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WORD
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Relevance
to HIV/STD Prevention Education
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Abstinence
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Refraining
from sexual intercourse, alcohol, and drugs.
Also see Sexual abstinence.
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AIDS
|
Acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome; a collection of illnesses
which signal that one's immune system has been damaged
or suppressed by HIV infection.
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Anonymous
testing
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Testing
in which no name is asked or given so that no one knows
the identity of the person being tested.
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Antibody
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A
specialized protein found in the blood that assists
white blood cells in inactivating or eliminating a specific
bacteria or virus.
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Anus
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The
anus can be easily bruised or injured during anal intercourse,
thus providing an easy route for HIV transmission if
the intercourse is unprotected.
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Asymptomatic
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Showing
no outward sign of infection, not feeling sick.
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AZT
|
Zidovudine,
a medicine which helps the body strengthen the immune
system and can improve the health of a person infected
with HIV and/or living with AIDS.
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Baby
|
An
HIV infected pregnant woman can transmit HIV to her
fetus before its birth and to her infant(s) during birth
or in breastfeeding. Not all babies born to HIV-positive
mothers will be HIV infected. When the mothers take
medication, such as AZT, the virus is passed on to the
baby only about 10 percent of the time.
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Bisexual
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Physical
and romantic attraction to people of each gender.
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Blood
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Blood
can transmit HIV. The Food and Drug Administration,
a government organization, works with blood banks to
ensure that the blood used in hospitals and other medical
situations is safe.
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| Breast
Milk |
Breast
Milk can transmit HIV to an infant if the mother has HIV. |
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CD4
|
One
of two protein structures on the surface of a human
cell that allows HIV to attach, enter, and thus infect
the cell; CD4 molecules are present on CD4 cells (helper
t-lymphocytes), which play an important role in fighting
infections (foreign bodies).
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CDC
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The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is
the U.S. government agency primarily tasked to respond
to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.
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Clitoris
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The
part of the female genitalia that provides pleasure.
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Communication
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Good
communication is necessary in order to negotiate sexual
abstinence or condom use between romantic/sexual partners.
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Condom
|
Latex
& Polyurethane condoms, used consistently and correctly,
can prevent the transmission of HIV.
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Confidential
HIV testing
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HIV
Testing in which people must give a name but the information
is kept between the tester and the person being tested.
Project ARK offers confidential
HIV Testing.
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Death
|
AIDS
is fatal.
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| Dental
Dam |
A
sheet of latex which acts as a barrier between the vagina
or anus and the mouth. |
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Drunk
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Judgment
and coordination decrease when one is drunk. A drunken
person may have difficulty making healthy decisions
about sexual behaviors and may have difficulty in correctly
using a condom.
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ELISA
test
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Enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay—a commonly used test used to detect
the presence or absence of HIV antibodies in the blood;
a positive ELISA test result is indicative of HIV infection
and must be confirmed by another, different test —a
western blot.
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Epidemic
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The
spread of an infectious disease to many people in a
population or geographic area.
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Erection
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When
the penis fills with blood and becomes hard,
this is called an erection. A condom should be used
and removed while the penis is erect.
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Fear
|
People
often fear people with AIDS because they don't understand
how HIV is transmitted. Sometimes, fear of getting the
virus may act as a positive catalyst for safer behavior;
at other times it does not.
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| Female
Condom |
Like
the male condom, the Female
Condom can prevent the transmission of HIV. |
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Friend
|
People
with AIDS need friends.
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HAART
|
Highly
active anti-retroviral therapy—aggressive anti-HIV treatment,
usually including a combination of protease and reverse
transcriptase inhibitors, whose purpose is to reduce
viral load to undetectable levels; also referred to
as drug cocktails.
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Helper
t-lymphocytes
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These
cells play an important role in fighting infections
by attacking and killing foreign bodies (such as bacteria
and viruses) in the blood stream. See also CD4
for method by which HIV invades these cells.
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Heterosexual
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Physical
and romantic attraction to people of the opposite gender.
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HIV
|
Human
immunodeficiency virus—the virus shown to cause AIDS.
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HIV
infection
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Infection
with the human immunodeficiency virus which may or may
not make the infected person feel or be sick.
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HIV
negative
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HIV
negative (HIV-) means that a person's blood is not producing
antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), indicating
that the person probably does not have HIV.
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HIV
positive
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HIV-positive
(HIV+) means that an individual has tested positive
for HIV antibodies—white blood cells that are created
by an individual's immune system because of the presence
of HIV. Those not showing HIV antibodies are HIV negative
(HIV-).
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| HIV
Test |
Only
an HIV test can tell someone if they have HIV. |
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Homosexual
|
Physical
and romantic attraction to people of the same gender.
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Immune
system
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A
system in the body that fights and kills bacteria, viruses,
and foreign cells and which is weakened by HIV.
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Infectious
disease
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A
disease that is caused by infection; HIV is caused by
infection with a virus, the human immunodeficiency virus.
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Injection
drug use
|
Taking
drugs for non-medical purposes by injecting them under
the skin or into a vein with a needle and syringe; using
needles that have previously been used by other people
can transmit HIV.
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Kaposi's
sarcoma
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A
type of cancer once commonly found only in older men
and now frequently seen in people infected with HIV.
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Latex
|
Latex
barriers are not porous (do not have microscopic holes)
thus help prevent the spread of HIV and other STDs.
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| Loneliness
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Lonely
people sometimes engage in sexual risk-taking behavior. |
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Lubrication
|
For
greater comfort during sexual intercourse, latex &
polyurethane condoms should be used with a water-soluble
or silicone based lubricant, such as KY jelly or Wet
Platinum. Oil-based lubricants, such as Vaseline or
hand cream, should not be used with condoms
because oil destroys condoms.
