HIV and AIDS - I Wanna Know

What is HIV?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Imagine your body as an army. HIV attacks the part of your body that fights disease (the immune system), and 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 still transmit HIV.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 12,000 youth were infected with HIV in 2010.

Is there a cure for HIV?

No. There is no cure for HIV. But, some medicines can make you feel better and stay healthy.

What is AIDS?

AIDS is the last stage of HIV. It stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, which means the immune system is damaged and allows the person with AIDS to experience more severe illnesses. Today HIV is not curable, but it is treatable. Contracting HIV does not automatically mean you have AIDS.

Young People and HIV

Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 represent 26% of new HIV infections each year. A little more than half (54 percent) of new infections among young gay and bisexual males are in African Americans. 60 percent of these young people with HIV do not know they are infected, so they don’t get important early treatment and also can unknowingly pass HIV on to others.

You can protect yourself from HIV–learn the risks, know how to prevent infection, and get tested.

How do I get HIV?

HIV is passed to sex partners through blood, semen (cum), seminal fluid (pre-cum), and vaginal fluids.

Vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom is the main way people get HIV. HIV can infect anyone if they have unprotected sex or share drug needles with infected partners. 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.

You can get HIV from direct contact, like having vaginal, anal, or oral sex or sharing injection drug needles and syringes. You can also get HIV from indirect contact, like when pregnant mothers can pass HIV to their babies during childbirth or breastfeeding.

You CANNOT get HIV from:

Some activities make you MORE likely to get HIV:

How to Reduce Your Risk of HIV

If you choose to have sex, use condoms, the right way, every time. 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 the number of partners you have.
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.
Ask your healthcare provider about PrEP. PrEP can be taken as a pill that when taken daily reduces the chance of HIV transmission by 90%. PrEP is also available as an injection, taken even two months, that may be a good choice if taking daily medicine might be inconvenient.

PrEP does not protect against other STDs/STIs or pregnancy. Visit our Condoms page and Birth Control comparison chart for more information about preventing pregnancy and other STDs/STIs.

How do I find out if I have HIV?

Sometimes the signs of HIV look the same as the signs of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 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 test. You can get a test from a doctor’s office, health departments, Planned Parenthood, community clinics, and college health centers. You can easily search for a clinic near you.

Shooting Drugs

IF YOU NEED HELP TO STOP TAKING DRUGS: CALL National Drug and Alcohol Hotline for help: 1-800-662-43457.

Shooting Drugs and HIV

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.

Making needles safe from HIV and other STIs

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 two 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.

More information about HIV transmission:

Tattoos And Body Piercing

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 shop and make sure they do it safely and cleanly.

HIV-Infected Mothers

Donated Blood

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.