Myths And Misconceptions About HIV/AIDS, Part I

Seeing as we've known about HIV and AIDS for over 30 years now, it might seem strange to see an article as basic as this one. However, some people still have misunderstandings about how the virus works and could greatly benefit from a few straightforward facts.

For instance, a friend of mine was afraid that her boyfriend would 'catch' the virus from an HIV-positive coworker in the normal course of the day. Since her boyfriend was the manager of the bookstore they worked in, she thought that the man shouldn't have been hired. I told her that, a) they'd have to be having sex, sharing drug needles or doing a few equally 'non-bookstore-like' things for there to even be a chance of catching it, and b) Not hiring based on HIV status could net her boyfriend a lawsuit. To be honest, I was rather annoyed with her because she was going hysterical about something most of us have known about for years and was making assumptions about how the coworker got it that may or may not be true. The fact that she even had these thoughts, however, tells me that the information isn't as well-known as I thought. Also, a lot of young people take crazy risks because they think 'it won't happen to me', that they're indestructible. No one wants to think about something like this, but it's necessary for you and your kids to know these things once and for all.

1-You can get HIV from everyday contact.

-Like I said above, It's pretty difficult to get HIV. Considering that the aforementioned coworker wasn't having sex, sharing drugs or breastfeeding my friend's boyfriend, it would be highly unlikely that he would contract HIV. You can't get it from a toilet seat, touching, sharing cups or eating utensils, using exercise equipment or borrowing clothes from a person with HIV. I would, however, avoid sharing a toothbrush or razor, as these things can come into contact with blood.

If you think about it, we're actually more dangerous to people with AIDS than they are to us; a person with a weakened or non-existent immune system can pick up every little thing that goes around multiplied by about ten.

If my friend's boyfriend had been a healthcare worker, he would be at a higher risk of contracting the virus at work. However, this would be through needle sticks or cuts rather than simply being in the room.

2-If you're HIV-positive, you can't have any sort of 'normal' life.

-Not necessarily. While a person with HIV will have to be vigilant with hygiene and safe sex, that's something all of us should be doing.

My brother lived with the virus for 14 years. This is phenomenal even now, but he died in 1994 or 1995-which means that he would have had to have contracted the virus in 1980-1981. Back then, no one even knew what it was, much less how to treat it. Today there are several antiretroviral drugs that can reduce a person's viral load and thus help them have longer, more productive lives. This isn't a cure, mind you, but it helps make stories like my brother's more common.

As for having children-it is possible for a mother to pass on the virus to her baby through her amniotic fluid or breast milk, although doctors are working on ways to minimize this risk. 

In the interest of brevity, this post will be continued in II.