SAFETY MYTHS

ABOUT AIDS

Just as there are a lot of phony stories about how you can get AIDS (see card 73), there are also a lot of false stories about what

will keep you safe from the disease.

SAFETY MYTH NUMBER ONE: IF YOU TEST NEGATIVE FOR HIV ONCE, YOU DON'T NEED TO GET TESTED EVER AGAIN BECAUSE YOU WILL ALWAYS BE SAFE. This is false. So far, nobody has yet been found who is demonstrably immune to HIV infection. Testing negative once, twice, or even ten times only means you had no antibodies to HIV at the time those tests were done. It does not mean you are immune or "safe for life." Coming up negative on an HIV test does not give you a free ticket to practice unsafe sex or share IV drug needles. You will always be at risk unless you eliminate risky behavior. For more on how the HIV test works, see card 69.

SAFETY MYTH NUMBER TWO: IF YOU ARE NOT AN IV DRUG USER, YOU ARE SAFE. This is false for two reasons. First, IV drug use itself will not give you AIDS-what increases your risk of getting AIDS is sharing IV drug needles. Second, many, many people who got AIDS never used IV drugs (see cards 1-57 and card 60).

SAFETY MYTH NUMBER THREE: IF YOU ARE NOT GAY, YOU ARE SAFE. This is false. Many people who got AIDS were not gay (see cards 1-57). A related myth is the one that claims that anyone who has AIDS but says they are not gay must be secretly gay. That's false, too; see card 78 on AIDS in Africa for proof on that point.

SAFETY MYTH NUMBER FOUR: IF YOU CAN'T FIND A CONDOM, USE SARAN WRAP TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOU'LL BE SAFE. This is false. Plastic food wrap will not help protect you from HIV infection. Next Card 75: SYPHILIS: A Sexually Transmitted Disease

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SAFETY MYTHS ABOUT AIDS