Home
About Us
Substance Abuse
Agitation
Resource and
Service Coordination
Outcomes
Internet and TBI
Related Publications
Contacts
Site Map
Search
Substance Abuse and Brain Injuries
HIV/AIDS and Brain Injury
What
is HIV?
What
is AIDS?
How
can I get AIDS?
Will
my brain injury make me more at risk to get AIDS?
What
about drug use and AIDS?
What
are MY chances of getting AIDS?
If
I have sex, how can I protect myself?
Am
I HIV positive?
Where
can I go for HIV testing?
What
are some important facts for me to remember?
HIV/AIDS and Brain Injury: Get the Answers
What is HIV?
HIV stands for Human lmmunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus that destroys
a person's immune system and causes AIDS.
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. A person is diagnosed with AIDS after their immune system has been weakened by HIV.
How can
I get AIDS?
Myth
It is not true that you can get HIV by casual contact such as kissing
someone, shaking hands, sharing dishes, mosquito bites, toilet seats,
tears, saliva, or in swimming pools.
Fact
A person can get HW by sharing "dirty" or used needles with other drug
users, commg in contact with semen and vaginal fluid through unprotected
sex, and contact with blood. Women with HIV can also infect their babies
during pregnancy or childbirth.
Will my brain
injury make me more at risk to get AIDS?
You cannot tell by looking at someone if they have the HIV (AIDS virus).
People with disabilities are just as likely to get HIV as people without
disabilities. Following brain injury, a person may also have difficulties
with making decisions, predicting consequences of their actions, and saying
no in dangerous situations. These problems can also put them at a greater
risk for HIV infection.
Return to top
What about
drug use and AIDS?
When people use alcohol and other drugs they take risks they would not
take when they are clean and sober. When these risks involve sharing needles
and having unprotected sex it can result in getting HIV.
It is recommended that people with brain injuries not use alcohol and other mood-altering drugs because it can affect judgment, thinking and the ability to make wise decisions. After using drugs and alcohol it is easier to be pressured into having unprotected sex.
What are
MY chances of getting AIDS?
There is almost no risk in getting HIV if people do not have sex and if
they do no t share needles with other drug users. If a person chooses
to have sex, there are ways to have safer sex.
Return to top
If I have
sex, how can I protect myself?
Condoms - if used properly they are very effective in preventing spread
of the AIDS virus. It is best to use latex condoms with a reservoir-tip
to collect the semen.
Lubricants - water-based lubricants like K-Y Jelly or Astro Glide should be used. Avoid oil-based lubricants such as Vaseline.
REALITY Condom - A female condom that is similar to a diaphragm.
Rubber Gloves - Use on the hands while engaging in sexual activity with an exchange of bodily fluids when there are breaks in the skin. Rubber gloves can also be cut and used between the mouth and vagina when engaging in oral sex with a female.
Am I HIV Positive?
HIV can be detected through a blood test. There are two methods of testing:
Confidential and Anonymous. For Confidential testing
your name and address are given at the time of testing. Results are given
to you or a person you authorize to receive that informa-tion. With Anonymous
testing you do not give your name and address. Results can only be given
to you with an identifying number that you are given at the time of the
test.
Return to top
Where can I go for HIV testing?
National AIDS Hotline
(English language)
1-800-344-AIDS
24 hours, 7 days a week
National AIDS Hotline
(Spanish language)
1-800-344-SIDA
8:00 am - 2:00 am, Eastern Time,
7 days a week
National AIDS Hotline (TTY-TDD)
1-800-243-7889
10:00 am - 10:00 pm, Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday
Return to top
What facts are important for
me to remember?
1. Help is available.
2. Practice Safe Sex.
3. Use condoms.
4. Don't share needles with other drug users.
5. Don't use alcohol and other drugs.
6. Don't have sex with many different partners.
Prepared with financial assistance from Federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT Block Grant Funds), Franklin County ADAMH Services Board, and ODADAS to the TBI Network.
Additional funding was provided by Grant H 235L20001 awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to the Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation.
This document is available in printed form by contacting the Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation, 614-293-3802.
Substance Abuse Education Series
Substance Abuse and Brain Injury Toolbox
Utilities for Community Professionals"Lessons from Little Red Riding Hood"
"What Do We Do With A Drunken Sailor?"
Relationship Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Substance Abuse