HIV is 100% preventable…Prevention is your only defense…. Protect yourself from HIV

The surest way to avoid transmission of HIV or sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual intercourse, or to be in a long term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected.

• For persons whose sexual behaviors place them at risk for STDs, correct and consistent use of the male latex condom can reduce the risk of STD transmission. However, no protective method is 100 percent effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD. This is called “Safer Sex”. Having safer sex means making sure that the other person’s blood, semen, or vaginal fluid does not get into your blood stream.The more sex partners you have, the greater your chances are of getting HIV or other diseases passed through sex.
• Condoms lubricated with spermicides are no more effective than other lubricated condoms in protecting against the transmission of HIV and other STDs. In order to achieve the protective effect of condoms, they must be used correctly and consistently. Incorrect use can lead to condom slippage or breakage, thus diminishing their protective effect. Inconsistent use, e.g., failure to use condoms with every act of intercourse, can lead to STD transmission because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse.
• Don’t share needles and syringes used to inject drugs, steroids, vitamins, or for tattooing or body piercing. Also, don’t share equipment ("works") used to prepare drugs to be injected. Many people have been infected with HIV, hepatitis, and other germs this way. Germs from an infected person can stay in a needle and then be injected directly into the next person who uses the needle.
• Don’t share razors or toothbrushes because of the possibility of contact with blood.

If you are pregnant or think you might be soon, talk to a doctor or your local health department about being tested for HIV. Drug treatments are available to help you and reduce the chance of passing HIV to your baby if you have it.

How do I know if I have HIV or AIDS?

You might have HIV and still feel perfectly healthy. The only way to know for sure if you are infected or not is to be tested. Talk with a knowledgeable health care provider or counselor both before and after you are tested. You can go to your doctor or health department for testing. To find out where to go in your area for HIV counseling and testing centre i.e. Delek Hospital or Zonal Hospital.

Click here to find HIV testing centre near you.

HIV Testing

It does not benefit the person or the public health to force or push someone into getting tested for HIV. Pushing safer lifestyles is much more helpful than forcing the HIV test.

HIV Testing should be done only:

• With full informed consent.
• With pretest and post test counseling.
• With plans to support people who are HIV positive.
• With total confidentiality and safe record keeping.

HIV testing can help people to get better care, but it can also hurt them. HIV testing has been used as a way to control and discriminate against people who are thought to be in 'high-risk groups'. It is too common for people to be tested without their consent, and without understanding HIV or being able to get any help if they are found to be positive.

On knowing that one is HIV positive, he or she may slip into depression or state of helplessness. There may be doubts about: doctors who will not treat them; confidentiality being broken; mistreatment from family or the community; and even being put in jail!

Your doctor or health care provider can give you a confidential HIV test. The information on your HIV test and test results are confidential, just as your other medical information. This means it can be shared only with people authorized to see your medical records. You can ask your doctor, health care provider, or HIV counselor at the place you are tested to explain who can obtain this information.

In many place throughout the country, you can be tested anonymously. These tests are usually given at special places known as anonymous testing sites. When you get an anonymous HIV test, the testing site records only a number or code with the test result, not your name. A counselor gives you this number at the time your blood, saliva, or urine is taken for the test, then you return to the testing site and give them your number or code to learn the results of your test.

You are more likely to test positive for (be infected with) HIV if you:

• Have ever had sex without a condom with someone who had HIV.
• Have ever shared injection drug needles and syringes or "works."
• Have ever had a sexually transmitted disease, like chlamydia or gonorrhea.
• Received a blood from person who has HIV.

• Have ever had sex with someone who has done any of those things

What can I do if the test shows I have HIV?

Although HIV is a very serious infection, many people with HIV and AIDS are living longer, healthier lives today, thanks to new and effective treatments. It is very important to make sure you have a doctor who knows how to treat HIV. If you don’t know which doctor to use, talk with a health care professional or trained HIV counselor will get you proper treatment. If you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, this is especially important.

There also are other things you can do for yourself to stay healthy. Here are a few:

• Follow your doctor’s instructions. Keep your appointments. Your doctor may prescribe medicine for you. Take the medicine just the way he or she tells you to because taking only some of your medicine gives your HIV infection more chance to grow.
• Get immunizations (shots) to prevent infections such as pneumonia and flu. Your doctor will tell you when to get these shots.
• If you smoke or if you use drugs not prescribed by your doctor, quit.
• Eat healthy foods. This will help keep you strong, keep your energy and weight up, and help your body protect itself.
• Exercise regularly to stay strong and fit.
• Get enough rest and sleep.
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