Caitlain's Corner

Sex Education

HIV

What is it?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

What is AIDS?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:

    * Acquired means you can get infected with it;
    * Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body's system that fights diseases.
    * Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease.

AIDS itself is not a disease, but is the term used to describe the results of what occurs when the HIV virus finally compromises the body's immune system so that it cannot fight off other infections. AIDS itself isn't fatal - the body becomes unable to fight off other diseases that, had the body's immune system been in good working condition, would not normally have killed you otherwise.

How prevalent is it?

In the United States, nearly 930,000 cases of AIDS have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 40,000 women and men get HIV each year in the U.S.

How do you get it?

HIV can be transmitted through the blood, sexual fluids (semen, preejaculatory fluid, or vaginal fluid) or breast milk of an HIV-infected person. People can get HIV one of these fluids enters the body by way of the mucous membranes or the blood stream. The disease can be passed during unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with a HIV-infected person. An HIV-infected mother can transmit HIV to her infant during pregnancy, delivery or while breastfeeding. People can also become infected with HIV when using drugs through the sharing of needles and other equipment with someone who is infected.

Sexual activity is of course the activity in which most people come into contact with the HIV virus. Some activities are riskier than others. Here is a ranking of risk related to various sexual activities:

VERY LOW RISK — No reported cases due to these behaviors:
	*	fantasy — cyber — or phone-sex
	*	using clean sex toys
	*	masturbation — mutual masturbation
	*	touching — massage
	*	erotic massage — body rubbing
	*	kissing
	*	oral sex on a man with a condom
	*	oral sex on a woman with a dental dam or plastic wrap
LOW RISK — Rare reported cases due to these behaviors
	*	deep kissing (with blood letting)
	*	vaginal intercourse with a condom or female condom
	*	anal intercourse with a condom or female condom
	*	oral sex (Try not to get semen, vaginal fluids, or blood into the mouth or on broken skin.)
HIGH RISK — Millions of reported cases due to these behaviors
	*	vaginal intercourse without a condom
	*	anal intercourse without a condom

Can I get HIV from a blood transfusion?

The risk of transmitting HIV by a screened blood transfusion in the U.S. is practically nonexistent.

Can I get HIV by donating blood?

No. Needles and syringes for collecting blood are only used once.

How does HIV work?

HIV breaks down the immune system — our body's shield against disease. HIV causes people to become sick with infections that normally wouldn't affect them.

How can I tell if someone has HIV?

You can't. The CDC estimates that as many as one in three people with HIV don't know they are infected. Testing is the only way to tell.

Signs & Symptoms

There are no outward signs of being infected with HIV. The only way to tell you have HIV is to be tested for the virus. You cannot rely on symptoms to tell if you or someone you know is infected. The symptoms of HIV are similar to many other illnesses and many people have no symptoms at all. The symptoms of AIDS are also similar to other diseases. If a person is infected with HIV, the only way to tell if they have progressed to AIDS is to be diagnosed by a doctor using criteria defined by the Centers for Disease Control.

Diagnosis and Treatment

A blood test is required to ascertain the presence of the HIV virus. You can be tested at just about any doctor’s office, health clinic (including Planned Parenthood), and any other medical facility. There are also home collection kits that allow you to take your own blood sample and send it in to be anonymously tested. The only test approved by the FDA for home collection is called Home Access. You can purchase this test in most pharmacies, but it is also available for purchase online at http://www.homeaccess.com, or by calling 1-800-CONFIDE (1-800-266-3433). Many other tests are advertised on the Internet, but Home Access is the only kit approved for this use in the United States.

These home kits allow you to collect a blood sample, send it in, and access (via the web or a phone line) your results using a confidential secret code. You remain completely anonymous throughout the whole process. The cost of the kit includes the postage and lab processing fees, so you don’t have to send them a check or pay for it with a credit card to the lab.

There is currently no cure for the HIV virus. Treatment for HIV and AIDS requires a complex, long-term management strategy involving an array of behavioral, psychosocial, and medical services, and is beyond the scope of this article (the treatment is tailored to the individual and the symptoms s/he is experiencing). Referral to a health-care provider or facility experienced in caring for HIV-infected patients is advised. You can find a provider, or obtain more information from the Centers for Disease Control at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).

A variety of treatments — combinations of medicines called "cocktails" — offer hope. They are often very expensive, have serious and very uncomfortable side effects, and may not be available to everyone. They only work for some people and may only work for limited periods of time. While there is increasing hope for people with HIV, there is still no cure. Some people have lived with HIV and AIDS for many years. New treatments and increased knowledge may help many more people live with HIV even longer.

How long after a possible exposure should I wait to get tested for HIV?

The most common HIV tests look for antibodies to the virus. CDC states that most people infected with HIV will have detectable antibodies within 3-6 months of exposure to HIV, the average being one month.

What are the health/sexual implications of an infection?

Since infection with the HIV virus has life-long, and potentially fatal consequences, the single biggest factor to an infected person should be the prevention of transmitting the virus to other people. Management of an HIV infection may require behavioral and lifestyle changes on the part of the infected person, including significant changes in sexual activity.

How can it be prevented?

The best method of preventing infection from HIV is sexual abstinence and the avoidance of intravenous drug use, especially using equipment and needles from other people. Condoms have been shown to be very effective at reducing the risks from HIV. If you are going to engage in sex play, refer to the list of Risk Levels above to determine which may be safer than others.

Resources for Additional Information

CDC
American Social Health Association
Planned Parenthood