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	HIV Myths and How to Help People with AIDS
	All evidence points to the transmission of AIDS through the exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and breast milk. There is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through casual contact with an infected individual. Activities like hugging, kissing, and touching are all considered to be safe (although intimate kissing where there is an exchange of saliva may pose some degree of risk). While some people speculate that biting insects such as mosquitoes may spread HIV, in fact, this does not seem to be the case: Either the virus is unable to survive in mosquitoes and other blood-drinking insects, or the amount of blood the insect transfers from one individual to the next is too small to pass an infection. Public misunderstanding of HIV and AIDS has led to other unnecessary anxieties about viral transmission. Controversies have arisen among workers about infected colleagues, and some parents have refused to send their children to school with infected children. Similarly, health workers have expressed anxieties about contracting the disease by caring for AIDS patients, and some athletes refuse to compete against HIV-infected players. Some people even hesitate to dine out for fear of catching the virus from infected food handlers or contaminated dinnerware. While this concern is understandable, it is also unfounded. In some ways, HIV is a fragile virus and generally does not survive well outside the human body. Many researchers believe this fragility explains why, unlike many widespread hardy viruses such as those that cause the common cold, HIV does not rapidly infect the population at large.
	How to Help People with AIDS
	When someone you know becomes ill, especially with a serious illness such as AIDS, you may feel helpless or inadequate. Here are some suggestions that may help you to help someone who is ill. Don't avoid him or her. Be there - it instills hope. Be the friend or loved one you've always been, especially now when it is most important. Touch. A simple squeeze of the hand or a hug can let a person know that you still care. (Don't be afraid ...you cannot contract AIDS by simply touching.) Call before you plan to visit. The person may not feel up to a visitor that day. Don't be afraid to call back and visit on another occasion. The person needs you, and may be lonely and afraid. Help caregivers, lovers, and roommates. Though not ill, they may also be suffering. Caregivers may also need a small break from the illness from time to time. Offer to stay with the person who is sick in order to give the loved ones a break. Invite them out. Offer to accompany them places. They may need someone to talk with as well. Don't be reluctant to ask about the illness. The person may need to talk about his or her condition. Find out by asking: "Do you feel like talking about it?" Don't feel that you both always have to talk. It's okay to sit together silently reading, listening to music, watching television, holding hands. Much can be expressed without words. Help the person feel good about his or her looks, if possible. Say he or she looks good, but only if it is realistic to do so. If the person's appearance has changed, don't ignore it. Acknowledge the fact. But be gentle, and remember: never lie. Include the person in decision making. He or she has been robbed of so many things and has lost control over many aspects of life. Don't deny him or her a chance to make decisions, no matter how simple or silly they may seem to you. Be prepared for a person with AIDS to get angry with you for no obvious reason, although you've been there and done everything you could. Permit the person this, and don't take it personally. Feel flattered that he or she is close enough to you to risk sharing anger or frustration. Offer to do household chores, perhaps taking out the laundry, washing dishes, watering plants, feeding and walking pets. This may be appreciated more than you realize. However, don't do what the person can do him- or herself. Ask before doing anything. Don't lecture or be angry if the person seems to be handling the illness in a way that you think is inappropriate. Do not confuse acceptance of the illness with defeat. This acceptance may free the person and provide a sense of his or her own power. Don't allow the person or the caregivers to become isolated. Let them know about the support groups and other concrete, practical services offered without charge by various organizations. Talk about the future ... tomorrow, next week, next year. Hope is important.