The human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists. So, once you have HIV, you have it for life.
However, it’s manageable through HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART), people with HIV can live long and healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.
In addition, there are effective methods to prevent getting HIV through sex or drug use, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
First identified in 1981, HIV is the cause of one of humanity’s deadliest and most persistent epidemics.
How Do I Know If I Have HIV/AIDS?
According to HIV.gov, the only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested and fortunately it’s simple. You can ask your health care provider for an HIV test.
Many medical clinics, substance abuse programs, community health centers, and hospitals offer them too. You can also buy a home testing kit at a pharmacy or online.
Visit HIV.org for more information.
BDO’s Black History of Health series is designed to show the correlation between the health of historical black figures and Black Americans today. Many of the health disparities we currently experience have been in our community for centuries. This series is meant to bring these conditions to the forefront and provide blacks with preventative and management steps to reduce these disparities and improve the overall health of the Black American community. It’s time to change the narrative.