Correcting 10 false myths about HIV and AIDS

HIV / AIDS is a disease that is still shrouded in various kinds of myths and misunderstandings. Misconceptions about the disease have led to a number of behaviors that have led to more and more people becoming HIV positive. Misleading myths about HIV and AIDS also help attach a negative stigma to each sufferer so that they feel reluctant to get treatment.

It is time to correct the most common myths surrounding HIV / AIDS with supporting facts.

Myth # 1: HIV equals AIDS

Fact: HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS are two different things. HIV is the name of the virus that attacks the body's immune system while AIDS is the final stage and continuation of long-term HIV infection after the body's immune system has finally been damaged.

AIDS is a chronic disease with a series of symptoms associated with decreased immunity, putting people at greater risk for other, more serious health problems.

Not everyone who is HIV positive will automatically contract AIDS. Appropriate HIV treatment can slow or stop the progression of the HIV virus, which in turn helps prevent the risk of AIDS.

Myth # 2: HIV / AIDS is a disease of gays and drug users

Fact: Gay men and people who inject drugs (injecting drug users) are among the groups most vulnerable to HIV / AIDS.

Same-sex intercourse through anal sex and the use of drug injection needles are indeed the most common causes of HIV.

However, vaginal sex (penile-vaginal penetration) without a condom is a mode of transmission of HIV with a high incidence rate. Oral sex is also classified as a risk factor for transmitting HIV infection. Quoting the latest report from the Ministry of Health, the trend of HIV infection during 2010-2017 continues to be dominant among heterosexuals.

AIDS Infodatin also shows that most people with HIV / AIDS in Indonesia actually come from groups of housewives and workers (both in offices, entrepreneurs, and medical personnel).

Even so, anal sex still carries the highest risk of HIV infection among other sexual methods.

Myth # 3: I can get HIV if I live with or hang out with PLWHA

Fact: Various studies have shown that HIV and AIDS is not spread through skin contact (such as from shaking hands, hugging, or sleeping at night in the same bed), tears, sweat, or the exchange of saliva such as when kissing.

You not will be infected with HIV when:

• Being in the same room and breathing the same air as PLWHA (People Living with HIV / AIDS)
• Touching items that have been touched by PLWHA
• Drink from a glass that has been used by PLWHA
• Hugging, kissing, or shaking hands with PLWHA
• Sharing eating utensils with PLWHA
• Using gym equipment together with PLWHA

HIV can only be transmitted through the exchange of certain body fluids that contain high concentrations of HIV antibodies, such as blood, spinal cord, semen, vaginal and anal fluids, and breast milk.

HIV is transmitted when any of the fluids from an HIV positive person enter through the mucous membranes, open wounds, or scratches on the skin of people who are not infected with HIV.

The British HIV / AIDS organization, AVERT, said closed mouth kisses were not a big threat. However, kissing with your mouth open can be a risk factor if blood is involved, such as bite wounds, bleeding gums, or mouth sores.

Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assessed that other body fluids, including saliva, have very little residual HIV antibody so that the risk of infection is classified as very low.

Myth # 4: HIV and AIDS can be transmitted through mosquito bites

Fact: HIV is transmitted through blood, but until now there is no medical evidence to show that mosquito bites can be an intermediary for the spread of the HIV virus even in areas prone to HIV and mosquitoes.

When mosquitoes change their bite locations, they will not flow the blood of the previous person to the next "prey". In addition, the age of the HIV virus in insects will not last long.

Myth # 5: HIV and AIDS is a death sentence

Fact: In the early years the disease was discovered, the death rate from HIV / AIDS was very high.

During the epidemic, people living with HIV / AIDS were only able to live for about 3 years. Once you develop a dangerous opportunistic disease, life expectancy without treatment drops to about 1 year.

However, since the development of modern science, retroviral medicine has enabled PLWHA to live longer lives and be able to carry out normal activities and remain productive.

Myth # 6: HIV / AIDS cannot be cured

Fact: Until now, there is no antidote for HIV AIDS. Available antiretroviral treatments can only help suppress the progression of the disease, prevent the risk of transmission, and drastically reduce the risk of death from complications of HIV / AIDS.

HIV medicine can help you live a healthier and more normal life. However, to be able to achieve all of these targets, retroviral drugs must be taken routinely for life.

If you keep forgetting to take HIV medicine, the virus will become resistant to the drug, which can cause severe side effects in the future.

Myth # 7: As long as I take medicine, I will not catch the disease

Fact: Taken regularly, retroviral drugs can help control the symptoms of the disease but you are still at risk of transmitting the HIV virus to other people if you are not careful.

The reason is, the drug will only reduce the amount of HIV viral load in the blood so that it looks normal on each blood test. Research shows that however, blood or body fluids that contain only a small amount of the HIV virus are still at risk of transmitting disease.

Myth # 8: My partner and I are both PLWHA, so there is no need for safe sex

Fact: Even if you and your partner are both HIV / AIDS positive, it is still important to always practice safe sex to prevent the risk of ping-pong infection and in particular the spread of the drug-resistant HIV virus.

Sex using condoms still applies to partners among PLWHA because two people who are HIV positive can have different genetic viruses.

If the two of them engage in unprotected sex, each virus can infect each other and evolve to attack the body with two different types of viruses.

This will further aggravate the disease of each party and may require changes in therapy and drug dosage.

Myth # 9: Signs and symptoms of HIV can appear right away

Fact: You can be HIV positive without showing any symptoms for years. The initial symptoms of HIV can appear even 10 years after the first infection, and can include symptoms similar to the common cold.

The only way to find out if you or your partner is HIV positive is to get an HIV test.

Myth # 10: Pregnant women who are HIV positive will always pass HIV to their fetuses

Fact: Mother-to-child transmission of infection is one way of spreading the virus. HIV positive pregnant women who do not undergo treatment have a 1: 4 chance of transmitting to the fetus in their womb. When the mother and fetus receive appropriate treatment before, during, and after birth, the chances of the baby's risk of infection decrease by 1-2 percent.

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