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Marriage
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Waiting
until marriage to have sexual intercourse is a value
held by some people and some religions.
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Masturbation
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Masturbation—gentle
rubbing of the genitals by oneself or with another individual
(mutual masturbation)—is one way to release sexual tension
without having sexual intercourse.
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Nonoxynol-9
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Nonoxynol-9
(N-9) is a spermicide, an agent that kills sperm. The
CDC reports that in important research with commercial
sex workers, N-9 did not prevent HIV transmission and
may have caused more transmission of HIV. Women who
used N-9 frequently had more vaginal lesions, which
might have facilitated the transmission of HIV. N-9
should not be recommended as an effective means of HIV
prevention.
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Opportunistic
conditions
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Infections
or cancers that normally occur only in someone who has
a weakened immune system due to AIDS, cancer, chemotherapy,
or immunosuppressive drugs. Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis
carini pneumonia are examples of an opportunistic cancer
and an opportunistic infection, respectively.
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Pandemic
|
The
spread of an infectious disease to people on the global
level. HIV is a pandemic disease.
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| Pneumocystis
carini |
A
type of pneumonia caused by a bacterium that is present
in all lungs but which can make a person very sick when
she or he has a weakened immune system. |
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Penis
|
The
part of the male genitalia that provides pleasure. Males
should use a latex or polyurethane condom over the erect
penis during oral, vaginal, and/or anal intercourse.
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Pill
|
Oral
contraception ("the pill") is an effective form of birth
control, but it provides no protection against HIV or
STDs. Latex or polyurethane condoms must be used during
sexual intercourse to prevent HIV/STD infection.
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PLWA
(PLWH)
|
Person
living with AIDS, or person living with HIV.
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| Polyurethane |
People
who are allergic to latex can safely use polyurethane;
a type of plastic that barriers such as the Female
Condom and some male condoms are made of. Polyurethane
condoms help to reduce the transmission of HIV and STDs.
Only Water-based lubricants should be used with polyurethane
barriers. |
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Protease
|
An
enzyme that triggers the breakdown of proteins; HIV's
protease allows the virus to multiply within the body.
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Protease
inhibitor
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A
drug that binds to HIV protease and blocks it from working,
preventing the production of new, functional viral particles.
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Relationships
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In
healthy romantic relationships, both partners can communicate
clearly about their needs, including their sexual desires
and limits.
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Respect
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Having
respect for one's romantic partner means listening,
communicating, and trusting each other, all of which
are necessary to negotiate abstinence or condom use.
Having respect for oneself means saying clearly what
one wants and needs.
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Retrovirus
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The
type of virus that stores its genetic information in
a single-stranded RNA molecule, instead of in double-stranded
DNA; HIV is a retrovirus. After a retrovirus enters
a cell, it constructs DNA versions of its genes using
a special enzyme called reverse transcriptase. In this
way, the retrovirus' genetic material becomes part of
the cell.
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Reverse
transcriptase
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A
viral enzyme that constructs DNA from an RNA template—an
essential step in the life cycle of a retrovirus such
as HIV.
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Safer
sex
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A
commonly used term describing sexual practices which
minimize the exchange of blood, semen, and vaginal fluids.
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Semen
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Semen
is the fluid ejaculated by a male at orgasm. Semen carries
sperm and also HIV when the male is HIV infected. Semen
can transmit HIV.
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Seroconversion
|
Development
of detectable antibodies to HIV in the blood as a result
of infection with HIV; it normally takes several weeks
to several months (the seroconversion or window period)
for antibodies to the virus to appear after HIV transmission.
When antibodies to HIV appear in the blood, a person
will test positive in the standard ELISA test for HIV.
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Sexual
abstinence
|
Abstinence
from sexual intercourse—at this time and/or in this
relationship—is the best way to protect oneself from
the sexual transmission of HIV.
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| Silicone
Lubricant |
Silicone
based lubricant, such as Wet Platinum, is safe to use
with latex and polyurethane condoms. |
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Status
|
Whether
one is or is not infected with HIV or other STDs; awareness
of whether one is infected with HIV and/or other STDs.
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STD
|
Sexually
transmitted disease.
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STI
|
Sexually
transmitted infection, another commonly used acronym
for STD.
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Trust
|
Trusting
that sexual partners will tell the truth about past
behaviors and/or HIV/STD status may not always be safe.
Trusting that sexual partners always know
the truth about HIV/STD status is also not always safe.
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Undetectable
|
Status
of some PLWHs whose viral level has dropped so much
that the virus is undetectable in their blood; the person
is still living with HIV and can still transmit the
virus to others (like Magic Johnson, for example).
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Vagina
|
The
vagina has membranes that can absorb HIV during penile-vaginal
intercourse, causing the woman to become HIV-infected.
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| Vaginal
Fluid |
All
fluids that come from the vagina, including menstrual
fluid. These fluids can transmit HIV if the woman is HIV-infected. |
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Victim
|
The
word victim (as in "AIDS victim" or "innocent victim")
is a word that many people with HIV/AIDS find demeaning.
More acceptable terms are PLWH for
Person Living with
HIV and PLWA for Person
Living with AIDS.
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Viral
load
|
The
amount of HIV per unit of blood plasma; used as a predictor
of disease progression; see also retrovirus.
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Western
blot
|
A
test for detecting antibodies to HIV in the blood, it
is commonly used to verify positive ELISA tests. A western
blot is more reliable than the ELISA, but it is more
costly and difficult to perform. All positive HIV antibody
tests should be confirmed with a western blot test.
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