HIV and AIDS:

Are You at Risk?

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Free referrals and information:

CDC National AIDS Hotline

English (800) 342-AIDS (2437)

[24 hours/day]

Spanish (800) 344-SIDA (7432)

[8 am-2 am EST]

(including STDs)

TTY (800) 243-7889

(Deaf and Hard of

Hearing)

[Monday-Friday/

10 am-10 pm EST]

Free materials:

CDC National Prevention

Information Network

(800) 458-5231

1-301-562-1098 (International)

P.O. Box 6003

Rockville, MD 20849-6003

Free HIV/AIDS treatment

information:

AIDS Treatment Information

Service (ATIS)

(800) 448-0440

Drugs undergoing clinical

trials:

AIDS Clinical Trials Information

Service (ACTIS)

(800) 874-2572

Social Security benefits:

Social Security Administration

(800) 772-1213

(You also may request a personal

earnings and benefit estimate

statement to help you estimate

the retirement, disability, and

survivor benefits payable on your

Social Security record.)

Child Health Insurance Program

1-877 KIDS NOW

(1-877-543-7669)

CDC Division of HIV/AIDS

Prevention Internet address:

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv

For more information about living with HIV or AIDS, call:

Revised March 2000

What is

HIV and

how can

I get it?

What is

AIDS?

HIV— the human

immunodeficiency virus— is a

virus that kills your body’s

“CD4 cells.” CD4 cells (also

called T-helper cells) help your

body fight off infection and

disease. HIV can be passed

from person to person if

someone with HIV infection has

sex with or shares drug injection

needles with another person. It

also can be passed from a

mother to her baby when she is

pregnant, when she delivers the

baby, or if she breast-feeds her

baby.

AIDS— the acquired

immunodeficiency syndrome—

is a disease you get when HIV

destroys your body’s immune

system. Normally, your

immune system helps you fight

off illness. When your immune

system fails you can become

very sick and can die.

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On the Internet, you can get

information on HIV and AIDS

from the CDC Division of HIV/

AIDS Prevention at http://

www.cdc.gov/hiv. Other

sources of information are the

CDC National Prevention

Information Network, http://

www.cdcnpin.org or the HIV/

AIDS Treatment Information

Service, http://

www.hivatis.org.

AIDS Quilt
What do

I need to

know

about

HIV?

The first cases of AIDS were

identified in the United States in

1981, but AIDS most likely

existed here and in other parts

of the world for many years

before that time. In 1984

scientists proved that HIV

causes AIDS.

Anyone can get HIV. The most

important thing to know is how

you can get the virus.

You can get HIV:

• By having unprotected

sex— sex without a

condom— with someone

who has HIV. The virus

can be in an infected

person’s blood, semen, or

vaginal secretions and can

enter your body through

tiny cuts or sores in your

skin, or in the lining of your

vagina, penis, rectum, or

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How can I

find out

more

about

HIV and

AIDS?

• Eat healthy foods. This will

help keep you strong, keep

your energy and weight up,

and help your body protect

itself.

• Exercise regularly to stay

strong and fit.

• Get enough sleep and rest.

You can call the CDC

National AIDS Hotline at

1-800-342-2437 (Spanish/

Español: 1-800-344-7432;

TTY access: 1-800-243-7889).

The Hotline is staffed with

people trained to answer your

questions about HIV and AIDS

in a prompt and confidential

manner. Staff at the Hotline can

offer you a wide variety of

written materials and put you in

touch with organizations in your

area that deal with HIV and

AIDS.
• By sharing a needle and

syringe to inject drugs or

sharing drug equipment

used to prepare drugs for

injection with someone who

has HIV.

• From a blood transfusion

or blood clotting factor that

you got before 1985. (But

today it is unlikely you

could get infected that way

because all blood in the

United States has been

tested for HIV since 1985.)

Babies born to women with

HIV also can become infected

during pregnancy, birth, or

breast-feeding. You cannot get HIV: • By working with or being

around someone who has

HIV.

