Sectieoverzicht

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      • HIV Transmission
      Image: Emma Harrage. CC BY

      There are many misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. Knowing the realities is important to help prevent the spread of HIV and reduce the stigma associated with it.
      Credit: A Positive Life. The stigma around HIV.

      Myth      : HIV can be transmitted through nonsexual contacts such as kissing, sharing a glass, spitting, sitting on a public toilet seat, and coughing or sneezing.

      Reality: HIV has not been shown to be transmissible through such contacts. People can safely interact and have casual contact with HIV-infected individuals without fear of acquiring the virus.

      Myth: AIDS is a death sentence. 

      Reality: Not anymore. When AIDS was first discovered, there was no effective treatment available—and a diagnosis was considered a death sentence. Now, this is no longer true, thanks to the development of revolutionary treatment methods. Today, over 27 million people living with HIV are accessing treatment that allows them to live healthy, normal lives. Over the past two decades, the global rollout of treatment has saved nearly 17 million lives from AIDS-related deaths.

      Myth: There is a cure for HIV/AIDS

      Reality: You may have seen news that a few patients were cured of HIV through a clinical trial. While this exciting progress signifies new innovations and advancements in the AIDS fight, health experts caution that this treatment is considered very risky and is not yet scalable. Though there is no proven cure for HIV, current antiretroviral medications allow HIV-positive people to live healthy lives with roughly the same life expectancy as those who are HIV-free.

      Myth: People who have HIV should not have babies

      Reality: Incorrect. When HIV-positive pregnant women adhere to life-saving HIV treatment throughout their pregnancy and during breastfeeding, they can give birth to HIV-free children. Ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV is a crucial piece to ending AIDS as an epidemic by 2030. Worldwide, 84% of HIV-positive pregnant women are receiving this life-saving treatment for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, a massive scale-up from 45% in 2010. Prevention services need to be scaled up to ensure that every child, everywhere is born HIV-free.

      Receiving a diagnosis of HIV can be a life-changing event. Most people with HIV can live long and healthy lives if they get and stay on treatment. There will be a period of adjustment. People who are newly diagnosed can feel many emotions—sadness, hopelessness, and even anger. 
      Many people who have just learned their HIV diagnosis wonder whether and how to tell others about it. You don’t have to tell everyone that you have HIV. Whether and how you disclose your status to others is your decision.

      There are many things you can do to support a friend or loved one who has been recently diagnosed:
      • Listen. Being diagnosed with HIV is life-changing news. Listen to your loved one and offer your support. Be available to have open, honest conversations about HIV. They may want to connect with you in the same ways they did before they were diagnosed. Do things you did together before their diagnosis; talk about things you talked about before their diagnosis. Show them that you see them as the same person and that they are more than their diagnosis.
      • Learn. Educate yourself about HIV: what it is, how it is and is not transmitted, how it is treated, and how people can stay healthy with HIV. 
      • Encourage treatment. Starting treatment with antiretroviral therapy, adhering to medication, people with HIV can reduce the amount of HIV in their blood to an undetectable level. People with HIV who take HIV medicine exactly as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can stay live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex. 
      • Support medication adherence. It’s important for people with HIV to take their HIV medicine exactly as prescribed. 
      • Get support. Take care of yourself and get support if you need it. Turn to others for any questions, concerns, or anxieties you may have, so that the person who is diagnosed can focus on taking care of their own health. 

      If you are the sexual partner of someone who has been diagnosed with HIV, you should also get tested so that you know your own HIV status.


      Credit: AMAZE Org. Living with HIV.