There's a BIG difference! The general public thinks that anyone who is infected with HIV "has AIDS." But that is not correct. You can be infected with HIV and not have AIDS.

HIV is a virus. The letters stand for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV attacks and kills important immune cells, cells that help you fight off diseases and infections. The cells HIV attacks are called "CD4+T cells," or "T-cells" for short. By attacking and killing T-cells, HIV causes AIDS.

But it takes a long time for that to happen. HIV works very slowly. On average, it takes ten years for HIV to cause AIDS, even without treatment.

So what is AIDS? AIDS is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. You don't have AIDS until your T-cell count drops below 200/mm3 (two hundred cells per cubic millimeter of blood) or you begin to suffer from opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections (also called OIs) include PCP (Pneumocystic Carinii Pneumonia), Kaposi's sarcoma (a kind of skin cancer), CMV (Cytomegalovirus), an infection that usually affects the eyes, and Candida a fungal infection that can cause thrush (a white film in your mouth) or infections in your throat or vagina.

So the fact that you are HIV-positive does NOT mean you have AIDS. The whole purpose of HIV treatment is to keep your HIV infection from turning into AIDS.

No, it is not.

Everything changed in 1995, when doctors found that taking three HIV drugs in combination commonly called the HIV drug "cocktail" could keep HIV from duplicating itself, and keep your HIV infection from turning into AIDS. Since then, the medicines available to treat HIV have gotten even better and more effective?and easier to take. Medicine is steadily gaining the upper hand, and new drugs come out almost every year.

Since HIV is a relatively new disease, no one knows how long it may be possible to keep the virus under control and prevent the onset of AIDS. But, certainly, you can count on staying healthy for a long time.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for HIV infection. There is no treatment available today that can eliminate the virus from your body and no such cure is in sight. The currently available treatments can reduce the amount of HIV to the point that it is "undetectable." But it is not completely gone. If you quit taking the medications, it comes roaring back. So when you start taking HIV medications, you're on them for life.

It's not that easy to transmit HIV! If you are HIV-positive, you don't have to worry about giving the disease to your family or friends by sneezing or coughing on them, or by swimming in the same pool. It is not spread by a handshake, or a hug, or even a kiss. People talk about HIV being transmitted by "shared bodily fluids," but there are no known cases of HIV being caused by sweat, saliva or tears. The bodily fluids that CAN spread HIV are: blood, vaginal fluid, semen and breast milk.

1. Through sex. One of the primary ways HIV is transmitted is through anal and vaginal sex. You can also give someone HIV through oral sex, although it is not as common.

2. Through drug use. If someone else uses your equipment to inject drugs, they can get infected by tiny amounts of your blood in your needle, syringe, cooker, cotton or rinse water. Of course, the best way to prevent that is not to inject drugs but if you do, don't share equipment with anyone else. If you must share, meticulously clean your equipment with bleach and water before every use!

3. From mother to baby. Without treatment, about one in four babies (25.5%) born to women with HIV have HIV themselves. Fortunately, the use of AZT before, during and after delivery (by the baby) can cut the risk to just one in twelve (8.3%). The risk may be reduced even further if you have your baby by Cesarean section. Even better news: a new study shows that the transmission rate is only one percent (one out of a hundred) when the mother has a viral load of less than 1,000 and is receiving antiretroviral treatment at the time of delivery!

After birth, an HIV-positive woman must NOT breast-feed her baby. Breast milk carries HIV, and it can cause HIV in a baby who was born healthy.

There are a lot of myths on the street about the drugs used to treat HIV. Most of these myths originated in the early years of HIV treatment, when doctors simply didn't know what drugs worked against HIV or what doses of the available drugs were appropriate.

Contrary to the common myth, the drugs are NOT as bad as the disease! The drugs available today are proven life-savers. They have reduced the death-toll from HIV dramatically. Most of the more common side effects of the drugs, like diarrhea, can be controlled very easily using common over-the-counter medications. Others go away a few weeks after you begin therapy. And even though you have to take a combination of three different drugs, there are several different combinations to choose from. One of them will work for you without causing unpleasant side effects.

When you take HIV medications, it is important to meet with your doctor regularly. Some HIV meds can cause high cholesterol or even diabetes over time. But if your doctor gives you appropriate blood tests, you should be able to catch and correct these problems before they do any harm.

The very first mention of AIDS in America came on June 5, 1981, in a report from the Centers for Disease Control, which said that a rare parasitic lung disease had been reported in Los Angeles among "5 young men, all active homosexuals." So many of the first victims were gay men that one of the first names given to this new disease was GRID (Gay Related Immune Disorder).

Now, however, it's clear now that HIV is NOT a "gay disease." It doesn't care about your sexual preference. It is spread just as readily by straight sex as it is by gay sex. In Africa, where the rates of HIV infection are far higher than in the United States, the vast majority of infections have resulted from straight sex.

Today, in America, HIV is spreading fastest not in the white gay community, but in the African-American and Latino communities. Last year, women made up more than 30% of new infections.

