True or False Challenge: Answers

False. 

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Immunodeficiency is a big word. But it simply means that the body isn't able to fight infection. Immunodeficiency - also called immunocompromised - happens with many illnesses, like cancer, asthma, and diabetes.

HIV, unlike other diseases, is a virus that works by destroying a type of white blood cell - the body's main defender against illness. Without treatment, HIV leaves the body at risk of getting sick with other diseases, including cancers.

False.

No medical provider automatically tests for HIV.  If they suspect you may have HIV, they may suggest you get tested. But, normally, you have to ask to be tested.

Everyone who has ever had sex should be tested for HIV.  You can always get a free, confidential, and fast HIV test at Chase Brexton Health Care - without an appointment. Check out our locations and times at the bottom of the page. 

False.

Like a cold, COVID, the flu, or many other viruses, HIV doesn't have a cure. BUT treatment has gotten much better and works to keep people living with HIV healthy.

While bacterias can be killed using antibiotics, viruses can only be treated with medications that can make it possible for the immune system to recover. 

False.

Heterosexual or homosexual or polysexual. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection that doesn't care about sexual orientation.

Oral, anal, or vaginal sex can spread HIV.

Though saliva doesn't carry HIV, the fluid that carries sperm as well as vaginal fluid do carry the virus, in addition to blood. 

If you've had any oral, anal, or vaginal sex and do not know (FOR SURE) your partner's or partners' HIV status, a 20-minute free HIV test is a brilliant idea.

False.

In the early years of HIV, treatment was very difficult. People living with HIV had many drugs to take throughout the day and they could be very hard on a person's body.

Today, most people living with HIV need only one or two pills to treat their illness. And, every year, advances in science and research are showing newer, simpler, more effective possibilities for treatment. 

False.

Abstinence - not having sex - is one way to protect against HIV infection. Condoms are an effective way to protect against infection, too.

Now, there are three additional forms of protection:

1. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) - By taking one PrEP pill a day, a person who does not have HIV is protected agains HIV infection. Learn more about PrEP. 
2. Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) - PEP is a 28-day treatment that helps to prevent HIV infection AFTER a person who does not have HIV is exposed to HIV. Learn more about PEP.
3. Undetectable equals Untransmittable (U=U) - This is also called treatment as protection. When a person living with HIV is successfully treated and their HIV viral load is undetectable, they are unable to pass on HIV through sex. Learn more about U=U.

False.

Sex without a condom IS possible for couples who are serodiscordant. (A serodiscordant HIV relationship, also known as mixed-status, is when one partner is infected by HIV and the other is not. Serodiscordant relationships also exist with other chronic blood-borne diseases, like herpes, hepatitis, and more.)

Here are the best options for serodiscordant couples:

1. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) - By taking one PrEP pill a day, a person who does not have HIV is protected agains HIV infection. Learn more about PrEP. 
2. Undetectable equals Untransmittable (U=U) - This is also called treatment as protection. When a person living with HIV is successfully treated and their HIV viral load is undetectable, they are unable to pass on HIV through sex. Learn more about U=U.

False.

With advances in treatment and care, people living with HIV are living as long as those who are living without HIV. However, studies have suggested that those living with HIV develop age-related chronic health issues earlier than their counterparts. This is certainly not true for everyone and depends on both the study, the treatment, and the person. 

The good news is that in the last 40 years, the average life expectation of someone diagnosed with HIV has gone from 38 for a 21-year-old diagnosed with HIV to 70s or 80s for that same 21-year-old. And, overall quality of life has drastically improved. Celebrate our long-term HIV thrivers and learn more from them!

True.

With successful HIV treatment, the amount of virus in the blood can get so low it cannot be seen in a viral load test, a test that counts the amount of virus in a person's body. When the virus cannot be counted, the virus levels are called 'undetectable'. 

A person living with HIV who is successfully treated, has undetectable virus levels, and continues treatment cannot pass the virus to another person through sex. HIV treatment is an important way to stop the spread of HIV.

True!

Once again, undetectable equals untransmittable. Learn more about U=U.