from person to person.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) says that tattooing and piercing needles should
be used once and thrown away OR sterilized (thoroughly cleaned).
Some people have friends who do tattooing with pins, needles,
writing pens and even knives. This is not a good idea. Those things
may not be clean and could pass HIV to you without you knowing.
If you are thinking about getting a tattoo or piercing:
- Choose a reputable (trustworthy)
shop
- Let them do it safely and cleanly
What About Playing Sports?
If
someone gets hurt and starts bleeding
when you are playing sports, stop the game. In organized sports
the player is not allowed to play until the bleeding stops
and the cut is covered with a bandage.
If there is blood on playing court, like a basketball court or
wrestling mat, the team trainer will clean the area with disinfectant.
If the player gets blood on the uniform, the uniform must be changed.
These safety rules are flowed to keep people from the injured
player's blood. There are no written cases of HIV from sports.
Can HIV-Infected Mothers Infect Their Unborn Babies?
Yes. A
mother can transmit HIV to her baby. But, she can
lower the risk by taking special
medicine when she is pregnant. A
mother with HIV should not breastfeed
her baby. HIV can be passed through breast milk.
Women now are offered HIV tests when they are pregnant. By knowing
if they are infected with HIV, moms can make the best choices
for the health of themselves and their baby.
What About The Donated Blood Supply?
The
blood supply in the United States is
tested and all blood that may contain HIV or another disease is
thrown away. So you can get a blood transfusion and not worry. Some
people worry about getting infected by donating blood, but there
never has been any risk of infection by donating. A sterile needle
is used to collect blood and then the needle is thrown away.
What does HIV do to my body?
Sometimes the
signs of HIV look the same as the signs
of other STIs (sexually transmitted
infection). Some people don't show signs of HIV for a long time.
The only way to tell if you have HIV is to get an HIV blood
test.
Is there a cure for HIV?
No. There is no
cure for HIV. But, there are some medicines
that can make you feel better and stay
healthy. Ask your doctor.
How do I find out if I have HIV?
The only
way to tell if you have HIV is to get
an HIV test. You can get a test from:
- Doctor's office
- Health Departments
- Planned Parenthood
- Hospitals
- Community clinics set up for HIV
testing
- Student Health Centers on
college campuses
How can I reduce my risk of getting HIV?
Don't Have Sex
Vaginal, anal and oral sex is the major
way HIV is passed.
Use Condoms
If you do have sex, use latex condoms
or other protection like dams, plastic wrap, etc every time.
Condoms can break if they are not used the right way. Birth
control and spermicides do not protect you from HIV.
Get Tested
If you are having sex, get tested for
HIV and other STIs.
Limit Number of Partners
Don't Inject Drugs
If you do inject drugs, make sure you:
- Use only clean needles, syringes
and other works
- Never share needles,
syringes and other works
- Get tested
for HIV every year
Talk to Your Partner
If you or your partner has HIV or other
STIs, you should tell each other.
If you are not having sex with someone else and are not injecting
drugs, you are probably safe.
How do I learn more about HIV?
To learn more about HIV/AIDS and other STIs
call:
- American
Social Health Association (ASHA)
http://www.ashastd.org
1-800-227-8922
This line plays recordings about STI information 24 hrs a day and has health
communication specialists available to answer questions between 9am and 6pm,
ET, Monday through Friday
- Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/std/
(CDC): 1-800-342-2437
AIDS Hotline: 1-800-227-8922
Hotlines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For Information in Spanish call:
1-800-344-7432, 8:00 AM- 2:00 AM Eastern Time, 7 days a week.
For Information for the Deaf and
Hard of Hearing call:
1-800-243-7889, 10:00 AM- 10:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday-Friday.
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