HIV: The Basics - An Overview
Why Should I get Tested if There is no Cure for HIV?
There is no cure for HIV. But there are drugs that can slow down the virus and protect your immune system. There are also drugs to treat and prevent OIs. If you do not know your status you cannot get the health care and treatment you may need to stay well. You are also more likely to unknowingly pass HIV to others.
- Common myth: "It's not AIDS that kills people, it's the medicines they take!"
- Truth: HIV drugs can help keep people healthy for a longer time. People died from AIDS before AZT or any other drugs came out. In fact, death rates have gone down a great deal in the U.S. since new HIV medications came out in the mid-nineties.