When I was a little girl, I had a very strong fear of AIDS. I did not know much at all about the disease. Some nights, I would be too afraid to sleep. I was sure I was going to catch AIDS from a toilet seat at school. The disease was new and mysterious… and I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep until I learned the facts.
Myth: HIV and AIDS can be easily transmitted through a hug or kiss, a mosquito bite, or even just sharing a drinking glass.
FACT: The disease is transmitted through blood and other bodily fluids that contain white blood cells.
Myth: A woman with HIV will always infect her children.
FACT: Mothers with HIV pass the disease along only about 25% of the time.
Myth: AIDS is a death sentence.
FACT: When the disease first became news, there was a very high mortality rate. Thanks to advances in medicine, people with the disease can live long lives with a combination of antiretroviral drugs and medical monitoring.
Myth: Having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS. As crazy as it sounds, this is a belief in some parts of the world.
FACT: Passing your disease on to an innocent person is NOT going to cure it. There is currently no cure for HIV or AIDS. The medications can be difficult to take because of serious side effects, but they have cut the death rate by about 80%. You will have to take the medications for the rest of your life; missing too many doses can destroy their effectiveness.
Ready for one more crazy myth?
Myth: The government created AIDS to reduce minority populations.
FACT: Although a recent survey found that 30% of minorities believed the government had created the virus… it didn’t. The necessary genetic engineering technology had not been invented when the disease first appeared. The virus appears to have developed in primates in Africa and mutated to be able to jump to humans.