The HIV/AIDS Basics / Kaiser Family Foundation

I know that I am about 7 days late with this, but I wanted to post it anyway because it is good information.

The numbers say it all:



One in 50 African American men is estimated to be infected with HIV.

Sixty-four percent of new AIDS cases among teens today are among African American teens.

Almost two-thirds of all women reported with AIDS nationwide are African American women.

We know our community is being hit very hard by HIV/AIDS. But do we know everything we can know about protecting ourselves? Take our refresher course on HIV/AIDS risk and prevention.



Q: How is HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, spread?



HIV is transmitted via certain bodily fluids: blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk.(1) That means that any physical contact, heterosexual or homosexual, where bodily fluids are exchanged--including vaginal, anal and oral sex--is risky behavior. When it comes to sex, the only way to completely eliminate your risk is to be completely abstinent. But if you're sexually active, you can still protect yourself by using protection every time.



Q: How can I reduce my risk?



If you are sexually active, latex and polyurethane condoms, both the male and the female variety, are the best way to reduce your risk of getting HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). But for condoms to work, you have to use them correctly every time you have any kind of sex -- oral, anal or vaginal.



Q: Can you tell if someone has HIV?



As with many STDs, you can be HIV positive for a long time --as long as a decade--without developing any symptoms. Eventually symptoms can include weight-loss, diarrhea, fatigue, persistent fevers, night sweats, headaches, and recurring yeast infections. But because these symptoms often take so long to kick in, you can pass the virus around to your sexual partners for years before you even know you're infected. Men and women of all races, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds can be HIV positive, so forget about judging a prospective partner's health status by the way he or she looks. The only fail-proof way to know a person's HIV status -- a partner's or your own -- is to get tested.



Q: Where can I go to get tested?



You can get tested for HIV in just about any doctor's office, and you can also buy home test kits in drug stores. (2) If you want your test professionally administered (which is a good idea, since it's wise to have contact with trained counselors for support and information), but you're not wild about the idea of visiting your family health care provider, there are anonymous and confidential testing sites all over the country. To find one near you, check out any one of these resources, and make sure to ask about the testing policy (confidential or anonymous) of the testing center where you go:



Call the CDC National HIV/AIDS Hotline at 1-800-342-AIDS

Go to 'www.hivtest.org'

Call CDC National STD Hotline at 1-800-227-8922

Call the Planned Parenthood National Hotline at 1-800-230-PLAN

Once HIV infection has occurred, it can take as long as six months to show up accurately in a test. So if you've had unprotected sex or shared needles in the half year period preceding your test, you could be infected with HIV and still get a negative result. That's why it's important to wait until you can get an accurate test result, and if you can't wait, to get tested again. That's why it's also important to use condoms even if you've recently been handed a clean bill of health.



Q: What about treatment?



Over the past decade, researchers have developed antiviral medications that can work to slow the progression of HIV/AIDS and delay the onset of symptoms.(3) Many people are living longer and healthier lives as a result. But in spite of this good news, there's still no known cure for AIDS, and the virus is still considered fatal. That's why it's so important to protect yourself at every turn -- because when it comes to HIV/AIDS, prevention is the only cure.