Hi, I’m Michael, a Sexuality Educator at Planned Parenthood of Nassau County. I also help manage PPNC’s College Initiatives where my fellow educators and I visit college student organizations and clubs, as well as classes. I conduct workshops on all different topics— like HIV & HIV prevention— which I’m going to dive into below.

A lot of people might think that HIV is a disease from the past: something that isn’t necessarily affecting people in their community; that isn’t an STD; and that it isn’t preventable or treatable. Well, I’m here to tell you that all of those things are FALSE!

First, an overview:

HIV — which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus — is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). It damages your immune system, making it easier for you to get sick. HIV is passed through bodily fluids, including semen and blood during sex. That’s why condoms are so important, and preventive medications like PrEP (I’ll explain this in a bit!).

A question I get from some students is, “I’ve always seen HIV/AIDS lumped together, what’s the difference?”

It’s important to note that HIV and AIDS are not the same, and, people with HIV do not always develop AIDS.

As I mentioned, HIV is the virus that causes AIDS and can be passed from person to person. A common misconception here is that only individuals having unprotected sex are contracting HIV. In reality, HIV can be passed through mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, unsterilized tattoo and piercing equipment, and intravenous drug use. Once you have HIV, certain cells— known as CD4 cells— in your immune system that protect you from infections are destroyed. And unfortunately, when you don’t have enough of these cells, your body can’t fight infections the way it normally would.

This is where AIDS comes in. AIDS is the disease caused by the damage that HIV does to your immune system. When you have a very, very low number of CD4 cells, or your body comes into contact with rare, dangerous infections, you have AIDS. You can learn more about this by checking out this link!

Though HIV stays in your body for life and is not curable, with incredible advancements in science, medication can help you live a long and healthy life, AND lower the chances of spreading the virus to others. This is why knowing your status is so important — as well as receiving treatment.

“Last year, a friend of mine who had only been with one partner and felt fairly certain [they] knew [their] status, got tested just for peace of mind. [They] made a quick appointment at a local Planned Parenthood, a week later got tested, and a week after that confidently knew [their] status. My friend is a great example of being proactive about one’s health, but it’s especially super important to do so when you think you may have been exposed to HIV.”

Well, how do you know if you are at risk?

Most commonly, HIV is passed through unprotected vaginal or anal sex. So, using condoms and/or dental dams every time you have sex is key, especially if you and your partner don’t know your statuses.

As I mentioned earlier, though, there are a few other factors that may put you at risk. Let’s run through them again. Risk factors include:

-Not regularly using condoms, with one or multiple partners;
-Having a sexual partner who has HIV;
-Having a sexual partner who is at higher risk for getting HIV (like if they have unprotected sex, or they’re an injection drug user);
-Recently having another STD;
-Being a sex worker that engages in unprotected vaginal or anal sex;
-Having used injected drugs, sharing needles or syringes for piercings, tattoos or drugs;
-Having been stuck with a needle that has HIV-infected blood on it;
-Or, having been in treatment for drug use in the past 6 months

As I mentioned earlier, if you’re pregnant and believe you’re at risk for HIV, it’s important to know that HIV can also be passed to babies during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. Pregnant women with HIV can take medicine to greatly reduce the chances of the baby getting HIV. If you or someone you know is worried about symptoms, I encourage you to consider calling your local Planned Parenthood health center to get tested.

What are some other misconceptions?

HIV is NOT spread through saliva, so you cannot get HIV from kissing, sharing foods or drinks, or using the same fork or spoon. HIV is also not spread through hugging, holding hands, coughing or sneezing. And, you can’t get HIV from a toilet seat.

Two of my favorite things to share in HIV workshops and classes is the awesome work that is being done by health care providers to provide medications that can prevent and treat HIV! (And Planned Parenthood is one of them!)

The first medication is PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis). PrEP can be prescribed and taken daily to prevent HIV— much like taking the birth control pill prevents pregnancy. The second is PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis), which can be prescribed and taken within 72 hours after possible exposure— much like taking Emergency Contraception.

Planned Parenthood created these handy videos below to explain these two HIV prevention and treatment methods — PrEP and PEP:

It may seem like a lot of information, but my team and I are just a few of many Planned Parenthood representatives who are here to share helpful information and guide you through.