In 2009 it's hard to meet someone who isn't infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. What's scarier is the fact that over 1 million people in the United States are infected and a quarter of those don't even know. Not knowing your status keeps everyone at risk!
Did you now that 50% of all new AIDS cases in America are for people under 25? Prevention is the key. Although abstinence is the only 100% sure fire way to remain HIV/AIDS free it is not practical. It's simply a disservice to only promote abstinence. In order to thwart HIV in it's tracks we must be cognizant of all the measures needed to keep us safe.
One of the ways to ensure your sexual safety and those of your loves one is to truly understand how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. You cannot get infected by casual contact. Casual contact includes use of public telephones, using public rest rooms, shaking hands or even a casual kiss. HIV lives in blood, semen or vaginal fluid and is transmitted three primary ways:
- Having sex (anal, oral and vaginal) with someone infected with HIV
- Sharing needles and/or syringes with someone infected with HIV
- Being exposed (infant or fetus) to HIV before or during birth or through breast milk
Know your status. For a testing site near your home please visit http://aids.gov/. Before getting involved in a sexual relationship, know your partner's status. If you aren't comfortable discussing your sexual history, consider that the idea that you aren't mature enough to engage in sex at all.
Always take precautionary measures even if you're in a committed relationship. Employ the use of condoms and spermicide when engaging in any type of sexual behavior. If not you can become a part of the growing group of young adults living with HIV/AIDS. Seventy percent of people living with HIV in 2006 were between the ages of 25 and 49 (770,000 persons) which equates to the entire population of South Dakota. Before we wipe any more states off the map let's get out there and:
- Understand the ways HIV is transmitted
- Know your status and keep it up to date
- Know your partner's status
- Continue to use condoms and spermicide
3 Pardon My French:
Soooo very needed. Thanks for the post. I had to reach in the archives today & re-live the scary words post...it has to be said though!!!!
I realize this is easy for me to say since I've been married for 15 years, however...
I always find it wild when I hear someone say he or she was too embarrassed to talk about AIDS or sexual health but then had sex with a new partner anyway.
Isn't having sex pretty intimate? Then why not have the same sort of intimate conversation before jumping in?
Again, I know it's easy to say but hard to do.
@Diva, yeah this stuff needs to be said. You can never have too much awareness right?
@Cardio, you'd be shocked how many people just screw with no reckless abandon. It's sad and pretty much a lot of the reason people go untreated and undiagnosed. People really think they can tell who does and does not have something by pure eyeball inspection. In reality this is far from the case. A lot of time people who are infected won't know for years until he/she gets sick from something else.
It's scary and sometimes wish I'd taken up the life of a monk.
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