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There also are other things you

can do for yourself to stay

healthy. Here are a few: • Follow your doctor

’s

instructions. Keep your

appointments. Your doctor

may prescribe medicine for

you. Take the medicine just

the way he or she tells you

to because taking only

some of your medicine

gives your HIV infection

more chance to grow.

• Get immunizations (shots)

to prevent infections such

as pneumonia and flu. Your

doctor will tell you when to

get these shots.

• If you smoke or if you use

drugs not prescribed by

your doctor, quit.

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• From sweat, spit, tears,

clothes, drinking fountains,

phones, toilet seats, or

through everyday things like

sharing a meal.

• From insect bites or stings. • From donating blood. • From a closed-mouth kiss

(but there is a very small

chance of getting it from

open-mouthed or “French”

kissing with an infected

person because of possible

blood contact).

• Don’t share needles and

syringes used to inject

drugs, steroids, vitamins, or

for tattooing or body

piercing. Also, don’t share

equipment (“works”) used

to prepare drugs to be

injected. Many people have

been infected with HIV,

hepatitis, and other germs

this way. Germs from an

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How can

I protect

myself?

What can

I do if the

test shows

I have

HIV?

• Have ever had a sexually

transmitted disease, like

chlamydia or gonorrhea.

• Received a blood

transfusion or a blood

clotting factor between

1978 and 1985.

• Have ever had sex with

someone who has done any

of these things.

Although HIV is a very serious

infection, many people with

HIV and AIDS are living longer,

healthier lives today, thanks to

new and effective treatments. It

is very important to make sure

you have a doctor who knows

how to treat HIV. If you don’t

know which doctor to use, talk

with a health care professional

or trained HIV counselor. If

you are pregnant or are planning

to become pregnant, this is

especially important.

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infected person can stay in a

needle and then be injected

directly into the next person

who uses the needle.

• Don’t have sex.

• Or, if you do make this

decision, have sex only with

one partner who you know

doesn’t have HIV and is

only having sex with you.

The more sex partners you

have, the greater your

chances are of getting HIV

or other diseases passed

through sex.

• Use a latex condom every

time you have sex, including

oral and anal sex. If you are

allergic to latex, there is a

polyurethane (a type of

plastic) condom that you

can try. There also is a

condom that women can use

to protect themselves.

Don’t use lambskin

condoms–they might not

protect you against HIV.

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In many states, you can be

tested anonymously. These

tests are usually given at special

places known as anonymous

testing sites. When you get an

anonymous HIV test, the testing

site records only a number or

code with the test result, not

your name. A counselor gives

you this number at the time your

blood, saliva, or urine is taken

for the test, then you return to

the testing site (or perhaps call

the testing site, for example with

home collection kits) and give

them your number or code to

learn the results of your test. You are more likely to test

positive for (be infected with)

HIV if you: • Have ever shared injection

drug needles and syringes

or “works.”

• Have ever had sex without a

condom with someone who

had HIV.

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• Don

’t share razors or

toothbrushes because of the

possibility of contact with

blood.

• If you are pregnant or think

you might be soon, talk to a

doctor or your local health

department about being

tested for HIV. Drug

treatments are available to

help you and reduce the

chance of passing HIV to

your baby if you have it.

You might have HIV and still

feel perfectly healthy. The only

way to know for sure if you

are infected or not is to be

tested. Talk with a

knowledgeable health care

provider or counselor both

before and after you are tested. You can go to your doctor or

health department for testing or

buy a home collection kit (for

testing for HIV antibodies) at

many pharmacies. To find out

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How do I

know if I

have HIV

or AIDS?

where to go in your area for

HIV counseling and testing,

call your local health

department or the CDC

National AIDS Hotline, at

1-800-342-AIDS (2437).

Your doctor or health care

provider can give you a

confidential HIV test. The

information on your HIV test

and test results are

confidential, just as your other

medical information. This

means it can be shared only

with people authorized to see

your medical records. You

can ask your doctor, health

care provider, or HIV

counselor at the place you are

tested to explain who can

obtain this information. For

example, you may want to ask

whether your insurance

company could find out your

HIV status if you make a claim

for health insurance benefits or

apply for life insurance or

disability insurance.

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