STD: The Facts
The following information was provided in part by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health. For more information please visit their website at www.medinstitute.org.

NOTE: If you have been sexually active or you think you may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease, see your physician for a complete medical exam.
HIV/AIDS
  • HIV is a virus that invades the immune system and destroys it over time; this reduces a person's ability to fight off infections and cancer. People with HIV eventually develop AIDS, which is often fatal.
  • You can get HIV from contact with infected blood or body fluids during vaginal or oral sex, and the risk is greatly increased if you have anal sex, multiple partners or shoot drugs. Infected pregnant girls can pass it on to their babies. You don't get HIV from the type of casual contact you have at school.
  • Am I safe if I always use a condom or switch to oral sex?
    Using condoms exactly as directed every time you have sex can reduce your risk of getting HIV by about 85%. However, this still leaves a significant chance of getting a deadly disease. It is also possible for HIV to be passed during oral sex.
  • At first, you may just have short-lived, flu-like symptoms (tiredness, fever, aches). You may have no other symptoms for years. Even with no symptoms, you can still pass on the disease during sex. If you go on to get AIDS, you may get multiple infections that other people fight off easily.
  • Most people with HIV can prolong their lives by carefully taking medicine every day for the rest of their life. These drugs are expensive, hard to take and have side effects.
  • Don't shoot drugs. If you're single, abstain from sexual activity. If you get married, be faithful. If you haven't had sex (oral, vaginal or anal) and don't shoot drugs, your chances of getting HIV and AIDS are small. Already had sex? Get checked out and be sure you have your facts straight.