What Can I Do to Protect Myself and Others from HIV/AIDS?

You may imagine that AIDS doesn’t have an effect on you. However if you don’t know someone infected with HIV, possibilities are that you will soon. Just about 1 million Americans are infected with HIV — about 1 in every 250 people. Each year, as many as 40,000 to 80,000 Americans turn into infected with HIV.

AIDS can have an effect on anyone: male or female, married or single, young or old, rich or poor, in any society in the country, as well as smaller cities and towns. This makes AIDS a difficulty for all of us.

What Can One Individual Do?

Every American can get involved in the fight to stop HIV infection and AIDS. First, inform yourself. Make choices that will maintain you healthy–and may even save your life. Then, help others learn about HIV avoidance. Mutually, we can bring to an end one of the country’s most serious health problems.

How Can You Get Started?

Getting involved is unproblematic. All you need is a wish to learn and help. You can connect or start projects that involve your family, school, community, worksite, congregation, or the media.

Take Action to Defend Yourself

To stop the increase of AIDS, your first priority should be protecting yourself from HIV infection. Realize the disease. Learn and put into practice safer actions. This will help you lead a healthy life.

What You Can Do

Gain knowledge of basic facts about how you can and cannot become infected with HIV. Knowing the details can help you defend yourself and lessen fears about contracting HIV during typical contact.

Assess your private danger for HIV infection. Assess any present and past sexual and drug-using behaviors. Search for counseling and testing of you think you could be infected. To discover local facilities that offer these services, make contact with your health department, a local AIDS service organization, or the CDC National AIDS Hotline.

Keep away from dangerous behaviors and practice safer sexual behaviors. You may decide not to have sex or to limit your number of sex partners to one mutually faithful, uninfected person. If your sexual behavior places you at danger, latex condoms used every time you have sex can lessen, but not eliminate, the hazard of HIV.

Be conscious of the hazards of sharing needles and other drug equipment. If you make use of drugs, enroll in a treatment program. Try to give up. If you cannot bring to an end right away, don’t share needles or syringes with anyone.

Stay away from excess alcohol and any use of cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs that may affect your judgment. Under their pressure, you may practice risky behaviors, putting yourself at risk of HIV infection.

Speak with Your Family and Friends

Help your loved ones stay away from behaviors that may put them at danger of HIV infection. Share the facts about HIV and AIDS. Just by talking, you may help save their lives.

What You Be Capable of Do

If you are a parent, have a discussion to your children about AIDS. Give details the hazards of using drugs and becoming sexually active. Talk about how to stop HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Share HIV prevention information with your friends. Converse the facts in casual conversations. You may start a discussion by bringing up a news story about AIDS.

Talk about HIV infection openly with your sex partner. You have choices when making decisions about sexual activity.

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