Awareness Angels Art Project: how is hiv spread

Friday, February 27, 2015

HIV and AIDS Awareness Basics of Infections

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Key Points about HIV & AIDS

-HIV is the virus that causes HIV infection. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

-HIV is spread through contact with the blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, or breast milk of a person infected with HIV. In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by having anal or vaginal sex or sharing drug injection equipment with a person infected with HIV.

-The use of HIV medicines to treat HIV infection is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day.

-ART can’t cure HIV infection, but it can help people infected with HIV live longer, healthier lives. HIV medicines can also reduce the risk of transmission of HIV.

What is HIV/AIDS?

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HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus that causes HIV infection. The abbreviation “HIV” can refer to the virus and or to HIV infection.

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

HIV attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells of the immune system. Loss of CD4 cells makes it difficult for the body to fight infections and certain cancers. Without treatment, HIV gradually destroys the immune system and advances to AIDS.

How is HIV spread?

HIV is spread through contact with certain body fluids from a person infected with HIV.

These body fluids include:

* Blood
* Semen
* Pre-seminal fluid
* Vaginal fluids
* Rectal fluids
* Breast milk

The spread of HIV from person to person is called HIV transmission. The spread of HIV from an HIV-infected woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding is called mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by having sex with or sharing drug injection equipment with someone who is infected with HIV. To reduce your risk of HIV infection, use condoms correctly and consistently during sex, limit your number of sexual partners, and never share drug injection equipment.

Mother-to-child transmission is the most common way that children become infected with HIV. HIV medicines, given to HIV-infected women during pregnancy and childbirth and to their babies after birth, reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

You can’t get HIV by shaking hands or hugging a person infected with HIV. And you can’t get HIV from contact with objects such as dishes, toilet seats, or doorknobs used by a person with HIV.

What is the treatment for HIV?

The use of HIV medicines to treat HIV infection is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day. (HIV medicines are often called antiretrovirals or ARVs.)

ART prevents HIV from multiplying and reduces the level of HIV in the body. Having less HIV in the body protects the immune system and prevents HIV infection from advancing to AIDS.

ART can’t cure HIV, but it can help people infected with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission.

What are the symptoms of HIV/AIDS?

Soon after infection with HIV, many people have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, or rash. The symptoms may come and go for a month or two after infection.

After this earliest stage of HIV infection, HIV continues to multiply but at very low levels. More severe symptoms of HIV infection, such as chronic diarrhea, rapid weight loss, and other signs of opportunistic infections, generally don’t appear for many years. (Opportunistic infections are infections and infection-related cancers that occur more frequently or are more severe in people with weakened immune systems than in people with healthy immune systems.)

Without treatment, HIV can advance to AIDS. The time it takes for HIV to advance to AIDS varies, but it can take 10 years or more.

HIV transmission is possible at any stage of HIV infection—even if an HIV-infected person has no symptoms of HIV.

How is AIDS diagnosed?

The following criteria are used to determine if a person infected with HIV has AIDS:

The person’s immune system is severely damaged as indicated by a CD4 count of less than 200 cells/mm³. A CD4 count measures the number of CD4 cells in a sample of blood. The CD4 count of a healthy person ranges from 500 to 1,600 cells/mm³.

AND/OR

The person has one or more opportunistic infections.

How can I learn more about HIV/AIDS?

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Watch this tutorial on preventing HIV/AIDS.

Read this webpage: How Do You Get HIV OR AIDS?

The above information is based on information from the following sources:

-From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
HIV Basics

-From the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):
Understanding HIV/AIDS

The above information is from the National Institute for Health (NIH). Read more about HIV and AIDS on the NIH website at http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/education-materials/fact-sheets/19/45/hiv-aids--the-basics#

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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Prevention Awareness

Key Points About HIV Prevention

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HIV is spread through contact with the blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, or breast milk from a person infected with HIV.

In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by having sex or sharing injection drug equipment, such as needles, with someone who has HIV.

To reduce your risk of HIV infection, use condoms correctly every time you have vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Don’t inject drugs. If you do, use only sterile injection equipment and water and never share your equipment with others.

