Can You Get Hiv From Drinking Blood

Can You Get Hiv From A Blood Transfusion

Receiving a blood transfusion or other products made from blood is safe in the UK as all blood products have been screened for infections such as HIV since 1985.

In countries that dont have strict checks on the safety of their blood supply, receiving contaminated blood can pass the virus on. This can also happen in countries that dont screen other blood products, organs or sperm.

Giving blood has never been a risk.

Hiv And Injection Drug Use

Sharing a needle or any equipment when injecting drugs is dangerous for you and for your sharing partners. They could get HIV from you, and you could get another disease, such as hepatitis, from them.

The safest option is not to share. Use clean needles and syringes each time, and keep your own equipment to yourself. There are sterile syringe programs that can help provide clean needles. For more information on sterile syringe programs, please visit the HIV.gov Website

Because of the dangers of injection drug use, the best way to lower your risk is to stop injecting drugs. If you need help to stop using drugs, please talk to your VA provider or visit maketheconnection.net

If you do inject drugs, follow these reminders:

• Never reuse or “share” syringes, water, or drug preparation equipment.
• Use only syringes obtained from a reliable source .
• Use a new, sterile syringe each time to prepare and inject drugs. If this is not possible, sterilize your syringe or disinfect your syringe and other equipment with bleach.
• If possible, use sterile water to prepare drugs otherwise, use clean water from a reliable source .
• Use a new or disinfected container and a new filter to prepare drugs.
• Clean the injection site with a new alcohol swab prior to injection.
• Safely dispose of syringes after one use.

How Do You Bring This Up To Other Current Or Potential Partners

Ideally, youll have the convo at a time and place thats private and free of interruptions.

Keep it simple and to the point, and be willing to answer their questions honestly. Let them know what youre doing about it, like taking PEP, and when youre supposed to get your results.

Be prepared that they might not be comfortable with getting intimate until you know your status, and respect their decision.

If youre gonna get busy, there are plenty of precautions you and your sexual partner can take to reduce the risk of HIV.

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Is It Safe To Drink Blood

06 June 2016

Vampires rely on blood for survival, but is it safe for ordinary folks to drink?

With such a high interest in vampires these days they’re all over television, movies, and bookstore shelves many people may be wondering if humans really can survive as vampires.

Turns out, sucking blood isn’t just fiction fun: In 2011, a 19-year-old Texas man named Lyle Bensley allegedly broke into a woman’s apartment and bit her on the neck. This was not bedroom playacting between lovers Bensley claimed to be a centuries-old vampire who needed blood to stay alive. The woman escaped and called police, and Lyle the would-be vampire was arrested for assault.

But is it safe to drink blood?

Related: How much blood is in the human body?

In very small amounts , and if the blood is free from pathogens , blood might not harm you. Beyond that, watch out.

The strange fact is, blood, when drank, is toxic. When confined to places where blood is supposed to be such as the heart, vessels, and so on it is essential for life. But when ingested it’s a very different story. Of course all toxins have doses, and just as a tiny bit of poison won’t necessarily harm you, the more you eat or drink, the greater the danger.

Related: 7 strange ways that people act like vampires

Are mermaids real?

You, however, are not a vampire bat. Because humans did not evolve such an iron-extracting mechanism, drinking blood can kill us.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published on Sept. 2, 2011.

I Shared A Spoon With Someone Who Has Hiv Could I Be Infected

By | Nov. 20, 2012, 12:47 p.m.

Category:

i used the spoon of the infected person . do i have HIV ?

No it isnt possible to become infected with HIV by sharing a spoon with someone who is HIV positive. HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, is transmitted in blood, semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids but not in saliva.

HIV is most commonly transmitted by having vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom with someone who has HIV/AIDS, sharing needles or syringes with someone who has HIV/AIDS, or getting HIV-infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluid into open wounds or sores. It is NOT spread through casual contact like kissing, hugging, or sharing drinking glasses or utensils.

Tags: AIDS, HIV, saliva

Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. is a registered 501 nonprofit under EIN 13-1644147. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable under the law.

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Effective Barriers Against Hiv

There are many effective barriers that prevent infection.

Skin: Skin is an excellent barrier against HIV, unless there is an open cut or open wound. Infectious fluid on skin is NOT a route for infection.

Mucous membranes in the mouth, throat and stomach: These membranes are good barriers against HIV infection, so long as there are not cuts, ulcers or sores.

