How Could I Get Syphilis
Any sexually -active person can get syphilis. Syphilis can be transmitted during anal sex and oral sex, as well as vaginal sex. Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. In men, sores can occur on or around the penis, around the anus, or in the rectum, or in or around the mouth. These sores can be painless, so it is possible to have them and not notice them. Correct use of condoms can reduce the risk of syphilis if the condom covers the sores. However, sometimes sores occur in areas not covered by a condom. It is still possible to get syphilis from contact with these sores. You cannot get syphilis through casual contact with objects such as toilet seats, doorknobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bathtubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.
Can Hiv Be Prevented
To reduce the risk of getting HIV, people who are sexually active should:
- use a condom every time they have sex
- get tested for HIV and make sure all partners do too
- reduce their number of sexual partners
- get tested and treated for STDs having an STD increases the risk of HIV infection
- consider taking a medicine every day if they are at very high risk of getting infected
For everyone:
- Do not inject drugs or share any kind of needle.
- Do not share razors or other personal objects that may touch blood.
- Do not touch anyone else’s blood from a cut or sore.
Factors That Affect Risk Of Infection
Condoms and femidoms give good protection against HIV infection. Proper use of condoms with vaginal, anal or oral sex also protects against other sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia. There are several factors that determine the risk of infecting others with HIV. The most important are:
- Normally, people with HIV infection have high viral loads in their blood and other bodily fluids for a few months after infection. This means that they are particularly contagious just after they are infected. Viral load can also be high in advanced HIV infection.
- If one or both partners have other sexual transmitted infection as well as HIV , this increases the risk of HIV transmission.
- People who are being successfully treated will have a very low viral load in the blood . This means that they are significantly less infectious than untreated people, and in practice transmission of the virus from a successfully treated HIV positive person has not been seen.
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Myth: My Partner And I Got Tested And The Results Were Negative That Means We Can Have Sex Without A Condom
Fact: Well, not necessarily. When you get tested, there needs to be enough antibodies in the blood to pick up on a HIV infection, and this can take anything between four to twelve weeks from your last risk exposure, depending on the type of test used. If you test during this period it is recommended that you test again. To be 100% sure youre HIV free, its recommended that you have another test three months after the first negative result, and avoid any risky sexual activities during that time.
Myth: You Can Get Hiv Through Kissing Sharing Utensils Or Coming Into Contact With Saliva
Fact: Absolutely not true. Lets get back to basics here. HIV is not spread through saliva there has never been a documented case of HIV being spread through saliva. There are six main fluids that can transmit HIV semen, pre-ejaculate, breast milk, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, and blood. Although there is a tiny bit of HIV present in saliva, tears and sweat, you would literally need to drink several gallons of infected saliva in one sitting, and have serious cuts and sores in your mouth, to come even close to becoming infected with HIV from it. So unless youre going around doing that, you dont need to worry about becoming infected with HIV from kissing.
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Should I Be Concerned About Syphilis
Most cases of syphilis in the United States are among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men . Syphilis also has increased nearly every year among MSM, for about two decades. If syphilis is not treated, it can cause serious health problems, including neuralgic problems, eye problems, and even blindness. In addition, syphilis is linked to an increased risk of transmission of HIV infection.
No Hiv From Hair Cuts
Im 25 and married. I have a three-year-old child. My husband and I have protected sex. Is copper-T 100 per cent reliable? Does one gain weight if one uses it? No method of contraception is 100 per cent safe. Copper-T is an ideal contraceptive after one has children. Normally, it has to be replaced every two years. Its also a good way of spacing out babies.
Initially, a womans periods may be heavy after it is inserted. In some cases, it has to be removed if it causes heavy bleeding. It doesnt lead to an increase in weight. Im a 15-year-old girl. Theres a projection on my sexual organ. What is it? Its the clitoris, the female equivalent of the penis in men. Usually, it enlarges at the height of sexual stimulation. Its a sexually sensitive part stimulation of which may help a woman to achieve an orgasm. It has a rich supply of blood vessels. Discuss the female anatomy with your doctor to know more.
Im scared of contracting HIV at hair salons. What should I do? Theoretically, sharing razors, needles and syringes can transmit the HIV virus. However, it does not survive for long outside the human body. Nowadays, many up-market salons use disposal blades, so that, too, is ruled out. Thus the chances of your contracting an HIV infection through a hair cut or shave are minimal.
