Reality Check

[tpdncr4christ]

So I'm reading this really excellent peice of fiction Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez, an amazing story about three high school guys comming out and growing up, and they keep mentioning HIV. Is HIV really that bad? Like one guy who is positive gets a cut and freaks out because he doesn't want his friends to touch his blood. It can't be that contageous can it? What's a really good site to visit that can tell me all those details about the disease?

[keltic63]

Austin,

HIV is a blood born retro-virus. It is present in the blood and semen of an infected person. If you come into contact with the blood or semen of an infected person and the fluid finds an opening in your skin you can be at risk. This is why health care professionals, dentists, etc always wear masks, goggles, latex gloves when there is any chance of coming in contact with blood. I have a call into the local gay youth center here to get the url of a good website. stand by.


between classes I've been googling for good info....I'm amazed at just how tough it is to find GOOD info about HIV/AIDS.

I think it's particularly relevant that a young person has asked about this. Our young people don't know the history of this disease, how it impacted the gay population, and how the govt was responsible for blocking research that could have saved thousands of lives.

Austin. Wrap it. Always!

Here's a link to the CDC Basic information about HIV/AIDS: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm

[scott snedeker]

So I'm reading this really excellent peice of fiction Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez, an amazing story about three high school guys comming out and growing up, and they keep mentioning HIV. Is HIV really that bad? Like one guy who is positive gets a cut and freaks out because he doesn't want his friends to touch his blood. It can't be that contageous can it? What's a really good site to visit that can tell me all those details about the disease?


Rates of transmission from infected needle sticks of health professionals is roughly one in three hundred. Casual skin to skin contact could only be less so. But just like anything that can be powerful, Don't act stupid, just like pointing a pistol at someone that you are sure is unloaded.


Hiv is a delicate virus. The most common mode of sexual transmission in America is recepive unprotected anal intercoure with ejaculation. There are other possible modes of sexual transmission, however. The first mentioned activity is multiple orders of magnitude more risky. The reality is that the basic part of living, (sex) carries risk. But then, It always did. Before antibiotics syphilis was the "AIDS" of its time.

However not living also carries a risk. The risk of life, love, joy and sharing being thrown away. Of Precious love being cut off before it starts.

I have made fear-based decisions. Virtually all resulted in disaster. I have made attraction and joy-based deicions. These results were much better.

Be careful. Don't be stupid, but don't let fear of HIV make you let love pass you by. Fear-based decision-making like shunning someone with HIV is the same kind of harm that Homophobes inflict on Gay people. Besides, You don't know, you might be next. How would you feel?

Well, these days chances are that it would not be the end of the world....or even the end of your world. I'm not saying that we have license to bareback indiscriminantly. HIV is still a damn dangerous disease. But Fear of it should not rule your love-life.

Some very wonderful loving people are HIV positive. We all go on living and loving together side by side, passionate, fearless and sensible.

[psychboi85]

I searched my Medical-Surgical Nursing textbook for some websites that may be beneficial to you. I also found some resources in various gay-health books as well:

www.thebody.com


http://health.discovery.com/tools/blausen/blausen.html

http://www.cellsalive.com/hiv0.htm

http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=KB

http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/

http://www.gaycity.org/uploads/action_guide/

http://www.gmhc.org/health.html


Hopefully some of this will prove useful to you.

[Jennifer5]

I was going to respond and try to say something helpful, but I see that people have already given much better answers then I would've been able to. It is probably wise for somone to tell their friends to stay away if they get badly cut and are HIV positive, however I don't think it's as extreme as people think it is.