Sadly, a rapper decided to use his platform to spread homophobia and misinformation about HIV lately - so it’s a good time for some HIV education!
Here are some common myths about HIV and the real facts:
Myth: “HIV-positive means you will get AIDS and you will die young, there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Reality: HIV is short for human immunodeficiency virus. If left untreated, this virus leads to AIDS (serious damage to your immune system). It is the late stage of a untreatend HIV infection - but that doesn’t mean all people who are HIV-positive will get AIDS. If you get early treatment, you can prevent your HIV infection from progressing to AIDS.
This myth is dangerous because it can lead to people avoid getting tested (”I don’t want to know - If I am positive, I will die anyway, so I may as well stay blissfully ignorant!”) But HIV-positive people have a normal life expectancy when they have acess to antiretroviral therapy! If you get tested early and find out you’re HIV-positive, you can start treatment early and you can have a healthy, happy life. Treatment can also lower your viral load, meaning you won’t infect your partner(s)!
Myth: “You only need to get tested if you look noticeably sick.”
Reality: You can’t tell if someone is HIV-positive just by looking at them. You can’t be sure that you are HIV-negative just because you look or feel healthy. Many HIV-positive people show (and feel) no symptoms at all.
If you are sexually active, it’s recommended that you test for HIV (and other sexually transmitted infections) at least once a year.
You should talk to a health care professional about getting tested as soon as possible if
- you had sex with someone who is HIV-positive
- you had sex with someone and you don’t know their HIV-status
- you have been sexually assaulted
- you have symptoms of (or tested positive for) another STD
- you shared injecting equipment with someone
If you visit a healthcare professional within 72 hours of when you think you might have been exposed to HIV, you may be offered PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis). This is a emergency HIV treatment that can prevent a HIV infection!
Myth: “You get HIV from sleeping with hundreds of people. Good people don’t get it, only gross perverts do!”
Reality: You can get HIV when the virus enters your body and that can happen during sex - you could wait until marriage and then have sex with only your spouse: If they have an untreated HIV infection, you could still get it. You could also sleep with 200 people and if none of them happen to be HIV-positive, you wouldn’t get it.
Point is, the virus doesn’t care about “good” or “bad”. It’s a virus, it has no build-in moral system. Of course you do have a higher risk if you have frequently changing sexual partners - but everyone needs to practice safer sex and get tested regularly! This myth is especially dangerous as it can lead to people avoiding tests out of fear that they will get branded a “pervert”.
Myth: “Shaming HIV-positive people is actually a good thing, it prevents more infections”
Reality: It doesn’t. See the last myth - Shame can actually keep people from getting tested.. or even from telling their partners about their positive HIV status! If you want to keep people safe, don’t spread hate and lies. Spread information.
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