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How Do You Get Infected?How Can I Avoid HIV?What About Using Drugs?How Can You Tell if Someone has HIV?Is There a Cure?How Can I Get Tested?What are the Tests Like?Will They Tell My Parents?If I Have HIV What Should I Do?
It's easy to think that HIV/AIDS is something for other people to worry about - gay people, drug users, people who sleep around. Unfortunately, even though lots of people think this way, it's wrong. In Louisiana alone, 16% of people living with HIV/AIDS are under age 24. So it's important for all teens, whatever their lifestyle, wherever they live, need to take the threat of HIV and AIDS seriously. And to be able to protect yourself, you need to know the facts, including how to avoid becoming infected.
| YOUTH 13-24 | 281 | 22.5% | 72 | 9.0% | 961 | 5.6% |
| Age at diagnosis | ||||||
| 13 - 19 | 61 | 4.9% | 14 | 1.8% | 182 | 1.1% |
| 20-24 | 220 | 17.6% | 58 | 7.3% | 779 | 4.5% |
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV stands for the “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” and AIDS stands for the “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.” AIDS is a serious condition in which the body's defenses against some illnesses are
broken down. This means that people with AIDS can get many different kinds of diseases which a healthy person's body would normally fight off quite easily.
So How Do You Get Infected with HIV?
HIV is passed on in the sexual fluids or blood of an infected person, so if infected blood or sexual fluid gets into your body, you can become infected. This usually happens by either having sex with an infected person or by sharing needles used to inject drugs with an infected person. People can also become infected by being born to a mother who has HIV and a very small number of people become infected by having medical treatment using infected blood transfusions.
HIV can't be caught by kissing, hugging or shaking hands with an infected person, and it can't be transmitted by sneezes, door handles or dirty glasses.
How Can I Avoid HIV?
The best way to avoid becoming infected is abstinence, which means not having sex. But if you are sexually active, then besure to practice safe sex. There are lots of safe sexual activitiesthat you can do even if one person is infected with HIV, and they definitely won't pass it on to the other person. You can kiss, cuddle, massage and rub each other's bodies. But if you have anycuts or sores on your skin, make sure they are covered with bandages. Safer sex also means using a condom during sexual intercourse. Using a condom is not absolutely safe as condoms can break, but condoms can be effective if they are used correctly. Oral sex (one person kissing, licking or sucking the sexual areas of another person) does carry some risk of infection. But infection from oral sex alone seems to be very rare.
Nothing you do on your own can cause you to get HIV - you can't infect yourself by masturbation.
What About Using Drugs?
The only way to be safe around drugs is not to take them. If you are on drugs you may take risks you normally wouldn't take, and you may have unsafe sex when you would normally be more careful. If you take drugs, you might find it more difficult to use a condom, or you might forget altogether. One of the most common drugs this can happen with is alcohol - if you're drunk, you might not always know what you're doing, or you might not care.
If you inject drugs, you should always use a clean needle, etc., and never share any of these with anyone else. If you snort drugs, and you use a note or a straw to snort through, you shouldn't share it with anyone else, as blood can be passed from the inside of one person's nose to another.
If you get a tattoo or a piercing, you should make sure that the needles and equipment used are sterile. Ask the staff at the place you have it done about what precautions they use.
How Can You Tell if Someone has HIV?
There is no way to tell just by looking at someone whether they are infected with HIV. Someone can be infected but have no symptoms and still look perfectly healthy. They might also feel perfectly healthy and not know themselves that they are infected. The only way to know if a person is infected or not is if they have a blood test.
Is There a Cure?
Unfortunately, there is no cure for HIV. HIV is a virus, and no cure has been found for any type of virus. Recently, doctors have been able to control the virus once a person is infected, which means that a person with HIV can stay healthy for longer, but they have not managed to get rid of the virus in the body completely.
How Can I Get Tested?
You may find it helpful to talk to an adult - perhaps a parent, school nurse or teacher may be able to advise you where you can have a test. It's much better to talk to someone than to worry on your own. If you want to find a clinic that offers testing services near you, just enter your zip code into our HelpEXPRESS search tool. The clinic will suggest that you wait three months after your last risky sexual contact before having a test. This is because the virus is difficult to detect immediately after infection.
Before they do anything, the doctor or nurse will ask if you're sure you want to have a test. There are different kinds of HIV tests. In Louisiana, the most common types of HIV tests are:
Conventional blood tests - this involves giving some blood that is sent to a lab and you receive the results in a few days up to two weeks.
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Conventional oral test - this involves collecting a specimen from your mouth and the sample is sent to a lab and you receive the results in a few days up to two weeks.
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Rapid finger stick test - this involves giving a couple drops of blood that are tested on site and you receive your results in 10-20 minutes.
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Rapid oral test - this involves collecting a specimen from your mouth and the sample is tested on site and you receive your results in 10-20 minutes.
Will They Tell My Parents?
Different clinics have different policies. Most (but not all) clinics have a confidentiality policy, and will not tell anyone, but some places will ask you to bring a parent to give consent if you're under 18. Call the clinic before you go and find out.
If I Have HIV, What Should I Do?
If you find out that you have HIV, you need to tell anyone you have had sex with and anyone you have shared needles with so that they can decide if they want to have a test. This can be a very difficult thing to tell someone. If you think you can't tell them, your doctor or nurse may be able to help you. Your doctor at the clinic should also be able to give you more advice about how to stay healthy. They will also be able to tell you if you need to have any other blood tests done, and talk to you about medication.
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