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HIV and AIDS

HIV,Ìýthe virus that causes AIDS is not as infectious as some other viruses. It can't be passed through unbroken external skin, or through the air, like a cold or flu, or through any other form of social contact. But it can be passed through sexual contact.
One of the ways to reduce the risk of contracting the HIV virus is to practice safer sex.

How HIVÌýis passed on:

• Having unprotected sex
• Sharing hypodermic needles
• From mother to baby during pregnancy, birth and breast feeding
• Direct contact with infected blood
• Blood transfusions outside the UK (and in the UK prior to 1985)

All blood donations and tissue donations in the UK have been tested for HIV since 1985, but in some countries, infection through blood transfusion is still a significant risk.Ìý


You can't get HIV by:

• Kissing, touching or shaking hands
• Sharing crockery or cutlery
• Coughing or sneezing
• Contact with toilet seats
• Insect or animal bites
• Swimming pools
• Eating food prepared by someone with HIV

How can you limit the risks?

• Always use a condom during sex.
• If you do inject drugs,Ìýdo not share or reuse needles.

Getting tested for HIVÌý
Free HIV tests are available from your GP or from Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinics.

If you're worried about confidentiality, don't be, you can do it anonymously.

Before the test happens you'llÌýsee a trained counsellor of what the procedure involves and what happens after you get the results.

Having an HIV test isn't difficult. You give a sample of blood which is then examined for HIV antibodies. The result is normally ready around a week after you've taken the test. However, in order for the test to give the most accurate result, it's best to wait three months after you think you might have been infected before you get tested.

It takes three months for the antibodies to develop and be traceable. The wait is perhaps the most difficult part of the HIV testing process but itÌýmeans the test resultÌýwill beÌýaccurate.Ìý

Missing The Message: Stories of living with HIV
Useful links and organisations that can help
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