170 chapter 8: Sexual health
Because the immune system of a person infected with HIV gets weaker and weaker
with each illness, the person’s body is less able to fight illness and recover. This goes
on until the person’s body is too weak to survive, and he or she dies. Anyone can get
HIV/AIDS, both persons with a disability and persons without a disability.
Some people die from AIDS very quickly after they become infected with HIV.
But for many people, several years can pass before they get sick with AIDS. This
means that a person can be infected with HIV and not know because he or she feels
healthy. Regardless of how they feel, they can pass HIV to another person as soon
as they are infected. The only way to know if you are infected is to have your blood
tested. This can be done at many clinics and hospitals.
Medicines called ARVs (antiretrovirals) can help people with
HIV/AIDS live longer and healthier lives. These medicines do
not kill HIV or cure AIDS, but they make the sickness easier to
live with. For pregnant women, ARV treatment can prevent HIV
from passing from the mother to the baby. Unfortunately, ARVs
can be expensive and may be difficult to get in some countries.
For more information about ARV medicines, see page 176.
How HIV/AIDS is spread
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lives in body fluids such as blood, a
man’s semen, and the fluids in a woman’s vagina, of people who are
infected. The virus is spread when these fluids get into the body of
another person. HIV can be spread by:
sex with someone
who has HIV, if the
person does not use
condoms.
unsterile needles
or tools that pierce
or cut the skin.
infected blood that
gets into cuts or an
open wound.
an infected mother
to her baby, through
pregnancy, birth, or
breastfeeding.
In places where blood is not tested for HIV, people can also get HIV
from blood transfusions.
For information about preventing HIV/AIDS, see pages 179 to 182.
A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities 2007