From my experience I know that it’s not always easy for young people to talk about HIV/AIDS. Even in modern times like these, where talking about sex is not really a taboo anymore, HIV and AIDS are. It’s easy to find information online, but isn’t it always nicer to talk about it with a friend or a family member? I also feel as if a lot of people don’t really know what HIV and AIDS exactly are, how you can get it, what the consequences are, or what measures you need to take if you get infected with the virus.
And the fact that not a lot of people directly talk about HIV and AIDS evolves in a lot of myths that go around the world.
HIV is thought of as something that only drug users or people that are sexually very promiscuous get. That is absolutely not true, since you only need one occasion to get infected with the HIV virus. Of course drug abuse and having multiple sexual partners increase the risk of getting infected, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get infected if you don’t take drugs or had/have sex with only one person. Having serial monogamous relationships doesn’t mean you don’t need to get yourself tested each time you start a new one.
Another myth that people like to believe is that HIV/AIDS is only a problem for gay men and people of colour. Every person has the chance of getting infected regardless of their skin colour or sexual preference.
Not knowing the facts doesn’t mean they're not there. Procrastinating is the worst thing you can do, since in case you're infected you might transfer the virus to more people and you don’t want that, right?
Getting tested will make you feel more secure about yourself and might make you more comfortable too when it comes to having fun in bed.
Does having HIV mean that you will die soon? No, absolutely not, thanks to treatment you can live to an old age. The drugs that you need to take could have an influence on your heart and kidneys however and can also casue osteopororis and other diseases. But infected HIV people are expected to become approximately 75 years.
That being said, I want to stress the importance of getting tested.
It is not hard, it is not far away, you just have to do it.
Go see a doctor, or go to a hospital or sexual health clinic and ask for a HIV test.
And don’t forget to use a condom at all times to prevent you from HIV as well as STD’s. Like we say at DAA: “Wrap it up before you fuck it up!”
