TheLoop21.com

By: Devona Walker (Add to your loop)
Mon, 06/22/2009 - 00:00

A woman getting education in a mobile health van.

(Read more about our Stop Black AIDS campaign.)

Almost 30 years after HIV and AIDS were identified, they continue to be shrouded in mystery, urban legends, stigmas and just plain ignorance in the black community and everywhere else. AIDS continues to hurt our families and friends, in part because we haven't used accurate information to protect ourselves.

Some people say ignorance is bliss. But when it comes to HIV/AIDS, ignorance can lead to death, especially for African Americans.

If we're ever going to Stop Black AIDS, we have to first stop believing and spreading myths about HIV and AIDS. We have to understand exactly how HIV is transmitted — through blood, semen and vaginal secretions — and how it's not, like through mosquito bites.

HIV is entirely preventable and can be combated by using condoms, refraining from sharing drug needles and having the correct information. It's time to throw out the myths and learn the facts about HIV/AIDS, so we broke 10 of them down for you.

Myth #1: I don't need to use a condom for oral sex.

Wrong. Condoms must be used during each and every sexual encounter, whether its vaginal, anal and oral sex.

Even if you and your man or woman are already infected with HIV, you should use condoms. Either of you could be infected by another strain of the virus, and re-infections make treating HIV and AIDS more difficult. It can cause you to get sicker faster. 

Myth #2: In a monogamous relationship, I don’t need to use a condom.

If you and your partner have both recently tested negative for HIV and are having sex only with each other, you would theoretically not be at risk. But even then you have to be careful. Many people in “monogamous” relationships, especially black women, who have one of the highest rates of new HIV infections, are contracting the disease. Ladies, your partner may be having sex with someone else without telling you. He may even be having sex on the down low with another man. Regardless, you need to protect yourself by using a condom, and that goes for men, too.

Myth #3: Women can't give men HIV.

It is much harder for men to get HIV from women, but it does happen. Men have fewer areas on the penis where the virus can enter the bloodstream. HIV can enter at the opening of the tip and through cuts or sores on the shaft. But if a partner has an untreated STD like syphilis or gonorrhea, which can break the skin, the risk of a man getting HIV from a woman increases. Use a condom.

Myth #4: I can get HIV from a mosquito, a kiss, a cough, a sneeze, a shower or swimming pool.

HIV transmission requires very close contact with infected blood, vaginal fluids, semen, or breast milk, not saliva or breath. It’s a very fragile virus and doesn’t live outside the body, such as in a swimming pool or shower. 

Also, even though we talk about mosquito bites, they don't bite. They inject the saliva of their previous victim, and while this saliva can pass on malaria and yellow fever, as we just learned, it does not pass on HIV.

Myth #5: You can tell someone has HIV or AIDS just by looking at them 

Many people with HIV don’t even know they're infected. HIV has a long gestation period, and it can take years for symptoms to develop. Without an HIV test, there is no way to tell if someone is infected.

That "someone" includes you. Some sexually transmitted diseases do have visible side effects, but the majority of them don't. Women are often the carriers and don't show any symptoms. HIV does not behave like a simple STD. Your gential area won't burn when you are infected. The only way to know your HIV/AIDS status is to get tested.

Myth #6: HIV/AIDS is no longer a problem in the United States.

Absolutely incorrect. HIV/AIDS is the problem in black America. Due largely to the availability of medication (Antiretrovirals, or ARVs) in the United States, the country's overall death rate has decreased. But the virus is spreading fastest among black women and young black men. For all Americans, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States has not decreased, and the rate of new infections hasn't declined.

Myth #7: Only gay men and drug users are affected by HIV and AIDS.

HIV and AIDS don't discriminate. Anyone — babies, women, seniors, teens, blacks, whites and Latinos — can become infected. It’s about risky behavior, not the sex, race or age of the person. Although the disease was first recognized in the United States among gay men, heterosexual sex is the number one way women contract the disease and the third way men contract the disease today.

Myth #8: HIV/AIDS was created by the government.

We've all heard this conspiracy theory before and even Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Obama's former pastor, bought into the hype: "The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied," Wright said in one of his sermons. 

But research shows the disease began in Africa, where several species of monkeys and chimpanzees were found infected with a virus closely related to HIV. Humans most likely became infected through blood contact, as chimpanzees are often killed and eaten in Africa. New research suggests that mutations or changes in a single gene may have turned the AIDS virus from a fairly harmless infection in those monkeys and chimpanzees into a global killer of humans. The virus in humans appears to have lost a genetic trait that protected the immune system of monkeys and chimpanzees.

Myth #9: AIDS is God’s punishment.

This can also be traced back to the so-called “gay plague.” Variants of this myth include that only gays can get AIDS and that gays brought AIDS to the world, or even to North America. The rumor was largely circulated by Christian fundamentalists, like the late Jerry Fallwell. Unfortunately, it is still perpetuated today. Many black churches are just being to stop equating the AIDS crisis with gays and promiscuity in order to help save lives.

Once again, HIV is about behavior not sin, which means we can stop it from destroying black America. 

Myth #10: An HIV diagnosis is a death sentence.

Great progress is being made in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and the rate of infant infection in some countries is dropping rapidly. So if you've been avoiding it, get tested.

Devona Walker is TheLoop21.com's senior reporter/blogger.

What's the best way to prevent HIV/AIDS?

Abstaining from sex

Using condoms every time

Getting tested often

Refraining from drugs/alcohol

I don't know