NCTC YouthAware: Get Real! Study Materials

You may have heard some things about a disease called AIDS. Many people have gotten AIDS over the past 25 years. A lot of them have died. AIDS is a condition that weakens the body's power to fight off other sickness. It's a very serious disease. That's why people are talking about it. But sometimes people talk without knowing the facts. AIDS is caused by a tiny germ. Doctors call a germ like this a virus. The virus that causes AIDS is called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV for short. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

An important thing for you to know about AIDS is that it is not easy to get through the things you do every day. You cannot "catch" AIDS like you can catch a cold, the flu, or the chickenpox. You cannot get AIDS from doing every day activities with someone who already has it like going to school, playing, sharing a fork or a glass, riding in a school bus together, or even using the same bathroom.

It is important to know the facts about AIDS so you can inform others. All of the following statements about AIDS are true. When you hear something about AIDS that isn't true, speak up and tell the truth!

HIV is a virus that lives in the blood and can cause a person to get sick with a disease called AIDS.
HIV attacks the immune system or the white blood cells in the body that protect you from getting sick and from fighting off illness once you are sick.
You CANNOT get HIV or AIDS from the things you do every day, such as going to school and sitting next to someone with HIV, using a toilet, or drinking from a glass used by someone who has it.
You CANNOT get HIV or AIDS from a kiss or from hugging someone who has it.
You CANNOT get HIV or AIDS from a mosquito or any other kind of bugs. The virus that causes AIDS can only live in humans. It dies inside of bugs, so there is no way they can give it to you.
You CAN get HIV either by mixing your blood from an open cut with someone else’s blood from an open cut who already has HIV, by using the needles or syringes after an infected person used them, or by getting poked by a needle you find on the ground that has HIV infected blood in it.
Mothers infected with HIV can also pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, during birth, or through breast-feeding, although new medications have made this less likely.
A person who is infected with HIV can infect others, even if no symptoms are present. You cannot tell by looking at someone whether he or she is infected with HIV. An infected person can appear completely healthy, and HIV can live in the body undetected for more than 10 years before making someone sick AIDS.
There is still NO cure for HIV or AIDS. New medications are now helping HIV patients live longer lives.
You only need to worry about getting HIV if you think you’ve done something to put your body at risk.
You can get tested by a doctor or a free clinic to find out if you have HIV.
Being sick isn't fun. Treat people with AIDS the way you want to be treated when you are sick.
ANYONE can be infected HIV. Many different types of people have AIDS—male and female, rich and poor, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American.
Young people between the ages of 15-24 are now getting HIV at the highest rates. That’s why it’s so important to protect yourself and tell others what you know!

From www.stophiv.com and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services AIDS Prevention Guide.