How Can You Protect Yourself From Hiv And Stds
- Avoid or put off having sex. If you do have sex, use a male latex or female condom every time.
- Latex male condoms and female condoms, when used the right way every time, are very effective in preventing HIV and many other STDs. Condoms may prevent the spread of other STDs like HPV or genital herpes, only when the condom covers the infected areas or sores.
- Talk with your partner about HIV and STDs.
- Don’t share drug “works”
- Get STD and HIV counseling and testing.
To find out if you might have an STD, visit your doctor or clinic as soon as you can.
Managing Illness As A Parent
Although medical advances now allow people with HIV to live full, healthy lives, you may have times where you or your partner is unwell or needs medical care.
As with any longer-term illness, this can impact on your ability to earn an income, manage a household or raise children.
Living with chronic illness can be a challenge and sometimes families need extra support. Trying to sort things out on your own can make life seem overwhelming. Dont be afraid to ask for help from expert organisations that support people with HIV.
Women And Girls Hiv And Aids
KEY POINTS
- Women account for more than half the number of people living with HIV worldwide. Young women are twice as likely to acquire HIV as young men the same age.
- HIV disproportionately affects women and adolescent girls because of vulnerabilities created by unequal cultural, social and economic status.
- Unaccommodating attitudes towards sex outside of marriage and the restricted social autonomy of women and young girls can reduce their ability to access sexual health and HIV services.
- Much has been done to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but much more needs to be done to reduce the gender inequality and violence that women and girls at risk of HIV often face.
Explore this page to find out more about why women and girls are at risk of HIV, HIV testing and counselling, treatment for women and girls living with HIV, reducing mother to child transmission, HIV prevention programmes and the way forward.
Since the start of the global HIV epidemic, women in many regions have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Today, women constitute more than half of all people living with HIV1 and AIDS-related illnesses remain the leading cause of death for women aged between 15 and 49.2
In young women will acquire HIV five to seven years earlier than their male peers.7 In the region, seven young women become newly infected with HIV for every three young men. In western and central Africa, five young women become HIV-positive for every three new infections among young men.8
Also Check: Does Nba Youngboy Have Hiv
Is It Possible For A Girl To Spread Aids To Someone
By | July 15, 2011, 9:02 p.m.
Category:
Is it possible for a girl to give somebody aids
Yes. Women and men can pass HIV to their partners. HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, is transmitted in blood, semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids. Therefore, having vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom is a high risk activity for HIV transmission for both women and men. Regardless of your sex or the sex of your partner, always have safer sex to reduce the risk of exchanging blood, semen, or vaginal fluids. Learn more about HIV/AIDS and safer sex.
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.
Are Women More Vulnerable To Hiv Infection Than Men
- HIV infection
- Are women more vulnerable to HIV infection than men?
With the global HIV epidemic, women all around communities have been affected by HIV. There are women who constitute more than half of all of the people living with HIV, which involves HIV and AIDS-related illnesses which can remain the leading cause for the death of the women. Young women in the ages of 15 and 24 are somewhere there is a disproportionate number of new HIV infections.
In the year 2007, around 7000, adolescent girls and young women became HIV positive. There is a far higher rate than the new infections which among young men are twice as likely to acquire HIV as their male peers. Regions like Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which has been driven by unsafe injections drug use where people have been disproportionally affected, and the population of women seem to be on the rise.
Recommended Reading: How Long Does Hiv Live On Surfaces
How Do Women Get Aids
However, there is much misunderstanding about the ways in which HIV infection is not spread.
About one out of every three people in the U.S. infected with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, is a woman. In the U.S., most HIV-infected women become infected during sex with an HIV-infected man or while using HIV-contaminated needles and syringes for injection drugs.
Nice To Know:
According to a 1999 survey, of the women who were diagnosed with HIV infection in the previous year:
- 13% were infected through injection drug use.
- 36% were infected through having sex with men, including injecting drug users, bisexual heterosexual men, or men with hemophilia.
- Less than 1% were infected from receiving blood transfusions or treatment with blood components or tissues containing HIV.
- In about half of these women, the cause of infection was not reported or identified.
In some areas of the world, including countries in Africa and Asia, most women are infected through sex with heterosexual men.
Fever And Night Sweats
People with HIV may experience long periods of low-grade fever. A temperature between 99.8°F and 100.8°F is considered a low-grade fever.
The body develops a fever when something is wrong, but the cause isnt always obvious. Because its a low-grade fever, those who are unaware of their HIV-positive status may ignore the symptom.