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Can U Get An Std From Using Someones Razor
Sharing razors or pretty much anything that cuts or pierces the skin is a possible way to catch an STD without having sex. In the case of sharp objects, if one of the users is positive for HIV or hepatitis A, B, or C, there is a risk of breaking the skin and mixing blood, leading to the spread of the disease.
Conditions By Which Hiv Can Survive
If HIV were to survive outside of the body for more than a few minutes, it could only do so under these specific environmental conditions:
- Colder temperatures: Temperatures below 39 degrees Fahrenheit are considered ideal for HIV to thrive. By contrast, HIV does not do well at room temperature and continues to decline as it reaches and exceeds body temperature .
- Ideal pH: The ideal pH level for HIV is between 7.0 and 8.0, with an optimal pH of 7.1. Anything above or below these levels is considered unsuitable for survival.
- Dried blood: HIV can survive in dried blood at room temperature for up to six days, although the concentrations of virus in dried blood will invariably be low to negligible.
- No UV exposure: HIV survives longer when is not exposed to ultraviolet radiation. UV light quickly degrades viral DNA as well as the lipids that make up the virus’ shell, rendering it incapable of attaching to and infecting other cells.
Even given these parameters, there has yet to be a documented case of infection by means of a discarded syringe in a public place.
In 2008, the largest retrospective study investigating child needlestick injuries concluded that not one case of HIV occurred following contact with a discarded needle.
Moreover, in 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could only confirm one infection by means of a needlestick injury since 1999, and that case involved a lab researcher who was working with a live HIV culture.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Hepatitis B
Many people with hepatitis B dont have any symptoms. If you do get symptoms you may not notice them until two or three months after infection and they can last up to three months. There are two types of infection acute and chronic.
Acute symptoms include:
- flu-like symptoms, including tiredness, fever and aches and pains
- feeling and/or being sick
- jaundice, meaning your skin and the whites of your eyes turn yellow
- dark urine
- pale faeces .
People who cant fight off acute infection after six months, such as babies, young children and people with a weakened immune system because of HIV, can go on to develop chronic hepatitis B. This is when people are at higher risk of liver failure, liver disease and cancer of the liver.
How Can I Reduce My Risk Of Getting Syphilis
The only way to avoid getting syphilis or other STDs is to not have anal, oral, or vaginal sex.
If you are sexually active, doing the following things will lower your chances of getting syphilis:
- Being in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested for syphilis and does not have syphilis
- Using latex condoms the right way every time you have sex. Condoms prevent the spread of syphilis by preventing contact with a sore. Sometimes sores can occur in areas not covered by a condom. Contact with these sores can still transmit syphilis.
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How Do I Know If I Have Syphilis
The only way to know is by getting tested. Many men who get syphilis do not have any symptoms for years, yet they remain at risk for health problems if they are not treated. Additionally, the painless sores that show up during the early stages of syphilis often go unrecognized by the person who has them. Individuals who are unaware of their infection can spread it to their sex partners.
How To Avoid Getting Hiv
Abstinence, or not having sex, is the only type of protection that works every time. But if you are having sex, you can lower your risk if you:
- Use a condom every time you have sex
- Get tested for HIV and STDs
- Limit the number of people you have sex with
- Donât inject yourself with drugs
Talk to your doctor right away if you think youâve been exposed to the virus. They can help you figure out next steps.
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Can I Catch Hiv Infection By Sharing A Shaving Blade
Answered by: Dr LM Nath | Consultant, Community Medicine,New Delhi
Q: I have . Our shaving routine was as follows: HIV partner shaves first then after about 1 to 15 minutes I shave last. I come from a family where asthma is nothing new and I’ve been experiencing coughing associated with infection of the lungs, it sounds more like tuberculosis which of course my HIV+ friend is getting treatment for. Could I have contracted HIV or did I have TB infection from being exposed to my HIV+ partner or is it asthma? How long the HIV virus can live on a shaving blade?
A:The only way to put your mind at rest as far as HIV is concerned is for you to get an appropriate test As far as tuberculosis is concerned, and good specialist can examine you and get the proper tests done.Though it is theoretically possible, spread from shaving with the same razor is not a very high risk activity. For one thing, not every shave is accompanied by a cut and bleeding. For another, one normally washes the razor after shaving to get rid of the lather and also before shaving to wet the razor. The chance of any fresh blood remaining on the razor is very remote so I would be very surprised if you have been infected in this way. The chance of a tuberculosis infection is a very real danger but it can easily be diagnosed and managed . What it really boils down to is that the chance of HIV infection is related to the degree and type of sexual unprotected exposure.