Whenever a new disease comes along, there is always wild speculation about what started it. HIV has been blamed on everything from "The White Man" to polio vaccine to the CIA.

The truth is that HIV appears to have spread to humans from monkeys. The same virus in monkeys is called SIV, for Simian Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV-1, the strain most common in Central and Southern Africa, the United States and the rest of the world, seems to have come from chimpanzees. HIV-2, the strain found in West Africa, seems to have come from the sooty mangabey monkey. Researchers believe that the initial infections occurred in the 1930s, long before the polio vaccine, and long before anyone, including "The White Man" and the CIA knew much about viruses.

How could a disease found in monkeys infect humans? Very easily, Monkeys in Africa are commonly hunted for meat. If a hunter just nicked his hand with his knife as he was cleaning or butchering an infected monkey, transmission would be almost certain.

HIV is not the only virus that has spread to humans from animals. If you've been following the news lately, you know that medical researchers suspect that SARS may have spread to humans from the civet cat. And many types of flu are thought to have originated in chickens.

Learning that you're HIV-positive is a shock. But it's not as bad as you may think. With the medicines we have today to suppress the virus, it may be possible to live without experiencing the symptoms of AIDS indefinitely. And promising new medicines in clinical trials right now make your prospects even brighter.

So don't panic. Don't go crazy. You're going to be around for a long, long time. Take a deep breath, give yourself a little time to get used to the idea that you have HIV. And then?

This is no time to rely on your family doctor. HIV treatment is very complex and it changes all the time. Make sure your doctor is an HIV specialist.

If you're newly infected, you may not need to take HIV medicines for years. But you need a doctor right now to monitor your viral load and T-cell count. Even though you may be feeling fine, you should have your viral load tested every 3-4 months, and your T-cell count measured every 3-6 months.

When you do go on meds, the most important thing you can do it TAKE THEM! On time. Every time! When it comes to HIV medications, you can't afford to miss a dose.

If you have problems that might keep you from taking your meds on time, including substance abuse or depression, get treatment for those problems first. Your first drug regimen is your best hope for controlling the virus, so don't blow it! Wait until you're ready to stick to your regimen before you start one.

For anyone with HIV, using condoms is a must . Learn how HIV is transmitted, and how to prevent it. Practice safer sex not only to protect your partners, but also to protect yourself. Yes, you are already HIV-positive. But there are all kinds of strains and mutations of HIV, some of which are resistant to multiple HIV drugs, and you don't want anything you don't already have.

When your immune system is challenged, you need to take better care of yourself. If you're abusing drugs or alcohol, now is the time to stop. If you're a smoker, it's essential that you quit, all the bad things that cigarettes do to healthy people they do to people living with HIV faster!

One of the most positive things you can do for yourself is start a regular program of exercise. Working out with weights helps you build lean muscle mass, which is critically important for people with HIV. Weight training also builds your strength and can help protect you from osteoporosis by increasing your bone mineral density. (Osteoporosis is increasingly becoming a problem for people on long-term anti-HIV treatment.)

Exercise is also one of the best ways to prevent and reverse lipodystrophy, the changes in body fat distribution that affect some people with HIV. And exercise helps lower both your blood pressure and your cholesterol level. (Elevated cholesterol is a problem for many people on HIV medications.)

If you're on HIV meds, especially if you're on a regimen that includes a Protease Inhibitor, ask your doctor for a complete cholesterol check, which is also called a "lipid panel." Some HIV medications can raise your LDL ("bad cholesterol") levels along with your triglycerides, another fatty substance in the blood which can contribute to heart disease. If your cholesterol and triglycerides are high, your doctor may prescribe a class of drug called "statins" to help bring them down. In any case, you can help keep your cholesterol under control by learning about nutrition and eating a diet that is low in saturated fats and high in fiber. Exercise also helps keep your cholesterol levels under control.

You're going to be dealing with HIV for the rest of your life, so it only makes sense to learn all you can about it. Read up. Do the research. Become an HIV expert! Find out all you can about what you're dealing with, so you can deal with if effectively.

An ASO (AIDS Support Organization) can help you in dozens of different ways. Depending on where you live, you may find that they can hook you up with everything from primary health care and medications to housing, drug and alcohol treatment, transportation, psychological counseling and legal representation. They have answers to questions you don't even know to ask! So don't try to go it alone. There are people out there who want to help you. Seek them out.

One of the greatest risks you face as a person living with HIV is depression. Don't let it get you!

If you really feel down in the dumps, especially if you have thoughts of suicide, get help from your doctor. Anti-depressant medications can help bring you out of it. So can psychological counseling. Exercise is also a highly effective anti-depressant.

You can live a long, happy, fulfilling, fantastic life with HIV! But not if you let it get you down. Not if you let it make you act like you're sick.

Yes, you have to control your HIV. But you don't have to let it control you! Every new day is an awesome gift, yours for the taking. Seize it!