To mark World Aids Day on Dec. 1, we are printing some common myths and facts about HIV that will help a lot in raising awareness about this condition, especially among the young.

It’s very easy for me to catch HIV from someone who is infected.

FACT: You will only become infected by someone living with HIV if you have sex without a condom or share a needle or injecting equipment with them. HIV is NOT spread through day-to-day contact, touching, kissing or sharing utensils. In addition, being on HIV treatment makes people with HIV far less likely to pass it on.

You can tell by looking at someone if they have HIV.

FACT: Often people with HIV will not appear ill. In fact, you generally cannot tell if someone is living with HIV.

Only gay men get HIV.

FACT: ANYONE who has sex without a condom or share needles when injecting drugs is at risk of HIV.

All young people learn about HIV and how to protect themselves at school.

FACT: Comprehensive sex and relationships education is not compulsory in schools, so many young people are not being given the information they need to protect themselves.

It takes months before you can have a test to find out if you are infected with HIV.

FACT: A HIV test, that gives a reliable result, can be taken within a month of possible exposure to the virus.

There is no benefit to getting tested early if you think you have HIV.

FACT: Knowing early if you have HIV has two vital benefits. First, you can be evaluated for treatment even before symptoms appear. Generally, the earlier you start treatment the more effective it will be. Treatment today means that most people can live long, healthy and active lives. Secondly, if you know you are infected, you can help to prevent passing the virus on to others by practicing safer sex.

If you have a test you face a long wait to find out the result.

FACT: Test results are now available quickly. Some tests can provide a result within 15 minutes.

There are no symptoms of HIV.

FACT: It’s true that some people don’t show any symptoms of HIV infection until after many years of living with the virus. But the majority of people with HIV (70-90 percent) do show some symptoms soon after infection. Symptoms usually develop about 10 days after infection. This is often called primary HIV infection or sero-conversion illness. Such symptoms disappear after two to three weeks and then a person can seem healthy for a number of years. The most common symptoms of primary HIV infection are fever, rash and severe sore throat all occurring together. This triad of symptoms is unusual and should indicate the need for an HIV test.

My test results won’t be kept confidential.

FACT: Clinics are legally bound to not reveal personal details and test results. If you are concerned about who else the results will be shared with, speak to your doctor about this.

My partner would tell me if they had HIV.

FACT: It is not always easy to tell someone you have HIV. In addition, over a quarter of people with HIV are undiagnosed. It is dangerous to assume that your partner would tell you. Always using a condom is the safest way to protect against HIV transmission.

You can’t have a baby if you or your partner is HIV positive.

FACT: If someone with HIV decides to have a child, there are options available to them to enable them to have a baby without infecting their partner and steps that can be taken to ensure their baby is not HIV positive.

People with HIV can’t work.

FACT: Treatments today mean most people with HIV who are working say it doesn’t affect their working lives. There are currently only a very small number of jobs that people with HIV cannot do (e.g. being a surgeon).

I don’t need to worry about HIV because there are really good treatments available.

FACT: There is no cure for HIV. Although there are good treatments that mean people can live a long life with HIV, they require taking medication everyday. There can be side effects. There are also long-term consequences of living with a long-term condition and sadly, there is still a lot of stigma and discrimination.

If you get HIV you’ll die soon.

FACT: Treatments have come a long way, and although there isn’t a cure for HIV, it is not a death sentence. People diagnosed with HIV today can have a normal life expectancy and live healthy and productive lives.

Source:worldaidsday