The purpose of National Disease Literacy Month is to help improve a person’s understanding of their diagnosis and the associated services needed to make prompt and appropriate care decisions. High Impacto is using this month to invite everyone to educate themselves about having a positive diagnosis of the chronic disease – the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV weakens people’s immune systems because it destroys the important cells that fight disease and infection. There is currently no effective cure for HIV. However, with proper medical care, it can be controlled. HIV causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). If a person has AIDS, they have HIV. If you don’t have HIV, you can’t get AIDS. This has been verified by more than 25 years of solid scientific evidence.
It is important to be able to distinguish reality from myth. Myths are widespread ideas that are not true. Believing myths can result in fear, denial, and even harm to your health. There are many myths about HIV and in this month of disease literacy, we want to mention a few. For example, the myth that “People with HIV look sick.” The reality is that often, people who have HIV don’t look or feel sick. Many times, they don’t even know they have the virus. Having a lab test for HIV is the only way to know if you have HIV. At High Impacto we get you tested for HIV for free and we go to where you are living, working, or anywhere in Broward County, Florida. We can also mail you a box with material and instructions for you to take the exam at home if that’s what you prefer. If your result is negative, we offer you Prophylaxis for pre-exposure known as PrEP. “Prophylaxis” means methods to prevent the disease. We also help you get PEP in case you have been exposed to the virus and need treatment within 72 hours of exposure to HIV.
Another myth is that “HIV is a death sentence. “This is a myth based on a reality that used to be true. In the 1980s and early ’90s, little was known about how to treat people who had HIV. Due to lack of knowledge, no effective medications, and fear, many people diagnosed with HIV and AIDS died. Fortunately, however, this no longer happens as often. We now have more and better HIV medicines. If you follow your treatment regimen and take care of your body, you can live a long and full life with HIV. At High Impacto, we help you with your treatment for free. Ask us about our ARTAS Program.
Myths about HIV are very harmful. They can make you fear something that is not dangerous and make you feel that something is not dangerous when it is. Therefore, it is important to know the truth and know the facts well. Sometimes people who appear to be well-informed, or well-intentioned, give false information. If you have a question about HIV, talk to your health care provider, your local Health Department, or your local HIV organization such as High Impacto. If you are outside the U.S., look for sources of information in your area that can answer your questions using UNAIDS, which is leading the global effort to end the HIV epidemic at https://aidsinfo.unaids.org/
To learn more about our free health insurance and HIV prevention programs, contact us at info@highimpacto.org and by phone at 954-947-3603 or find us on social media as @highimpacto (Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and Twitter).