Sometimes, night sweats that can interfere with sleep may accompany fever.
Women with HIV can experience changes to their menstrual cycle. Their periods may be lighter or heavier than normal, or they may not have a period at all.
HIV-positive women may also have more severe premenstrual symptoms.
You May Like: Hiv Stays Alive In Dried Blood
How Is Hiv Infection Not Spread
Research indicates that HIV is NOT transmitted by casual contact such as:
- Touching or hugging
- Sharing household items such as utensils, towels, and bedding
- Contact with sweat or tears
- Sharing facilities such as swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs, or toilets with HIV-infected people
- Coughs or sneezes
In short, studies indicate that HIV transmission requires intimate contact with infected blood or body fluids . Activities that don’t involve the possibility of such contact are regarded as posing no risk of infection.
Need To Know:
Q: Is it safe to share a household with an HIV-infected person?
A: Studies of families of HIV-infected people have found that HIV is not spread through sharing utensils, towels, bedding, or toilet facilities. Behaviors that increase the likelihood of contact with blood from an HIV-infected person, such as sharing a razor or toothbrush, should be avoided.
Laws Addressing Gender Inequality And Violence Against Women
Laws and policies that promote gender equality create an environment that increases the likelihood of success and sustainability of efforts to reduce violence against women and their vulnerability to HIV.120121
As of 2016, 74% of countries legislated against intimate partner violence against women. Around 72% had laws relating to physical violence, 56% had laws relating to sexual violence, 71% had laws relating to psychological control and 46% addressed economic control. However, 20% of countries did not recognise rape as a crime in cases where the perpetrator is married, or intends to marry, the victim.122 For more information see our page.
Don’t Miss: Does Cookie Johnson Have Hiv
You’re More Likely To Get Hiv If Your Partner Has Hiv And An Std
People with both HIV and an STD have more HIV in their semen or vaginal fluid. This makes it easier for a person with an STD or HIV to give the virus to others when having sex without a condom.
Remember, many people who have HIV don’t know it. It can take many years for symptoms to show up. That is why it is so important to use condoms during sex, or not to have sex at all.
Young Womens Lack Of Access To Healthcare
In many settings, where SRH and HIV services exist, they are primarily for married women with and do not meet the specific needs of unmarried young women and adolescent girls. Healthcare providers often lack the training and skills to deliver youth-friendly services and do not fully understand laws around the age of consent.20
In 45 countries, organisations cannot legally provide SRH and HIV services to people under 18 without parental consent.21 In some countries, doing this is an offence linked to encouraging prostitution or the trafficking of minors.22 Some national laws also require healthcare providers to report underage sex or activities such as drug use among adolescents.23
Closely related to this is the finding, taken from evidence gathered in 28 sub-Saharan Africa countries, that 52% of adolescent girls and young women in rural areas and 47% in urban areas are unable to make decisions about their own health.24
As a result of age restrictions, in Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal, over 70% of unmarried sexually active girls aged 15 to 19 have not had their contraception needs met.25 This is despite the fact that in sub-Saharan Africa around half of young women living in rural areas and around 40% of young women living in urban areas will have been pregnant by the time they reach 18.26
Adolescent girls and young women belonging to groups most affected by HIV are also negatively affected by laws that criminalise injecting drug use, sex work and homosexuality.3031
Read Also: Does Nba Youngboy Have Hiv
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.
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.
Don’t Miss: How Does Cookie Johnson Not Have Hiv
Signs And Complications In Women
The symptoms of chronic HIV infection are related to the development of OIs. With that said, secondary conditions affecting a woman’s fertility and menstrual cycle can develop as a result of prolonged immune suppression and chronic inflammation.
The type of OIs commonly seen at CD4 counts between 250 and 500 are more or less the same in females and males. These include herpes simplex, herpes zoster , bacterial pneumonia, bacterial and fungal skin infections, tuberculosis, and HIV-associated meningitis.
The differences, in any, mainly involve a woman’s reproductive tract. The symptoms may include:
In addition to symptoms, women with HIV will often experience changes that are only recognized during a pelvic exam. This may include an abnormal PAP smear or signs of cervical dysplasia .
‘treatment As Prevention’ Rises As Cry In Hiv Fight
The HIV virus can be found in vaginal fluid and menstrual blood. But it’s been tough for researchers to determine the risk of infection between women. In many cases, other transmission routes, such as intravenous drug use and heterosexual intercourse, can’t be ruled out.
