WORLD AIDS DAY- FIGHT AIDS,NOT PEOPLE WITH AIDS!!

First off,I'm still amazed at how fast November went by! Now, December just arrived, hand in hand with a great cause.Today is World AIDS Day! I know that a lot of people don't know much about AIDS or HIV.All some people think they know is that you can possibly die from it. Ok,well,that's not even half of it!

One BIG thing I want to point out and make VERY CLEAR is that AIDS and HIV are NOT the same thing! According to http://www.worldaidsday.org/, when a person is known to have HIV, that means they just have the virus in their body. A person is considered to have AIDS when their body has become too weak to fight off any little diseases. MANY PEOPLE are confused as to how HIV can be passed on.IT CAN'T BE PASSED ON JUST BECAUSE YOU TALK TO SOMEONE WHO HAS OR BECAUSE YOU'RE NEAR THEM! THIS IS PLAIN IGNORANCE! Some of the REAL ways that a person can contract HIV are :

• having sex without a condom with someone who has HIV
•  sharing dirty,infected needles,syringes,etc. with someone who has HIV
• can be passed from a mother who has HIV to her baby during the pregnancy, childbirth,breastfeeding. If the mother is taking precautions, then passing the HIV can be greatly reduced

Unfortunately, there is no cure for HIV,but there are treatments that can help keep it under control. If you think you can have HIV,then PLEASE get tested! You can call 1-800-CDC-INFO;you can also log onto http://www.hivtest.org/ and find places near you where you can get tested. The earlier you know,the earlier you can start treatment,and the better chance you have of keeping it under control.

I was reading some interesting facts about HIV:

• One in 20 gay men in the UK is living with HIV
• The most common treatment today for someone diagnosed with HIV early is one pill, once or twice a day
• With the right medical help, the vast majority (approximately 99 per cent) of HIV positive women can give birth to healthy uninfected babies

PLEASE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANYONE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS! THEY'RE PEOPLE JUST LIKE THE REST OF US WHO ARE BATTLING FOR THEIR LIVES. DON'T BE IGNORANT ABOUT HIV/AIDS.EDUCATE YOURSELVES SO THAT YOU WILL NOT BECOME A STATISTIC.IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO MIGHT HAVE HIV, PLEASE HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THAT THEY NEED TO GET CHECKED ASAP.HIV/AIDS IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE.IT'S JUST ANOTHER BATTLE IN THIS JOURNEY OF LIFE THAT CAN BE OVERCOME WITH THE SUPPORT OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS.