Lake County
Health Department

AIDS stands for:
Acquired (a condition that develops over time)
Immune (the system that serves as the body's defense against infections and diseases)
Deficiency (is weak or lacking normal strength)
Syndrome (a group of characteristics that the condition displays)

In short, over a period of time the body's immune system breaks down, and the person is unable to fight off infections and other certain diseases. AIDS is caused by an infection with the HIV virus.

HIV stands for:
Human (only infects human beings)
Immunodeficiency (immune system is lacking what it needs to keep the body healthy)
Virus (minute organism)

HIV is a virus that enters a person's bloodstream. At first, and usually for a very long time afterward, there are no signs or symptoms that indicate that the person has been infected. Make no mistake about it, the person is infected and is infectious (able to spread it to others).

A lot of people think that HIV and AIDS are the same thing; but they're not. An HIV diagnosis means that the person is infected with the HIV virus. They can be infected for a very long time before they begin to have health problems. In the later stages of infection, when the immune system has fallen to a particular level or the person has been diagnosed with certain diseases, the diagnosis changes to AIDS.

	How to Use a Condom
	STD Poster (English)
	STD Poster (Spanish)
	STD Facts

Facts about Tobacco Products

• Tobacco smoke contains over 4800 chemicals including 600 known or suspected carcinogens and over 250 toxic chemical compounds.
• The label of "light" or "low tar" tobacco products is very misleading. Cigarette manufactures put larger/more air holes in front of the filter to create a low tar/nicotine product. If you cover the holes with your fingers, you lips or even with lipstick, you will not have a low tar/nicotine product.
• There is no safe form of tobacco; none of the so-called "safer" cigarettes have been proven to be effective in reducing harm.
• A cigar the size of your index finger is the same as smoking seven cigarettes at one time.
• Smokeless tobacco is made from the trash left on the floor of the tobacco factory. This trash includes very little tobacco.
• Smokeless tobacco can have up to 6 times more nicotine when compared to the same amount of smoked tobacco.
• Smokeless tobacco, either moist snuff (dip) or chew can have up to a 40% sweetener ingredient leading to tooth decay.
• A bowl of pipe tobacco is a very abrasive product. It is the same as rubbing your gum tissue with medium grit sand paper.
• Smokeless tobacco combines with the saliva (spit) in your mouth to form two additional cancer-causing agents.

From "The Quick Series Guide to Freedom from Tobacco"

Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke-is a mixture of gases and fine particles that include-

• Smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe tip
• Smoke that has been exhaled by the person or people smoking
• At least 250 toxic chemicals, including more than 50 that can cause cancer

Most exposure to secondhand smoke occurs in homes and workplaces. Secondhand smoke exposure also continues to occur in public places such as restaurants, bars and in private vehicles.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from Secondhand Smoke

• Make your home and car smoke-free.
• Ask people not to smoke around you and your children.
• Make sure that your children's daycare center or school is smoke-free.
• Choose restaurants and other businesses that are smoke-free.
• Thank businesses for being smoke-free.
• Let business owners that are not smoke-free know that secondhand smoke is harmful to your family's health.
• Teach children to stay away from secondhand smoke.
• Avoid secondhand smoke exposure especially if you or your children have respiratory conditions, heart disease, or are pregnant.
• Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider about the dangers of secondhand smoke.

For additional information on Secondhand Smoke, please click here

Third-hand Smoke

Most people realize that secondhand smoke is harmful, especially to children and those with chronic health problems such as heart disease and lung disease. This has led to smoking bans and clean indoor air policies. Research is now beginning to show another concern.

"Third-hand smoke" is the term given to the residual of tobacco smoke contamination that settles into the environment and stays there even after a cigarette has been extinguished. The chemical particles resulting from the burning of tobacco, including tar and nicotine, linger on clothes, hair, upholstery, drapes etc, long after the smoke has cleared from the air.

These particles are formed from more than 200 poisonous gases, many of which are cancer causing, such as cyanide, ammonia, arsenic, and polonium-210 (which is radioactive.) These chemicals are deposited on surface areas and over time can be released back into the air.

New research has found that the residuals of tobacco smoke stay in the lungs after a smoker takes the last puff of a cigarette. It can take up to 2-3 minutes before they stop exhaling the toxic products of combustion. This expelled air may also contribute to secondhand tobacco smoke and to the residual of tobacco particles that can settle in places considered smoke-free.

Most people are aware of the negative effects of visible smoke and make efforts to control the amount that non-smokers are exposed to. We are now learning that tobacco toxins can remain in the environment as Third-hand smoke long after the smoking period is over. Children seem to be at greatest risk of being affected as they inhale these particles from clothes, rugs, draperies etc.

Making the home and car totally smoke-free is the best way to protect those you love. Also, waiting 2-3 minutes after finishing a cigarette to have contact with children or return to smoke-free areas is likely to be beneficial.

For additional information on Third-hand Smoke, please click here

If you were determined to need vaccination, please review this form.

Rabies is a deadly disease that can be prevented, but not cured. The virus attacks the nerves and brain tissue of warm-blooded animals including humans.

Persons who have experienced an animal bite should:

1. Immediately scrub the wound with lots of soap and running water for five to ten minutes.
2. Try to get a complete description of the animal and determine where it is so that animal control can pick it up for quarantine or rabies testing.
3. Go to your family doctor or the nearest emergency room immediately. When medical treatment is received for an animal bite, the doctor or emergency room staff will report the incident to Lake County Health Department Disease Control staff at 352-771-5573.

IMPORTANT: If you kill the animal, be careful not to damage the head and avoid further contact with the animal even though it is dead.

If you have been bitten by an animal or have additional questions about animal bites, please visit the Lake County Health Department Environmental Health Services.