Did you know that there are currently over 1.2 million people in the United States living with HIV? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, that is equivalent to approximately 35,000 new infections each year, making HIV a very prevalent disease in today’s society. At Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, we strive to help individuals diagnosed with HIV and other STI’s through various prevention efforts. 

HIV is a virus that functions to attack an individual’s immune system, specifically CD4 T cells. The number of damaged CD4 T cells increases in the body over time, and this is how HIV eventually turns into AIDS. It can be transmitted through blood or sexual contact. Populations at high-risk for HIV and AIDS are African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and the LGBTQ community. However, AIDS can also affect anyone who has unprotected sex with a partner who has HIV or AIDS. 

Signs You Have HIV

HIV can be asymptomatic, meaning that a person may not feel any symptoms of HIV for months, or even in some cases, years. Typical HIV symptoms an individual may notice a few weeks after they have been infected include:

If years have passed without a person noticing, he/she may not begin to see symptoms until the disease has progressed to AIDS. Symptoms of AIDS include:

How Can I Minimize My Chances of Getting HIV?

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is one of the most common ways that populations at high risk for AIDS prevent themselves from getting this infectious disease. This prevention method is in the form of a pill that is taken every day. There is also a long acting injection patients can take every two months. Finally, condoms can also help to ensure the disease is not sexually transmitted from one partner to another. 

How Can Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center Help? 

Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center is a health center located in the New Haven area that is focused on assisting the local population facing a number of different health issues. If you are at high risk for this infectious disease and would like to begin taking a prevention pill to minimize your risk of exposure, do not hesitate to contact us. A few other services we offer include: 

Contact the Infectious Disease Professionals Today 

Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center has been assisting the New Haven Community with affordable, quality health care services for over 50 years. Whether you are concerned about your wellbeing/risk of infectious diseases or you have been diagnosed with an infectious disease, please do not hesitate to contact our staff for care. We also urge any patient without insurance who needs financial help to enroll in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. This program aims to “provide HIV-related medical care and prescription drugs for people living with HIV who have no insurance, need services their insurance doesn’t cover, or need help with insurance costs.” To learn more about the Ryan White program or to enroll, click the link here. To contact Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, give our main line a call today!