These other risk factors weren’t present in the current case, a CDC team wrote in the current issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The women, both in their 40s, were in a monogamous relationship with each other for six months prior to HIV transmission. One of the women had been HIV-positive since 2008. Her partner had no history of drug use, and she hadn’t gotten tattoos or blood transfusions for five years prior to the infection.
When the partner tested positive for HIV in 2012, the team at the CDC analyzed the DNA of the viruses from each women. The gene sequences almost matched up perfectly.
“That gives really strong evidence that the women were sharing the virus that it moved from infected partner to uninfected partner,” Sullivan says.
“This type of transmission is rare,” says Amy Lansky, a deputy director at the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. “But still, it’s important for discordant lesbian couples when one is HIV-positive and the other is negative to get medical counseling and HIV treatment.”
Also Check: Does Hiv Cause Hair Loss
Why Are Women And Girls More Vulnerable To Hiv
Biology: Biologically, women are more likely than men to acquire HIV during vaginal intercourse. Adolescent girls, whose reproductive systems are not fully developed, are especially susceptible to becoming infected during sex.
Globally, young women ages 15-24 are twice as likely to be living with HIV as young men of the same age. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women are more than three times as likely to acquire HIV as young men.5
Gender inequities: This is often compounded by cultural, legal and political factors that impede a womans ability to protect herself from HIV.
Due to these disparities, many women and girls are often unable to control when or with whom they have sex, or to persuade their husbands or partners to use condoms. Neither option is realistic for women who are at risk of sexual violence or who would like to have children.
Hiv Can Spread Through Sexual Contact Between Women
Lesbian couples have a lower risk of spreading HIV to each other than do heterosexual or gay couples.hide caption
toggle caption
Lesbian couples have a lower risk of spreading HIV to each other than do heterosexual or gay couples.
A woman in Texas likely infected her female partner with HIV through sexual contact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
The case offers the strongest evidence to date that HIV transmission between women, although rare, is possible.
Read Also: Does Cookie Johnson Have Hiv
Hiv And Getting Pregnant
If you are HIV-positive and become pregnant, or would like to have a baby, it is strongly recommended that you talk to specialists.
If you live in Victoria, The Victorian HIV Service at the Alfred Hospital and the Chronic Viral Illness Clinic at the Royal Womens Hospital can provide you with more information.
At the Chronic Viral Illness Clinic at the Royal Womens Hospital you can discuss your options with doctors who specialise in HIV and reproductive health.
This clinic specialises in helping serodiscordant couples to conceive safely.
Timing of sex to coincide with ovulation can be discussed with a healthcare provider to increase your chances of getting pregnant while reducing the risk of passing on the virus.
Is A Missed Period A Symptom Of Hiv
A single missed period is not a sign of HIV. The symptoms of recent HIV infection are the same in men and women, with the most common being fever, swollen glands, muscle aches and tiredness. A more detailed list of the symptoms associated with HIV seroconversion can be found on another page.
There are many reasons why a woman may miss her usual monthly period, including pregnancy, stress, sudden weight loss, being overweight or obese and extreme exercising. Any effect HIV has on menstruation is likely to relate to long-term, chronic infection.
Also Check: Does Nba Youngboy Have A Std
Does Menstruation Raise The Risk Of Hiv Transmission To Sexual Partners In Other Ways
If a person living with HIV is not taking antiretroviral treatment, levels of HIV in their vaginal fluid are likely to be higher during menstruation. Several studies have shown that viral load in the female genital tract can vary during the menstrual cycle, including a 2004 study which found that viral load levels in cervico-vaginal fluid tended to peak at the time of menstruation and fall to the lowest level just prior to ovulation, usually midway through the cycle. This would raise the risk of HIV transmission if preventative methods werent being used.
However, due to the effectiveness of HIV treatment, the bodily fluids of someone living with HIV are likely to have no detectable virus . Levels of HIV in blood and cervico-vaginal fluid are usually correlated, although viral load in vaginal secretions may fall more slowly than in blood so may not be undetectable for a few months after viral load has become undetectable in blood.
Measurement of the amount of virus in a blood sample, reported as number of HIV RNA copies per milliliter of blood plasma. Viral load is an important indicator of HIV progression and of how well treatment is working.
If unsure, condoms, dental dams and PrEP are all options that reduce the risk of HIV infection during sex with a person living with HIV who is menstruating.