Healthy Inspiration: AIDS

HIV and AIDS remain at epidemic proportions. This healthy Inspiration is a reminder to all women that we can all become infected.

Even though more men than women have HIV, women are catching up. If new HIV infections continue as they are worldwide, women may soon rank highest in new cases of HIV infection.

What is AIDS?

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and is the final stage of HIV infection. Even without treatment it can takes years for an infected woman to have AIDS.

The diagnosis of AIDS means that the HIV virus has weakened the immune system so much that the body has a difficult time fighting infection. When someone is diagnosed with one or more specific infections, certain cancers, or a very low number of T cells, she is considered to have AIDS.

So What is HIV?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.
HIV is different from most other viruses because it attacks the immune system. Your immune system is your body's defense against infections. HIV kills a type of white blood cell (T cells or CD4 cells) that are an essential part of the immune system.

HIV is a fragile virus. It can't live for very long outside the body. The virus is not transmitted through day-to-day activities like shaking hands, hugging, or a casual kiss. You cannot become infected from a toilet seat, drinking fountain, doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food, or pets. You can't get HIV from mosquitoes.

Where Did HIV Come From?
Scientists tracked the source of HIV infection to a type of chimpanzee in West Africa. The virus probably infected humans when they hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came into contact with their infected blood. Over many years the HIV virus spread through Africa, and eventually throughout the world.

Healthy Inspiration: Know How You Get HIV
HIV is found in the blood, semen, or vaginal fluid of an infected person. HIV is spread in 3 main ways:

Healthy Inspiration: Know if You Are You At Risk

You are if you have:
1. Injected drugs or steroids, with needles, syringes, cotton, or water that was exposed to blood from others
2. Had vaginal, anal, or oral sex without using condoms with men who have sex with men, multiple partners, or anonymous partners
3. Exchanged sex for drugs or money
4. Been diagnosed with, or been treated for, hepatitis, tuberculosis (TB), or a sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as syphilis
5. Received a blood transfusion or clotting factor during 1978–1985
6. Had sex without a condom with someone who has any of the risk factors listed above
Healthy Inspiration: Lower Your Risk

1. Talk about HIV and other STDs with each partner before you have sex.
2. Learn as much as you can about each partner’s past behavior (sex and drug use), and remember the risks before you have sex.
3. Ask your partners if they have recently been tested for HIV; if they haven't ask them to be tested.
4. Use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex.
5. If you think you may have been exposed to another STD such as gonorrhea, syphilis, or Chlamydia trachomatis infection, get treatment. These diseases increase your risk of getting HIV.
6. Get vaccinated against hepatitis B virus.
7. Do not have sex when you are taking drugs or drinking alcohol because being high can make you more likely to take risks.
8. If you are a woman who is planning to get pregnant or who is pregnant, get tested as soon as possible, before you have your baby.

Symptoms Of HIV Infection

The only way to know whether you are infected is to be tested for HIV. Many people who are infected with HIV do not have symptoms for many years. You can look and feel healthy but can still be infected. One quarter of the HIV infected people in the United States do not know that they are infected

Healthy Inspiration- Practice Low Risk Factors

DO:
1. Use a female condom.
2. Get tested, especially if you’re pregnant.
3. If you are pregnant and have HIV, talk to your doctor about taking medicine so your baby does not get your HIV.
4. Practice the A,B, C's
A=Abstinence
B=Be Faithful
C=Condoms

DO NOT:
1. Do not use spermicides that contain nonoxynol-9 (N-9). Using N-9 may make it easier for you to get HIV.
2. Do not count on birth control methods to protect you from HIV. The following birth control methods will NOT protect you from HIV:
The pill
Diaphrams
Shots
Implants
N-9
3. Do not douche. Douching removes some of your body’s natural protection.

Healthy Inspiration: Get Tested
HIV testing is offered at: health departments, doctors' offices, hospitals, and sites specifically set up to provide HIV testing.

You can locate a testing site by visiting the CDC HIV testing database or by calling CDC-INFO (formerly the CDC National AIDS Hotline) at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) 24 Hours/Day. You do not have to give any personal information about yourself to use these services to find a testing site.

For more information, visit the CDC web site.

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