How Do People Get Hiv

Are Women More Likely To Get Hiv

Yes. Biologically speaking, a woman is more vulnerable to heterosexual transmission of the disease because the genitalia are easily exposed to seminal fluids.

Gender inequality has great influence on the spread of HIV/AIDS among women. In some cultures, many women and girls are often put in situations where they engage in non-consensual sex or have sex for money.

In the U.S., minority communities have been hit the hardest by HIV. African American and Hispanic women together represent less than 25% of all U.S. women, yet they account for more than 78% of AIDS cases reported among women in the country.

How Can I Protect Myself

The best way to protect yourself from HIV is to not have sex and not share needles.

If you decide to have sex, reduce your risk of getting HIV by:

• using a condom every time you have sex
• getting tested for HIV and making sure all partners do too
• reducing the number of sexual partners you have
• getting tested and treated for STDs having an STD increases the risk of HIV infection

Understanding how HIV spreads can help you make safer choices about sex. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about HIV and if you want to get tested.

How Can I Know If I Have Hiv

The only way to know if you have HIV is to take an HIV test. Many medical groups recommend routine voluntary HIV screening of all patients aged 18 to 75 years of age as a normal part of medical care. The reason for this is that nearly one out of seven people infected with HIV are not aware that they have the infection.

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Suspected Or Known Exposure To Hiv But No Symptoms

If you have not been tested for HIV, call your doctor if:

• You suspect that you have been exposed to HIV.
• You have engaged in high-risk behaviour and are concerned that you were exposed to HIV.
• Your sex partner engages in high-risk behaviour.
• Your sex partner may have been exposed to HIV.
• Your sex partner has HIV.
• You have any of the symptoms listed above.

Getting tested for HIV can be scary, but the condition can be managed with treatment. So it is important to get tested if you think you have been exposed.

The Differential Hiv Experience Of African

While African-Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, they accounted for 46 percent of new HIV infections in 2010, substantially higher than the rate for Whites or Hispanics. The majority of these were men however, African-American women also have a high rate of HIV diagnosis nearly 20 times that of White women . More disheartening is that 1 in 16 African-American men and 1 in 32 African-American women will eventually be diagnosed with HIV.

The causes of this HIV health disparity are complex. HIV infection prevalence is higher and more broadly represented in the African- American community compared to the White population thus African-Americans are at increased risk of infection simply by choosing intimate partners within their own ethnic communities.24 Additionally, African-American communities experience high rates of other sexually transmitted infections, and some of these infections can significantly increase the risk of contracting HIV. African-Americans also tend to be diagnosed at later stages in the disease and therefore begin therapy later, increasing the length of time of their infectivity. Once engaged in HAART, African-Americans are more likely to discontinue therapy prematurely,25 risking resurgence of HIV infectivity and further health complications.

Text Description: Diagnosis of HIV Infection Among Adults and Adolescents, by Transmission Category Graph

Male-to-male sexual contact: 61%

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Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• Is there any sure way to avoid acquiring HIV?
• What is the best treatment for me?
• How can I avoid getting any infections that will make me very sick?
• How can I find support groups in my community?
• What diagnostic tests will you run?
• How often will I need to see my doctor?
• Will there be any side effects to my treatment?
• How does this affect my plans for having a family?
• Is it safe for me to breastfeed my baby?
• Will using a condom keep my sex partners from acquiring HIV?
• Should I follow a special diet?

Protecting Yourself From Hiv

Anyone who has sex without a condom or shares needles is at risk of HIV. The best way to prevent HIV is to use a condom for sex and to never share needles, syringes or other injecting equipment. Knowing your HIV status and that of your partner is also important.

You should use condoms for oral, vaginal and anal sex and pieces of latex which act as a barrier, for oral sex on the vagina or anus.

Condoms are more likely to break during anal sex, so you should use generous amounts of water-based lubricant in addition to the condom to reduce the chances of the condom breaking.

Cuts, sores and bleeding gums increase the risk of spreading HIV so you should cover any cuts or sores before sex, or avoid sex until they are healed.

It is important to continue to practise safer sex even if you, and your sexual partner, both have HIV. This is because it is possible to expose yourself to a new strain of the virus that your medicine will not be able to control.

Further advice and information is available on the link below

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How Do People Get Aids

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a disease that makes it hard for the body to fight off infectious diseases. The human immunodeficiency virus causes AIDS by infecting and damaging part of the bodys defenses against infection, namely the white blood cells known as CD4 helper lymphocytes .

