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HIV Myths vs. Reality

[MYTH]
I’d be able to tell if someone has HIV or AIDS.
[REALITY]
It can take a number of years, sometimes up to 10 years, before someone with HIV starts to get symptoms. During the early years when the infected persons have no symptoms, they will look and feel perfectly normal – and also perfectly capable of unknowingly transmitting the disease. This is why it’s so important to get tested for HIV and to know your and your partner’s status.

[MYTH]
I’m not gay. There is no way I have HIV.
[REALITY]
HIV does not discriminate. HIV can be transmitted through sex between a man and a woman, if precautions are not taken.

[MYTH]
Only young people get HIV.
[REALITY]
While young people are at greater risks of HIV infection, the older age group is not exempt from risk. In fact, HIV infection in the older age group may be under-reported because of misdiagnosis (for example, from opportunistic infections). People of all age groups, if they are sexually active, should be tested for HIV to be sure.

[MYTH]
I gave blood last year; they would have told me if I had HIV.
[REALITY]
While every blood donation is tested for HIV, there is no legal mandate for blood banks to notify everyone whose blood has tested positive for HIV. The only way to be sure of your status is by taking an HIV test.

[MYTH]
I tested negative! I can rest easy now.
[REALITY]
Your HIV counselor should have advised you whether you fall in the “window phase”, where HIV antibodies may not be at a detectable level. In this case, you should be tested again within the following two to three months.  In addition, having tested negative once does not mean that you are immune to HIV. Anytime you engage in unsafe sex with someone with an unknown HIV status, you have put yourself at risk and should be tested again.

[MYTH]
I don’t want to test for HIV, they would know that I am on drugs.
[REALITY]
The HIV test cannot tell whether you are on drugs or whether you have taken drugs in the past. The only thing it tests for is the HIV virus.