A little education

Ok, while flipping through channels, I happened upon this movie that looked like your average B rated teen movie, so I passed it by. Later I just happened upon it again because there is not a lot on tonight, and it turns out that it was a very good movie, with a significant point. It was about how HIV/AIDS is understood in high schools and what happens when someone in the school finds out they are HIV positive.

Now, because this is my blog, and I can do anything I want in it, let’s review some of the basics about it. A large part of the Peace Corps mission is to spread the message about HIV/AIDS around the world; I am making sure it gets out in the US as well. And yes, I can do this in Spanish too.

HIV/AIDS

There are 4 ways to spread the virus: semen, vaginal fluid, blood and mother’s milk. That is all. This does NOT include saliva, so you can kiss someone with the virus and not become infected.

Tests: There is now a 20 minute rapid test. This is not 100%, but it is fast. To be really sure, go get a blood test, which takes a few days. You can go to a lot of places to get a free anonymous test, just google the nearest clinic. The test will not show a positive results for the virus for the first three months after infection.

Prevention: The only 100% safe way is to abstain from sex. That being said, there are ways to reduce your risk if you do choose to have sex. Use a condom. If the guy says that it feels better without one, tell him that a baby and AIDS feel like crap. My personal advice is not to trust people who say they are being monogamous. Also, if you get tattoo sit your tattoo artist down, and ask them to review their safety practices with you. Used needles can have blood in them, and you guessed it, if that needle has HIV positive blood in it, you can get infected. Same goes for doing drugs and using needles, but I know none of my loyal listeners do that, right?!

What is the difference between HIV and AIDS? I’ll be honest, I didn’t really understand the difference until we did our HIV charla. HIV is the virus. The virus without treatment will slowly wear down on your immune system. During this time frame, you look and can feel completely healthy. Eventually the virus wears you down to the point where you get really sick. This is AIDS, where you finally feel the effects of the virus, that is to say something like pneumonia can kill you because your body has no defenses left. It is not the virus that kills, it’s the subsequent infections you cannot fight off.

Now for a few HIV/AIDS myths:

You can tell someone has the virus by looking at them. False, you can look and feel normal for years.
Peeing after having sex prevents HIV and pregnancy. NOT!! Wrong system for women, and still wrong for men.
Pulling out early prevents the spread of the disease. False! Now, pulling out assumes that the guy will want to when the big moment comes, but he will have still released pre-seminal fluid, which can have semen (pregnancy risk) and thus can spread HIV.
Mosquitoes can spread the virus. They only inject their own saliva, there is no sharing of blood.
A mother will always pass on HIV to her child. Not so, there has been a lot of research into this, and while there is a strong risk, you can prevent passing HIV onto the next generation.
Anal sex is safer than vaginal sex. Whoa baby are you wrong. The anal cavity is not as used to stretching as the vagina, and thus can rip easier.
HIV/AIDS is a gay thing. NOT SO. The lack of education on this topic has made it a fast growing virus through the population, and the teenage and young adult percentage is growing. The CDC proposes that 300,000 people in the country have the virus but don’t know it. Therefore, always ask to see their negative test, and then still use a condom.

Ok, so, there is my health rant. What can I say, that movie made me cry. I am adult enough to admit that I didn’t know a lot about HIV for a long time. To me it was something in the past, or something I didn’t need to worry about. I was young and dumb. Luckily I never got in trouble. If you are wondering, yes I have been tested. The stats during the credits of the movie said that the CDC suggests regular screening of people over the age of 13. It is far past time that we get over the stigmas of HIV and start thinking about getting healthy. HIV is not like cancer, it can be prevented, and with enough education and dedication, we should be able to get rid of it.

If there is something else you would like me to spread to my masses, let me know, sin pena (without shame or embarrassment) and I will get the word out.

Always yours and making sure you are healthy,

Jill