Sometimes, especially among the youngest, there is great confusion on the subject of HIV. This is why it is important to inform yourself and dispel false myths still believed. But let's see what are the most common belief that can be debunked with correct information.
AIDS can be cured
This is perhaps the most dangerous false belief of all. Thanks to the progress made by science, it is possible to control the HIV virus by preventing it from suddenly resulting in the disease it carries: AIDS. This allows HIV-positive people to have a life expectancy similar to those who have not contracted the virus. But it is necessary to know that we are still far from being able to say that there is a definitive cure for those who, unfortunately, test positive for HIV or are sick with AIDS.
Dating an HIV-positive person is risky
It is not true to think that having frequent contact with an HIV-positive person is in itself a risk. Being friends, playing sports, eating together or sharing experiences and places with a person with HIV cannot be considered dangerous behaviour.
For those in monogamous relationships only, HIV testing is not necessary
This is also a dangerous belief. The HIV test should be done periodically by all sexually active people, even if they have been in a monogamous relationship. This is because carrying out the test is the only way to rule out the presence of the virus in the body with certainty. Even if unprotected sex is the most common way to expose yourself to the infection, it is in fact possible that it occurs through the exchange of needles and other risky behaviors. Undergoing periodic checks and HIV testing is a form of prevention that protects yourself and others.
HIV is also transmitted with saliva and sweat
Nothing could be more wrong. The HIV virus is transmitted through blood, semen, vaginal secretions or breast milk. It is therefore important to know that contagion through saliva and sweat is not possible. And it is equally crucial to be aware that such a belief causes nothing but irrational and unmotivated fear.
HIV only infects homosexual people and / or drug users
Although HIV initially and predominantly spread to the gay community - being labeled a "gay disease"- we know it is a risk for everyone. HIV can affect anyone, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
Those who have contracted HIV can be recognized by their lifestyle
It is not uncommon for misinformation on the subject of HIV to lead to real prejudices regarding people who are stigmatized due to their lifestyle as "at risk". In reality, it is true that there are behaviors that more than others can endanger health, but these cannot be traced so clearly to very specific "categories" of people: we are all "subjects to risk" if we ignore the right rules of prevention. Not only that: more and more children - especially in areas of the world where HIV infection is particularly widespread - are already born HIV positive. And they certainly have no lifestyle to blame.
Women with HIV cannot have children
Women infected with the HIV virus are fertile, but in the later stages of the disease, pregnant women may be at increased risk of miscarriage. Normally the risk of transmitting HIV to the fetus is between 15 and 30 percent, however it can be reduced up to 2-3% if patients follow the doctors' suggestions scrupulously.
Edited by WildestDreams - 1 years ago
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