Saliva: Saliva contains proteins and a low salt content that actively reduce its infectiousness. Even when HIV is detected there is too little to cause infection. HIV is not transmitted by kissing including deep kissing. Spit cannot transmit HIV.

Air: HIV is not transmitted by air.

Latex and rubber: Condoms prevent infection from HIV and many other sexually transmitted infections.

Many sexual situations have no risk of transmitting HIV.

These include masturbation , kissing and deep kissing, receiving oral sex and vaginal or anal sex using a condom correctly.

Can You Get Hiv Through Oral Sex

The risk of HIV from oral sex is very small unless you or your partner have large open sores on the genital area or bleeding gums/sores in your mouth.

There is only a slightly increased risk if a woman being given oral sex is HIV-positive and is menstruating. However, you can always use a dental dam to eliminate these risks.

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How Hiv Is Spread

The most common way that HIV is spread is through sexual intercourse, including oral and anal sex.

The virus can also be spread through sharing needles, and it can be passed from an infected pregnant woman to her unborn baby.

But steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood of HIV being passed on to a baby, making transmission in this way rare in the UK.

For example, the risk of transmission can be reduced by:

• giving antiretroviral medication to a mother and her newborn baby
• giving birth by caesarean section
• not breastfeeding

You can’t catch HIV from:

• kissing
• giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
• being sneezed on by someone with HIV
• sharing baths, towels or cutlery with someone with HIV
• swimming in a pool that’s been used by someone with HIV
• sitting on a toilet seat that someone with HIV has sat on

Is There Anything You Can Do To Prevent Other Forms Of Transmission

There is!

Avoid sharing drug injection equipment, like needles and syringes, which can expose someone to blood infected with HIV.

Keep any alcohol intake or drug use in check. If needed, consider seeking help for substance use, which is linked to a higher risk of HIV and other STIs.

If you or your partner have concerns or are in need of support, reach out to a doctor or other healthcare professional for help with:

• HIV and other STI testing
• treatment and prevention medications

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Important Information About Your Test Results

The tests performed on your donation have given positive results for the antibodies and the virus particles in your blood, which means that you are infected with HIV. Antibodies are the body’s reaction to infection, but unlike antibodies to other infections, HIV antibody is unable to overcome the virus and eliminate it from the body. Because the virus is also in the blood, it can be passed on to the recipient of blood transfusion. The tests do not give any information about when or how you became infected, or the state of your immune system. The positive test result does not mean that you have AIDS. Other tests must be performed which will give much more information about your health.

Your test results are regarded as strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone without your consent. However, we could refer you to a hospital or an HIV/AIDS centre for further medical care and treatment. Furthermore, you are infectious to your sexual partner and should seek treatment for both yourself and your partner. If you do not want to, or are unable to inform your partner, the HIV/AIDS centre may be able to help you with that.

We advise you to think very carefully before telling anyone, particularly in the first few days after hearing the news, when the initial reaction may be to take others into your confidence without thinking of the possible consequences.

Saliva Sweat Tears Urine Or Feces

HIV cannot be spread by sharing drinking glasses or by casual kissing. The risk of spreading the virus through “deep” kissing in which large amounts of saliva are exchanged is extremely low. Only one unproven case has ever been reported.

No cases of HIV spread have ever been reported after a person has come in contact with the sweat, tears, urine, or feces of an HIV-infected person.

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Are Women At Greater Risk Of Hiv During Menstruation

The menstrual bleeding during a period itself does not increase the risk of acquiring HIV. However, hormonal changes during menstrual cycles are believed to place women at greater risk than at other times. The biology of the vagina and cervix mean that women, especially adolescents and older women, are in general more vulnerable to HIV and sexually transmitted infections than men.

A 2015 study in monkeys concluded that immune protection is at its lowest mid-cycle, providing a window of opportunity for infections to enter. In addition, researchers following a group of 37 HIV-negative female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya found an association between the first stage of the menstrual cycle and factors that could mean increased susceptibility to HIV infection. The authors concluded that a better understanding of the natural hormonal cycle on the vaginal immune environment is required to identify exactly how it influences HIV sexual transmission in women.

Since more research is needed to establish clarity on when women are most at risk, women should always consider using barrier methods such as male and female condoms to provide the best protection from STIs including HIV, regardless of the stage of their menstrual cycle.

Semen Vaginal Fluids And Anal Mucus

If an HIV positive person has sex without a condom, and they do not have an undetectable viral load, HIV can get into the other persons blood because it lives in the semen, vaginal fluid and anal mucus. There does need to be a tear or graze in the other person for the HIV to enter into their body. A condom stops any fluid being passed to the other person, and it also stops unwanted pregnancy and getting other sexually transmitted infections.

