Today, a person living with HIV will have the same lifespan as someone without the virus if they start treatment early enough and stay on it. Yet pernicious myths hold sway about who HIV affects and what it means to contract it. Since 1985, the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force – now Allies for Health + Wellbeing – has been keeping people informed about HIV/AIDS and fighting stigma as well as offering care and support for people living with HIV.
Let’s bust some myths and learn about how HIV is treated and prevented today.
MYTH #1: PEOPLE WITH HIV/AIDS BROUGHT IT ON THEMSELVES
This one is wrong, wrong, wrong. Anyone can be exposed to HIV, regardless of who or how they love or recreate. Yet the stigma of being diagnosed with HIV still causes many to hide their status, even from their doctors. A diagnosis of HIV does not define who you are, nor is it something to be ashamed of. Shame sickens, and it fuels the virus’ spread.
For more than 40 years, Allies has been offering support for people living with HIV/AIDS. From our clinic to our food pantry, you can count on our team to treat you as a whole person and not just a diagnosis. You’ll be celebrated for who you are while getting the support you need at Allies.
MYTH #2: YOU CAN TELL WHO HAS, OR IS LIKELY TO HAVE, HIV BY LOOKING AT THEM
In the early days of the AIDS crisis, opportunistic infections would ravage the bodies of those who contracted it, causing severe weight loss and visible lesions. But that has not been true for well over a generation. Today, the only way to know a person’s HIV status—including your own—is to test for it.
Allies offers HIV testing in our clinic and at community events. You can make an appointment for testing, or stop by our offices on from 9 to 11:15 a.m. and 1 to 4:15 p.m. You’ll have the results of your HIV test within 20 minutes. Find out where else our outreach staff will be testing here: https://www.alliespgh.org/resources/free-testing
MYTH #3: HIV/AIDS IS A GAY DISEASE
HIV is a virus. Like all viruses, it is opportunistic and spreads most rapidly among the circle of people it first affects. If that community tends to find its partners from its own group, then that community will have a higher incidence of infection. Anal sex transmits the virus far more efficiently than vaginal sex, which is why gay and bisexual men, who are more likely to engage in it, were so devastated early on.
Given our nation’s history of structural racism, including segregation and unequal access to health care and education, it’s not surprising that African Americans, both gay and straight, are disproportionately affected. But people of all demographics get HIV, and the virus does not discriminate, even if the society it rampages through does.
Anyone who has sex can contract HIV, and anyone who is at risk of HIV can prevent it with PrEP. PrEP reduces your risk of contracting HIV from sex by almost 99% when taken consistently, and there are more options than ever to keep yourself safe and healthy! Allies offers PrEP as a once-daily pill or as an injection, and our staff are happy to talk to you about what option would be best for you.
MYTH #4: SOMEONE ON TREATMENT CAN STILL TRANSMIT HIV
A person living with HIV and consistently taking their medication will have an undetectable viral load. Once that happens, they cannot transmit the virus (this is what Undetectable = Untransmittable, or U=U, means in practice). That means they can date and have sex without fear of passing on HIV.
At Allies, our clinic staff will make sure you have all the information you need to help you get to that undetectable state, and if you’re getting your care at Allies, Allies Pharmacy is an easy and convenient way to get your meds. Allies Pharmacy is conveniently located just across the lobby from our clinic, and you can pick up your medications right after you see your provider. You can also get your medications delivered.
You’ll also get expert care from our pharmacy staff, who are specially trained in the medications our patients and clients most frequently use and can answer any questions you might have about your prescriptions. Interested in signing up for Allies Pharmacy? Just stop by and talk to our pharmacist or give us a call at 412-643-3405.
MYTH #5: TAKING PrEP MEANS YOU ARE PROMISCUOUS
First, what if you are? It’s no one’s business but your own. Second, the HIV virus does not care if you have had sex once or a thousand times. If it can spread, it will. Taking PrEP lowers your risk of contracting HIV through sex by up to 99%, freeing you up to live your life the way you choose.
Getting on PrEP is one of the most reliable ways to prevent HIV transmission and is the best way to protect yourself. At Allies for Health + Wellbeing, you’ll work with our providers to determine the best PrEP for you, whether it’s a daily pill, injections every two months or injections twice a year. We’ll also handle your testing, and you can pick up your prescriptions across the lobby at Allies Pharmacy!
If you’re interested in PrEP, give us a call at 412-345-7456 or visit AlliesPGH.org to set up your first appointment.
MYTH #6: PEOPLE WITH HIV CANNOT HAVE CHILDREN
If you are taking medication consistently and your viral load is undetectable, then there is less than a 1% risk of you passing the virus on to an unborn child. Period. Full-stop. And if you continue with your medication, keeping your viral load undetectable, you have as much a chance as anyone else to bounce your grandchild on your knee.
Though Allies does not offer obstetrics services, if you or your partner are living with HIV and looking to start a family, the clinic staff at Allies can make sure you have the care and support you need to do so without fear of an HIV diagnosis for your child.
MYTH #7: AN HIV DIAGNOSIS IS A DEATH SENTENCE
This has not been true for decades. Thanks to the tireless activism of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies, as well as the hard work of medical professionals, scientists and researchers, there are treatment and prevention options for HIV/AIDS that were unimaginable in the early 1980s. Back then, an HIV diagnosis often meant you only had a year or two to live. Today, people who are diagnosed with HIV and who keep up with their treatments can expect to live about as long as their peers without HIV.
Allies for Health + Wellbeing is here to make sure that people living with HIV have all that they need to live long, full lives, whether that’s medical care, food assistance, housing assistance, transportation assistance and so much more. If you’re living with HIV and want to see what holistic support for your HIV is like, give us a call at 412-345-7456 or visit our website at AlliesPGH.org to learn more.
