matter of seconds outside the body . But here ’ s one important exception : Injection drug users who share needles tend to pass them between each other quickly and that is high risk .
MYTH : IF YOU GET HIV YOU WILL EVENTUALLY GET AIDS . BUSTED : If you are diagnosed in good time and start medication when you need to , it is extremely unlikely you will develop AIDS . Even if you do get AIDS , you can often get treatment to go back to just having HIV . HIV positive people on treatment now enjoy normal or near-normal life expectancy .
MYTH : HIV POSITIVE PARENTS CAN ’ T HAVE BABIES SAFELY . BUSTED : If you are HIV positive and want to have a baby , ask your doctor . Scientists have found ways for an HIV positive person to have an HIV negative baby . In the UK , they ’ ve reduced the chance of a positive mom passing on the virus to 0.5 %.
MYTH : I BAREBACK WITH A GUY AND AM STILL NEG- ATIVE , SO HE ’ S SAFE . BUSTED : You could contract HIV the first time you have unprotected sex or the 100th time . You never know . Plus if he ’ s barebacking you , he may be having unsafe sex with other people too , so he could become positive at any time . If he does , he may well pass it on to you as the newly infected are the most likely to transmit HIV to their partners .
MYTH : I THINK I ’ M IMMUNE . BUSTED : Immunity is incredibly rare . For example , one in a thousand Caucasians at most may be immune – or it may be far less . Some have speculated that historic European plagues provided this bit of genetic code and other races show even less immunity . Some of the prostitutes who apparently had ‘ immunity ’ – sparking this idea – have now ‘ lost ’ it .
MYTH : HIV AND AIDS ARE THE SAME THING . BUSTED : A study of HIV positive people in the UK revealed
97 this is the most common myth of all . HIV is Human Immunodeficiency Virus . You can have HIV for a long time and not realize . Untreated , the virus will cause AIDS , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome . This is when your immune system is destroyed , allowing other infections and cancers to kill you .
MYTH : HE LOOKS HEALTHY SO HE CAN ’ T BE POS- ITIVE . BUSTED : The virus itself doesn ’ t make you look any different . HIV drugs can sometimes cause side-effects like lipo dystrophy – loss of fat in some areas , like sunken cheeks , and excess fat elsewhere , sometimes causing ‘ buffalo humps ’ on the neck . These side-effects are less common now . Even experts can ’ t tell if someone is HIV positive by simply looking at them . So what chance do you have ? Looks or age don ’ t tell you anything about someone ’ s HIV status .
MYTH : THERE ’ S NO DOWN SIDE TO BEING HIV POS- ITIVE . BUSTED : Sadly that ’ s not the case . You may well face stigma and discrimination . One in three people living with HIV in the UK have encountered discrimination because of it . In the US stigma and shame are the biggest barriers to people starting treatment after being diagnosed as HIV positive . Plus , being HIV positive can increase your risk of getting other , life-threatening , health problems like Hepatitis C .
MYTH : SCIENTISTS WILL HAVE CURED AIDS BY THE TIME IT CAN HURT ME . BUSTED : We wish . But nobody knows . Scientists have done some amazing work . But testing a drug and making it publicly available takes years and even the most promising potentials often come to nothing . HIV is a tricky virus and scientists have failed to ‘ cure ’ cancer , mumps or the common cold . There is no guarantee they will cure AIDS in your lifetime . Researchers love to place stories in the media , promising a cure is near . They boost their academic reputation and get the research grants rolling in . That ’ s fine – without reputation building and cash , they ’ ll never find a cure . But we shouldn ’ t fall for it .