1st December, Something about HIV/AIDS

It is important for everyone to get the facts, talk about HIV/AIDS with partners and loved ones, reduce risk behaviors, and get tested to learn their HIV status.

It's not always easy, but we all must be willing to talk about sex. To protect yourself, you need to understand how a person gets HIV or passes it to someone else. HIV can be passed on when blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), vaginal fluid, or breast milk from a person who has HIV enters the body of a person who does not have HIV.

The most common ways that HIV is transmitted from one person to another.

• By having sex (anal, vaginal, or oral) with a person who has HIV infection;
• By sharing needles, syringes, or other injection equipment with a person who injects drugs and has HIV; or
• From women with HIV to their babies before or during birth, or through breast-feeding after birth.

Three critical ways of reducing your risk of getting HIV.

• Don't have sex at all (anal, vaginal, and oral sex).
• Only have sex (anal, vaginal, or oral) if you are in a mutually monogamous relationship and you have both tested negative for HIV.
• Use a condom every time you have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.

Other ways you can protect yourself from getting HIV and other STDs.

• Reduce your number of sex partners; this will reduce your risk of getting HIV as well as other STDs.
• Have ongoing and open discussions with your partners about their sexual histories, drug use, and HIV testing behaviors; honesty plays a key role in respectful, mature sexual relationships.
• Encourage all sexual partners to get tested for HIV and make sure they tell you the results.
• Get tested for STDs that could put you at greater risk for becoming infected with HIV.
• If you have an STD, get treatment.
• If you are a man who has sex with other men or if you engage in anal sex, get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B viruses.
• Tell others about the severity of the HIV epidemic in the United States—encourage them to get the facts, protect themselves and those they love, and get tested.

Tips for talking about sex and HIV with your partner.

• Set up a mutually convenient time to talk to your partner.
• Make sure you are in a relaxed environment so your partner doesn't feel pressured or "cornered."
• Talk about your concerns from a personal perspective. In other words, use "I" statements instead of "you" statements which might sound accusatory or blaming.

If you need help gaining the skills to protect yourself from HIV or if you would like to know what other people just like you are doing to protect themselves, you may want to contact a local HIV Prevention organization. Search the CDC National Prevention Information Network organization database.