HIV / AIDS and other STD's
What is HIV?
HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is the virus that causes AIDS. The HIV virus attacks your body's T-helper cells that help your body fight off infection and disease.
What is AIDS?
AIDS, Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome, occurs when a person's immune system is weakened by HIV to such a point that he/she can no longer fight off minor infections, every illness becomes a major illness. They may also have developed AIDS if their CD4 cells (a special type of white blood cells that fight infection) have fallen to a certain level or the amount of the virus in their body has reached a certain level.
How is HIV spread?
HIV can be passed from person to person if someone with HIV infection has unprotected sex or shares drug injection needles with another personby contact of the infected persons body fluids and/or their blood. It can also be passed from a mother to her baby when she is pregnant, when she delivers the baby, or if she breast-feeds her baby. Anyone can get HIV.
You can get HIV by:
- Having unprotected sex (sex without a condom) with someone who has HIV.
- Sharing needles and syringes to inject drugs or sharing drug equipment used to prepare drugs for injection with someone who has HIV.
- From a blood transfusion or blood clotting factor that you got before 1985. Now blood is tested for HIV.
- Sharing Tattoo Needles.
You cannot get HIV:
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By working with or being around someone who has HIV
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From sweat, spit, tears, clothes, drinking fountains, phones, toilet seats, or through everyday things like sharing a meal.
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From insect bites or stings
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From donating blood
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From a closed mouth kiss, there is a slight chance of getting HIV from a open-mouthed or "french" kiss because of possible blood contact.
How can I protect myself?
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Don't share needles or syringes
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Don't have unprotected sex
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Don't share razors or toothbrushes
How do I know if I have HIV or AIDS?
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The only way to know for sure is to be tested.
You are more likely to test positive for HIV if you:
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Have ever shared drug needles and syringes or "works".
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Have ever shared tattoo needles.
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Have ever had sex without a condom with someone who has HIV.
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Have ever had a sexually trasmitted disease, like chlamydia or gonorrhea.
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Received a blood transfusion or a blood clotting factor before 1985.
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Have ever had sex with someone who has done any of those things.
LMAS District Health Department will provide referral for HIV/AIDS testing and counseling.
For more information on HIV/AIDS:
Midwest AIDS Prevention Project
STD's
Sexually transmitted diseases (also called STDs) are infections that can be transferred from one person to another through sexual contact. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 15 million cases of sexually transmitted disease cases reported annually in the United States. Adolescents and young adults (15-24) are the age groups at the greatest risk for acquiring an STD, with 3 million becoming infected each year.
What Can You Do to Prevent STDs?
The best way to prevent STDs is to avoid sexual contact with others. If you decide to be sexually active, there are things that you can do to reduce your risk of developing an STD.
- Have a mutually monogamous sexual relationship with an uninfected partner.
- Correctly and consistently use a male condom.
- Use clean needles if injecting intravenous drugs or getting a tattoo.
- Prevent and control other STDs to decrease susceptibility to HIV infection and to reduce your infectiousness if you are HIV-infected.
- Delay having sexual relations as long as possible. The younger people are when having sex for the first time, the more susceptible they become to developing an STD. The risk of acquiring an STD also increases with the number of partners over a lifetime.
Anyone who is sexually active should:
- Have regular checkups for STDs even in the absence of symptoms, and especially if having sex with a new partner. These tests can be done during a routine visit to the doctor's office and are available at the Health Department.
- Learn the common symptoms of STDs. Seek medical help immediately if any suspicious symptoms develop, even if they are mild.
- Avoid having sex during menstruation. HIV-infected women are probably more infectious, and HIV-uninfected women are probably more susceptible to becoming infected during that time.
- Avoid anal intercourse, but if practiced, use a male condom.
- Avoid douching because it removes some of the normal protective bacteria in the vagina and increases the risk of getting some STDs.
Anyone diagnosed as having an STD should:
- Be treated to reduce the risk of transmitting an STD.
- Discuss with a doctor the possible risk of transmission in breast milk and whether commercial formula should be substituted.
- Notify all recent sex partners and urge them to get a checkup.
- Follow the doctor's orders and complete the full course of medication prescribed. A follow-up test to ensure that the infection has been cured may be an important step in treatment.
- Avoid all sexual activity while being treated for an STD.
For more information on Sexually Transmitted Diseases check out these
Center for Disease Control (CDC) links:
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