Be suspicious of any claim that a product or treatment can cure or prevent AIDS or HIV. Question any product or treatment that:

• is "guaranteed", "secret" or "underground"
• is claimed to boost your immune system or is claimed to have a skyrocketing effect on your T-cells
• requires or urges you to stop other prescribed treatments or medications
  
• you're not supposed to talk about or tell your health care provider about
• is an "experimental" drug that you have to pay for - experimental drugs are almost always free to patients in drug studies or clinical trials
• uses personal success stories or testimonials to sell the product
• is sold to cure cancer or other illnesses in addition to HIV/AIDS
• was discovered or tested in "another country"
• comes with misinformation about how you can get or prevent HIV/AIDS.

Questions To Ask

Is the product or treatment available from many sources? If not, why not?

What evidence do you have that the product or treatment works?

Can you give me printed material?

Has the product or treatment been approved by the FDA?

What use was it approved for?

What training or experience in treating AIDS/HIV does the provider have?

Are there risks in using the product?

Fraud is Dangerous!

AIDS fraud is any false, misleading or unproved claim about the treatment or prevention of HIV/AIDS. Fraudulent products may harm you-they could even kill you. Your illness may get worse and you could waste a lot of money. Although there is no known cure for AIDS, there are legitimate treatments that extend & improve life for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Call 1-800-459-4503 for pamphlets.

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Copyright © 1995 - Women Alive Reproduced with permission of Women Alive, 1566 S. Burnside Ave., Mid-City Los Angeles, CA 90019; Phone (323) 965-1564, FAX: (323) 965-9886. You need permission from Women Alive to make more than one copy of any article in this section.

ÆGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, iMetrikus, Inc., the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

ÆGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1985, 1995. ÆGiS. All materials appearing on ÆGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of ÆGIS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.