True or False (answers after the jump): 1. It's safer to have sex with someone younger, since they haven't had as many sexual partners, so they're less likely to be HIV-positive.
2. Compared to anal and vaginal sex, the risk from oral sex is quite low.
3. I've never had any symptoms, so I must be HIV-negative.
4. The top (in gay sex) or the man (in straight sex) is at lower risk for infection than the bottom or the female.
5. When it comes to HIV, there are only four infectious fluids in the human body: blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk.
Answers:
1. FALSE. HIV is hitting our youth hard: among men in the U.S., half of all new infections are in the under-25 age group.
2. TRUE. If the lining of your mouth and throat is intact, with no cuts or open sores, going down on someone - and even swallowing - presents almost no risk of HIV infection. Of course, there are other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) that are easily spread by oral, like gonorrhea, chlamydia and even syphilis, so it's still safest to use a condom or dental dam for oral. But those other infections can be cured - HIV cannot.
3. FALSE. There are rarely any outward symptoms of HIV infection, at least in the early years. The only way to find out your status is to get tested. Your Pride Center offers free, confidential rapid testing for HIV to everyone. For men who have sex with men, the official recommendation is to get tested twice a year; for everyone else, an annual test is a good idea.
4. FALSE. The top is at significant risk, too, because HIV can find its way up the urethra.
5. TRUE. HIV is not transmitted through saliva or sweat or urine, so you don't get it from kissing, or from the locker room or the toilet seat.
How did you score? Everyone is at risk for HIV, so everyone should get tested.
