AIDS and HIV definition.docVIP

AIDS and HIV definition DEFINITION: AIDS and HIV are not the same thing. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the bodys immune system, which protects your body from disease. Someone is said to have AIDS if their immune systems are badly damaged by the HIV virus, or if they develop serious infections connected with HIV. Generally, people dont die from AIDS itself, but from the other diseases that AIDS leaves you susceptible to. HISTORY: The term AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was first used in July of 1982. Though AIDS-related deaths occurred before 1982, it was only then that the medical community began to understand the disease. President Ronald Reagan did not use the word in public until three years later in 1985. YOU WONT GET IT FROM: You cannot get HIV or AIDS from casual contact. Casual kissing, hugging, sharing toilet seats or water fountains will not cause you to get HIV. Since the virus cant live outside the body, theres no way to contract the disease through sneezing or coughing or insect bites. Scientists believe that HIV is not carried in saliva. HOW YOU CAN GET IT: AIDS is spread only through blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk. You can contract AIDS through both anal and vaginal sexual intercourse, and by sharing needles for drugs or piercings. Mothers can pass AIDS on to their children, and there is some chance you could get the disease through oral sex. You cant get HIV through the skin unless there is a fresh cut in the skin. SAFER SEX: If you choose to have sex, the best way to combat AIDS is to practice safer sex. Using latex condoms, gloves and/or dental dams can reduce the spread of AIDS. However, since condoms break, abstinence is the only sure-fire way to avoid contracting the disease. YOUNG PEOPLE WITH HIV: In 2004, there were about 2.2 million young people under the age of 15 living with HIV. Young women are far more likely to contract AIDS than young men. Sixty-two percent of young peo