Question

Describe a misconception you or persons you know may have regarding HIV/AIDS. Based on the knowledge you have acquired regarding HIV/AIDS, discuss whether there are adjustments in your thinking

Answer 1

Ans) There are lots of myths around, but the facts of how you can get HIV, and how you can protect yourself, are very simple.
By knowing the facts about HIV, you can save yourself a lot of worry and help to bust myths and misconceptions.
One of the most common myths people living with HIV hear is that they can be cured. There’s no cure yet for HIV, but antiretroviral treatment works and will keep someone living with HIV healthy.

> I can get HIV by being around people who are HIV-positive.
HIV isn't spread through touch, tears, sweat, saliva, or pee. You can't catch it by:

Breathing the same air
Touching a toilet seat or door knob or handle
Drinking from a water fountain
Hugging, kissing, or shaking hands
Sharing eating utensils
Using exercise equipment at a gym

You can get it from infected blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or breast milk.

Mosquitoes spread HIV.
Because the virus is passed through blood, people have worried that they could get it from biting or bloodsucking insects. Several studies show that doesn't happen -- even in areas with lots of mosquitoes and cases of HIV.

When bugs bite, they don't inject the blood of the person or animal they bit before you. Also, HIV lives for only a short time inside them.

> You can't get HIV from oral sex.
It's true that oral sex is less risky than some other types of sex. The rate of transmission is 0 to 4 cases in 10,000 acts. But you can get HIV by having oral sex with either a man or a woman who is HIV-positive. Always use a latex barrier during oral sex.

> I'm straight and don't use IV drugs. I won't get HIV.
Most men become HIV-positive through sexual contact with other men. But you can get the virus from heterosexual contact, too: About 1 in 6 men and 3 in 4 women do.

> I could tell if my partner was HIV-positive.
You can be HIV-positive and not have any symptoms for years. The only way for you or your partner to know if you're positive is to get tested.

I don't need to worry about getting HIV. Drugs will keep me well.
Antiretroviral drugs, also called ART, do improve the lives of many people who are HIV-positive and help them live longer. But many of these drugs are expensive and have serious side effects. Nothing yet cures HIV. And drug-resistant strains of HIV can make treatment harder.

Prevention is cheaper and easier than managing a life-long condition and the problems it brings.

- Improvements in drug treatment over the past decade have dramatically extended life expectancy for patients with HIV by an average of 16 years, according to research published today.