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Ways Hiv Cannot Be Spread

HIV is not spread by:

• Air or water
• Mosquitoes, ticks or other insects
• Saliva, tears, or sweat that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV
• Shaking hands hugging sharing toilets sharing dishes, silverware, or drinking glasses or engaging in closed-mouth or social kissing with a person with HIV
• Drinking fountains

When Can You Get Tested For Hiv

Depending on the type of test, the window period is between 10 days and 3 months.

Until you pass the window period and get your results, its a good idea to avoid activities that can result in another exposure.

This means sticking with lower risk activities, like kissing and masturbation, and using barrier protection for any other sexual activity.

Youre also able to transmit the virus during this period, so its important to let any potential sexual partners know your status is up in the air.

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Stay On Top Of Medications Including Art Prep And Pep

There are a few medications available that can help prevent the transmission of HIV:

• ART. A person living with HIV may take antiretroviral therapy, or ART, to help them stay healthy and prevent the transmission of HIV. Most people who take it as prescribed can lower their viral load to an undetectable level.
• PrEP. This is a drug that someone who is HIV-negative can take to lower the risk of contracting HIV by as much as 99 percent .
• PEP. This is a drug regimen that can help reduce the risk of HIV after a possible exposure when started within 72 hours.

Drugs Alcohol And Safer Sex

Many drugs, including alcohol and methamphetamine, may affect your ability to make decisions.

Even if you take your HIV medications regularly and practice safer sex when you’re not high, when you’re under the influence of methamphetamine or other drugs you may be willing to take more risks. For example, you might not use a condom or take your HIV medications.

Alcohol also can affect the decisions you make about safer sex. For example, if you have too much to drink, you may not remember where you put the condoms, and decide simply not to use them. These are decisions you probably would not make if you were sober.

These actions put your partner at risk for HIV and put you at risk for other sexually transmitted diseases or for pregnancy.

Remember to take your HIV medications every day, and to keep condoms handy in places where you might have sex. Also, try to limit the amount of drugs you use or alcohol you drink if you know you are going to have sex.

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Hiv: How Its Transmitted

HIV is spread through certain body fluids, such as blood, semen , rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services AIDS.gov website. The virus can be transmitted when these fluids in an infected person come into contact with mucous membranes in the rectum, vagina, penis, or mouth of another person.

While HIV can be spread during anal or vaginal sex, anal sex is riskier because there is more trauma and irritation to the mucous membranes, says Beverly Sha, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Although the risk is low, HIV can also be spread through oral sex. HIV transmission can happen during ejaculation into the mouth, or if there are mouth ulcers, bleeding gums, genital sores, or other sexually transmitted diseases present, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Using condoms during sex lowers the risk of HIV transmission. When they are used properly, its clear they offer significant protection, Dr. Sha says. However, condoms can fail when they break, if theyre too old, or if they are not used correctly.

The virus can also spread if infected fluids come into contact with damaged tissue, such as a cut in the skin, or if infected blood is transferred from a needle or syringe. Doing injection drugs with someone who is infected and sharing equipment is high risk. HIV can be found in a used needle for as long as 42 days.

How Do You Get Or Transmit Hiv

You can only get HIV by coming into direct contact with certain body fluids from a person with HIV who has a detectable viral load. These fluids are:

• Blood
• Semen and pre-seminal fluid
• Rectal fluids
• Vaginal fluids
• Breast milk

For transmission to occur, the HIV in these fluids must get into the bloodstream of an HIV-negative person through a mucous membrane open cuts or sores or by direct injection.

People with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.

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Can Hiv Be Transmitted Via Contact With Menstrual Blood

Menstrual blood touching intact skin poses no HIV transmission risk. If it comes into contact with broken skin or is swallowed, then HIV transmission is possible but still unlikely. Due to the effectiveness of HIV treatment, the menstrual blood of someone living with HIV who is adherent to their antiretroviral medication could well have no detectable virus . The small number of case reports documenting HIV transmission via exposure to blood involved a significant amount of blood from the HIV-positive person, as well as open wounds in the other persons skin.

What Tests Will Be Carried Out

The laboratory staff will test the blood sample for various diseases, including Hepatitis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus , which can be passed on by blood and other bodily fluids. By asking you to agree to this testing, we are not implying that your child has any of these diseases. It is only done to protect and reassure our staff.

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