Know the Facts About HIV/AIDS

We must make many choices throughout life. We choose the clothes we wear to school, work or play. We choose our friends. We choose where to live. We choose what we want to do when we grow up. We also choose boyfriends or girlfriends. We choose someone with whom to be intimate and, perhaps, spend our life.

Choices should be made carefully. American teens are experimenting sexually at a younger age today than ever before. If you have reached the point that you are considering or already having sexual intercourse, you need to know the facts about HIV/AIDS. In addition to learning the facts, there are questions you need to ask your partner and there are steps you need to take to prevent contracting HIV/AIDS. Not taking the necessary precautions can be fatal to both you and your partner. AIDS is becoming one of the leading causes of death among teens.

WHAT IS HIV/AIDS?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV attacks the body's immune system. The immune system is a collection of cells and chemicals that protect the body from anything foreign. Our immune system has no protection against HIV. A person can contract HIV and continue a normal healthy life for several years. A person can be HIV positive and not be aware that they are a carrier of the virus. There is a period of up to six months after HIV has entered the blood stream that it may not appear in a test for the virus. A person may be HIV positive for as many as ten years before HIV goes into full-blown AIDS. It's important to realize that you can contract HIV through a single sexual contact with an HIV positive partner.

AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is caused by HIV. AIDS develops when the immune system can no longer protect itself from life-threatening diseases. There is no known cure for AIDS. The life expectancy of an individual with AIDS is three years or less.

HOW IS HIV SPREAD?

HIV is spread four ways:

• By having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who is infected with HIV.
• By sharing needles or syringes with an HIV positive person.
• From an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or, in rare cases, breast-feeding.
• Through blood transfusions. However, people in the United States are very unlikely to contract HIV this way today. Since 1985, all donated blood and plasma has been tested for antibodies to HIV and people who are at risk of being infected with certain germs, including HIV, are not allowed to give blood.

HOW IS HIV NOT SPREAD?

You cannot get HIV through casual contact or everyday activities. Unlike other viruses, it is not spread through the air or water or by:

• Handshakes
• Hugs
• Coughs or sneezes
• Sweat or tears
• Pets
• Mosquitos or other insects
• Eating food prepared/served by someone else
• Attending school
• Being around an infected person
• Toilet or shower facilities
• Forks, knives, spoons and cups
• Chairs, desks or bus seats
• Phones or computers
• Drinking fountains
• Swimming pools
• Sports and gym equipment

You also cannot get HIV by giving blood in the United States. All blood collection equipment goes through a special cleaning and screening process.

WHAT CAN I DO TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM HIV?

You can avoid contracting HIV by:

• Not having sex. Remember that you can get infected from just one sexual experience.
• Not shooting drugs.
• Not sharing needles or syringes.
• Not using alcohol or other drugs. These substances can keep you from thinking clearly and cause you to make unwise decisions.

See also the box at the end of this leaflet.

WHAT IF I DO HAVE SEX?

If you choose to have sex, you can lower your risk of HIV infection if you:

• Have sex with a partner who is not infected, who has sex only with you and who does not shoot drugs or share needles or syringes. (Keep in mind that it is difficult to know all these things about another person.)
• Always use a latex condom for any kind of sex vaginal, anal or oral. It's possible you won't know if your partner is infected.
• Learn how to use a condom correctly before you have sex.
• Avoid contact with your partner's blood, semen or vaginal fluid.

Latex condoms are the only safe condoms to use. "Lambskin" and other "natural membrane" condoms are unsafe because they contain many very small holes through which the virus can travel. The spermicide nonoxynol-9 is also recommended as an additional protection against HIV. Remember, if condoms are exposed to excessive heat they lose their protective quality. This can happen if you store them in your wallet or purse or the glove compartment of your vehicle.

WHAT ABOUT HIV AND SPORTS OR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES?

Remember the ways you can become infected with HIV. If someone gets an open wound through sports or some other physical activity, normal first-aid procedures should be followed. When handling towels, t-shirts or other blood-saturated clothing, always wear protective latex gloves. If gloves are not available, use plastic bags or other protective materials to create a protective barrier between you and the clothing. Contracting HIV through everyday physical activities is most unlikely.

WHAT ABOUT KISSING?

A kiss on the cheek is very nice and safe. The skin is a very good protector from HIV. Kissing on the mouth also is safe. Although HIV has been detected in saliva, the only known way you can become infected by kissing is through open sores or bleeding gums of an HIV-positive individual.

WHAT CAN I DO IF A FRIEND HAS HIV OR AIDS?

Be supportive. Show them that you care. Spend time with them. Let them know that there are support groups available for them. Make yourself available to listen when they want to talk. There is a direct relationship between people's emotional outlook and how they respond to being HIV positive. The following can help them maintain a healthy outlook:

• Support of family and friends
• Companionship
• Love
• Access to social, educational, religious and recreational facilities.

The best way to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS is abstinence. If you are sexually active or feel that you are ready to become sexually active, however, you should talk with your partner about your sexual histories and expectations. Sex will be safer if the two of you use a condom every time you have sex. It also will be safer if the two of you are monogamous. That means neither one of you has sex with anyone else. For many teens, a monogamous relationship means they have only one sexual partner this month. A true monogamous relationship is one that lasts a long time, if not a life-time.

Ultimately, you have to make your own sexual choices. Make those choices wisely and communicate with your partner. If you cannot talk with your partner about your sexual histories, sexual practices, condom use and other ways to protect yourselves, you simply are not ready for sexual intimacy.

AIDS does not discriminate. We all are at risk. It only takes one sexual act with an infected partner to contract HIV.

AUTHOR: William W. Mallory, Fayette County Extension Agent for 4-H/Youth Development, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky; and Gary L. Hansen, Ph.D., Extension Specialist in Sociology, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky.