Stigma of Disclosing Your HIV Status

The holidays are quickly approaching and many of us spend them with those we love most. But what if you have not disclosed your HIV status and your health is beginning to take a toll from fighting the virus?

Many infected by the HIV/AIDS fear rejection from those who love them most. Imagine not being able to spend Christmas with your nieces and nephews because your family has turned their backs on you. Or staying home alone on New Years Eve because you are avoiding the questions your friends and family will have because of your dramatic weight loss.

Many with HIV/AIDS live in isolation especially when they are in need of emotional support. They fear how others will react and may even begin to stigmatize themselves. Reaching out to a friend can make a great difference. When faced with chronic illnesses many individuals can begin to suffer from depression, which impacts both their psychological and physical health. If you or a friend is in need of support check out these resources:

POZ Directory
It is a comprehensive guide to health care and services for HIV positive individuals, featuring thousands of organizations nationwide.

ExperienceProject
This site allows you to connect anonymously with people who understand, read hundreds of true stories, share your experiences, get feedback and comments, chat in the discussion forum, help others, and so much more.

HealthTalkOnline
This site lets you share in other people's experiences of health and illness. You can watch or listen to videos of the interviews, read about people's experiences and find reliable information about treatment choices and support.

Is Banning Same-Sex Marriage a Risk Factor?

Same-sex marriage has been quite a hot topic these days. Numerous countries support gay marriage, yet the United States lags behind. It has gained support on a state level with states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa legalizing same-sex marriage, but many states continue to go back and forth with this issue. To learn more about the states that support same-sex marriage visit gaylife.about.com.

In June 2009 ScienceDaily reported that bans on same-sex marriage can be linked to a rise in the rate of HIV infection.

In a study, conducted by two Emory economists, of the impact of social tolerance levels toward gays in the United States on the HIV transmission rate, the researchers estimated that a constitutional ban on gay marriage raises the rate by four cases per 100,000 people.

The study used data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which has tracked the attitudes of Americans during the past four decades. The economists calculated that a rise in tolerance from the 1970s to the 1990s reduced HIV cases by one per 100,000 people, and that laws against same-sex marriage boosted cases by 4 per 100,000.

"Intolerance is deadly," Hugo Mialon, an assistant professor of economics said. "Bans on gay marriage codify intolerance, causing more gay people to shift to underground sexual behaviors that carry more risk."

This theory suggests that allowing gays to marry and establish formal relationships (with all the rights given to heterosexual couples) would give them more options causing less gays to shift to risky sexual behaviors. Is there more research needed? Do you agree or disagree with this theory? What are your thoughts?

Source: "Gay Marriage Bans Linked to Rise in HIV Rate". June, 7, 2009. ScienceDaily

Educating a Friend

Recently I was chatting with a friend and he was amazed at the lack of knowledge people had about HIV.

Time and time again, I am reminded of the lack of knowledge people have regarding HIV/AIDS. Instead of seeking information many ignore the truth. The truth is HIV affects EVERYONE. You may not be infected, but the likelihood of meeting someone that is continues to increase. Here in New York approximately 1 in 70 individuals is infected with HIV, but the worst part is 25% of those infected do not know they are.

One person can make a difference. These days there is an immense amount of information on the Internet. If you want information about the statistics in your city or state visit the Centers for Disease Control’s website. It has information broken down by state as well as race. I recently needed information in Russian and was able to do an Internet search and found several websites that were very useful for a friend of mines. When it comes to information on the Internet there are few barriers.

Here are a few online resources you can use to educate yourself and a friend:

The Body – offers HIV/AIDS information, as well as information on how you can become an activist for the cause and support for those newly diagnosed.

AIDSinfo – offers the latest federally approved information on HIV/AIDS clinical research, treatment and prevention, and medical practice guidelines for people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends, health care providers, scientists, and researchers.

World Health Organization – offers information on HIV/AIDS in several languages and is a great resource if you want to get HIV related news updates from around the world.

My main audience seems to be my friends and family. During conversations I try to educate them as well as learn from them. It is important to realize we do not know everything and hearing someone out may be key in understanding the thought behind certain behaviors. When it comes down to it, HIV infection is a direct result of a behavior. You may not be able to change behavioral patterns overnight, but through consciousness rising, I believe, you can slowly impact their thinking process.

Source: New York City Department of Health

New Year's Resolution

During this time of year many of us are making reflections of the past year and looking forward to making improvements within ourselves in the new year to come. With the beginning of 2009 upon us I feel it is vital to know your HIV status.

Whether you are in a relationship or not, knowing your status can put you at ease and help you make wiser choices within the new year.


Reasons to get tested:

1. If you’re negative, you can stop worrying about the test and focus on staying negative.
2. If you’re positive, you can get support from friends and family.
3. If you’re positive, you can protect your sexual partners and discuss your HIV status.
4. If you're positive, you can focus on staying healthy via treatments and healthier lifestyle.
5. If you're positive, you can gain access to professional, medical and social support.
6. If you pregnant and positive, you can take treatments to reduce the chance of passing HIV to your baby.
7. Knowing your status, might help control the spread of HIV. HIV is mostly transmitted by people unaware of their status.
8. Knowing your status puts you back in control.

Once infected with HIV a person can become infectious very rapidly (within a day or so), but they will normally have to wait a while before an HIV test will produce an accurate result.

Most tests that offered at HIV Testing Sites will be an HIV antibody test. The HIV antibody test looks for antibodies to the virus in a person's blood. For most people these antibodies take 6 weeks to 3 months to develop. In rare cases, it can take up to 6 months.

Getting tested before 3 months have elapsed may result in an unclear test result, as an infected person may not yet have developed antibodies to HIV. These 3 months are known as the window period. So it is best to wait for at least 3 months after the last time you were at risk before taking the test.

If you are waiting to take an HIV antibody test, it is vital that you do not put yourself at risk through further exposures to HIV during this time period. This means you should practise safe sex and not share needles.

Click here for a testing sites within the United States.

Source: State of New York Department of Health, National HIV and STD Testing Resource Website