Treatment with HIV medicines (called antiretroviral therapy or ART for short) helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. Although ART can reduce the risk of HIV transmission, it’s still important to use condoms during sex.

How is HIV spread?

HIV is spread through contact with the certain body fluids from a person infected with HIV:

Blood

Semen

Pre-seminal fluids

Rectal fluids

Vaginal fluids

The spread of HIV from person to person is called HIV transmission.

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In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by having sex or sharing injection drug equipment, such as needles, with someone who has HIV.

HIV can also pass from an HIV-infected woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth (also called labor and delivery), or breastfeeding. This spread of HIV is called mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

In the past, some people were infected with HIV after receiving a blood transfusion or organ transplant from an HIV-infected donor. Today, this risk is very low because the supply of donated blood and organs is carefully tested in the United States.

You can’t get HIV by shaking hands with, hugging, or closed-mouth kissing a person infected with HIV. And you can’t get HIV from contact with objects such as toilet seats, doorknobs, or dishes used by a person infected with HIV.

How can I reduce my risk of getting HIV?

Anybody can get HIV, but you can take steps to protect yourself from HIV infection.

Get tested and know your partner’s HIV status. Talk to your partner about HIV testing and get tested before you have sex.

Have less risky sex. Oral sex is much less risky than anal or vaginal sex. Anal sex is the most risky type of sex for the spread of HIV.

Use condoms. Use a condom every time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Read this fact sheet on how to use condoms correctly.

Limit your number of sexual partners. If you have more than one sexual partner, get tested for HIV regularly. Get tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and insist that your partners do, too. Having an STI can increase your risk of becoming infected with HIV.

Talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is an HIV prevention method that involves taking an HIV medicine every day. PrEP is intended for people who don’t have HIV but who are at high risk of sexually transmitted HIV infection. PrEP should always be combined with other prevention methods, including condom use.

Don’t inject drugs. But if you do, use only sterile drug injection equipment and water and never share your equipment with others.

I am HIV positive but my partner is HIV negative. How can I protect my partner from HIV?

Take HIV medicines daily. Treatment with HIV medicines (called antiretroviral therapy or ART for short) helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART can’t cure HIV infection but it can reduce the amount of HIV in the body. Having less HIV in your body will reduce your risk of passing HIV to your partner during sex. For added protection, you can also talk to your partner about taking PrEP.

To protect your partner, use condoms correctly every time you have sex. Even if you are taking HIV medicines, remember it’s still important to use condoms.

If you inject drugs, don’t share your needles, syringes, or other drug equipment with your partner.

To learn more, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website on HIV prevention.

Are HIV medicines used in other situations to prevent HIV infection?

Yes, HIV medicines are also used for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

PEP is the use of HIV medicine to reduce the risk of HIV infection after a possible exposure to HIV. PEP may be used, for example, after a person has sex without a condom with a person who is infected with HIV or after a health care worker is accidentally exposed to HIV in the workplace. To be effective, PEP must be started within 3 days after the possible exposure to HIV.

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Pregnant HIV-infected women take HIV medicines during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce the risk of passing HIV to their babies. Their newborn babies also receive HIV medicine for 6 weeks after birth. The HIV medicine reduces the risk of infection from HIV that may have entered a baby’s body during childbirth. HIV-infected women living in the United States should not breastfeed their babies. In the United States, baby formula is a safe and healthy alternative to breast milk.

How can I learn more about preventing HIV?

Watch this video on HIV prevention.
Browse through the following information. This fact sheet is based on this information.
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: HIV Transmission and HIV Prevention
From the Department of Veterans Affairs: How is HIV spread?
From the Office on Women's Health: Preventing HIV infection

The above information is from the National Institute for Health (NIH).

Learn more about HIV on the NIH website at http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/education-materials/fact-sheets/20/48/the-basics-of-hiv-prevention#

Learn how to use this art for fundraisers and awareness on DonnaBellas Angels.

Shop the Awareness Gallery Store for HIV and other causes. There are gifts with HIV awareness messages and other red awareness ribbon angel only gifts.