Why Are Electric Razors Bad For Your Skin
The Centers for Disease Control cautions against this practice because razors cause microscopic cuts in the skin as they remove hair. You may not be able to feel these nicks, but they are large enough to allow viruses into the skin. In particular, blood-borne diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis, are the largest concerns.
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Dear Doctor: I used a razor that my HIV-positive niece used. Am I safe?Charles Oboth
Dear Charles: One is likely to acquire HIV, hepatitis B or C, or even tetanus when they use an unsterilised razor which may have accidently cut another person.However, the HIV virus is very fragile and may not survive for more than 25 minutes outside a human host where it needs warmth, and body chemistry to survive. Even when a razor cuts somebody leading to profuse bleeding, it is rare that the virus survives long enough to infect the next user who will need to cut themselves to be at risk.
Getting infected by HIV in your case is dependent on the amount of virus in the blood of the person you shared the razor with whether there was blood on the razor and if you cut yourself, and if the cut bled whether the blood on the razor was dried if you used the razor immediately after your niece had used it. Even if all these circumstances were true, thus increasing the likelihood of infection, factors such as ones immunity would put the risk at less than one in 250 people getting infected this way.
What If The Hiv Infection Is Being Successfully Treated
If you are being successfully treated with HIV medicine and have been shown to have a stable, low viral load in the blood , infection risk is minimal compared with HIV positive people who are not on treatment. The premise is that neither of the partners has another sexually transmitted infection.
The HIV negative partner can also chose to start with so called pre-exposure prophylaxis . Studies have shown that HIV medicine can also help prevent HIV transmission to the partner if the medicine is taken before a possible infection situation arises. When using PrEP, a dose of HIV medicine is taken daily or intermittent. The drugs are free of charge. With vaginal or anal intercourse with a casual partner, a condom should always be used to protect against other sexually transmitted diseases. Never share syringes or other user equipement with others.
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What Are The Dangers Of Sharing A Razor
Many people in this situation might share an electric razor. This is convenient, but it also has some hazards. The spreading of disease is the biggest concern with sharing any type of razor, electric or otherwise. The Centers for Disease Control cautions against this practice because razors cause microscopic cuts in the skin as they remove hair.
Myth: Women Who Are Hiv Positive Cant And Shouldnt Have Babies
Fact: Not true! It is possible for HIV to be transmitted from mother to baby, but when best practice and procedures are put in place, its totally possible for a HIV positive mother to give birth to happy, healthy babies who are born HIV negative. If best practice is used, its very unlikely for HIV to be transmitted from mother to baby. However, its worth noting that as HIV can be transmitted through breast milk, HIV positive mothers are recommended not to breastfeed.
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Myth: Hiv Can Be Transmitted Through Hugging Handshakes Or Sharing Toilet Seats
Fact: HIV can only be transmitted through body fluid.Those fluids are semen, pre-ejaculate, breast milk, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, and blood. It cannot be spread through physical contact alone unless you have an open wound which comes into contact with the body fluids of an HIV-positive person. HIV is a very fragile virus and dies when it comes in contact with the air.
Ways Hiv Is Not Spread
Get the true facts about HIV transmission.
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The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, has existed in the United States since at least the 1970s, but myths and misconceptions about how it’s transmitted still persist.
Most people know that the virus is commonly spread through sexual contact and intravenous drug use. But what other behaviors are and are not risk factors?
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How Do You Test For Hepatitis B
A simple blood test carried out by a healthcare professional will show whether you have the virus. You may also be given extra tests to see if your liver is damaged.
If youve got hepatitis B you should be tested for other STIs. Its important that you tell your recent sexual partner/s so they can also get tested and treated. Many people who have hepatitis B dont notice anything wrong, and by telling them you can help to stop the virus being passed on. This can also stop you from getting the infection again.
What Is Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is part of a group of hepatitis viruses that attack the liver. It can be passed on via unprotected sex , through contaminated needles and from a pregnant woman to her baby during birth.
You may be more at risk of getting hepatitis B if you inject drugs, are a sex worker, are a man who has sex with men, change partners frequently, are in close contact with someone who has chronic hepatitis B, or your occupation exposes you to the virus, for example, a nurse.
Vaccines for hepatitis B are routinely offered to infants. Adults at a higher risk of getting hepatitis B may also be offered the vaccine.
Hepatitis B does not always cause symptoms and can pass in a few months without treatment . People can also have a lifelong infection , and without appropriate treatment and care, it can become more serious and lead to liver damage or death.
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