How does someone become infected? HIV can be spread through any type of unprotected sex if one of the partners has the virus. This can happen when body fluids such as semen , vaginal fluids, or blood from an infected person get into the body of someone who is not infected. Someone can become infected even if only tiny amounts of these fluids are spread. Everyone who has unprotected sex with an infected person is at risk of contracting HIV, but people who already have another sexually transmitted disease are even more at risk.

HIV can be spread sexually from a guy to a girl, a girl to a guy, a guy to a guy, and a girl to a girl.

Sharing needles to inject drugs or steroids is another way that HIV can be passed to other people. Sharing of needles for tattoos, piercings, and body art can also lead to infection. Someone with HIV who shares a needle also shares the virus, which lives in the tiny amounts of blood attached to the needle. Sharing needles also can pass hepatitis and other serious infections to another person.

When Should You Call The Doctor If You Have Hiv Or You Think You Have Been Exposed To Hiv

There is also post-exposure prophylaxis , which is used in emergencies and should be started within 72 hours after the possible exposure. This involves taking antiretroviral therapy after this exposure. ART may be prescribed after sexual assault, or if you think you have been exposed during consensual sex or drug-taking.

If you already know you have HIV, you should follow your healthcare providers instructions on when to call. It is important to treat any type of infection, so call if you have new symptoms or things like a fever, sweating episodes, diarrhea, and so on. Its better to check with your doctor if you have any kind of symptom that worries you.

The main feature of managing AIDS is to continue to take your medicines and to fight back at opportunistic infections at the first sign of them.

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The Global Distribution Of Deaths From Hiv/aids

In some countries HIV/AIDS is the cause of more than a quarter of all deaths

Globally, 1.7% of deaths were caused by HIV/AIDS in 2017.

This share is high, but masks the wide variations in the toll of HIV/AIDS across the world. In some countries, this share was much higher.In the interactive map we see the share of deaths which resulted from HIV/AIDS across the world. Across most regions the share was low: across Europe, for example, it accounted for less than 0.1% of deaths.

But across some countries focused primarily in Southern Sub-Saharan Africa the share is very high. More than 1-in-4 of deaths in South Africa and Botswana were caused by HIV/AIDS in 2017. The share was also very high across Mozambique Namibia Zambia Kenya and Congo .

Death rates are high across Sub-Saharan Africa

The large health burden of HIV/AIDS across Sub-Saharan Africa is also reflected in death rates. Death rates measure the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS per 100,000 individuals in a country or region.

In the interactive map we see the distribution of death rates across the world. Most countries have a rate of less than 10 deaths per 100,000 often much lower, below 5 per 100,000. Across Europe the death rate is less than one per 100,000.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa the rates are much higher. Most countries in the South of the region had rates greater than 100 per 100,000. In South Africa and Mozambique, it was over 200 per 100,000.

How Hiv Infects The Body

HIV infects the immune system, causing progressive damage and eventually making it unable to fight off infections.

The virus attaches itself to immune system cells called CD4 lymphocyte cells, which protect the body against various bacteria, viruses and other germs.

Once attached, it enters the CD4 cells and uses it to make thousands of copies of itself. These copies then leave the CD4 cells, killing them in the process.

This process continues until eventually the number of CD4 cells, also called your CD4 count, drops so low that your immune system stops working.

This process may take up to 10 years, during which time you’ll feel and appear well.

Page last reviewed: 22 April 2021 Next review due: 22 April 2024

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Ways Hiv Can Be Transmitted

How is HIV passed from one person to another?

Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment . But there are powerful tools that can help prevent HIV transmission.

Can I get HIV from anal sex?

You can get HIV if you have anal sex with someone who has HIV without using protection .

• Anal sex is the riskiest type of sex for getting or transmitting HIV.
• Being the receptive partner is riskier for getting HIV than being the insertive partner .
• The bottoms risk of getting HIV is very high because the rectums lining is thin and may allow HIV to enter the body during anal sex.
• The top is also at risk because HIV can enter the body through the opening at the tip of the penis , the foreskin if the penis isnt circumcised, or small cuts, scratches, or open sores anywhere on the penis.

Can I get HIV from vaginal sex?

You can get HIV if you have vaginal sex with someone who has HIV without using protection .

Can HIV be transmitted from a mother to her baby?

HIV can be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. However, it is less common because of advances in HIV prevention and treatment.

Can I get HIV from sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment?

You are at high risk for getting HIV if you with someone who has HIV. Never share needles or other equipment to inject drugs, hormones, steroids, or silicone.

When And Where Did Hiv Start In Humans

Studies of some of the earliest known samples of HIV provide clues about when it first appeared in humans and how it evolved. The first verified case of HIV is from a blood sample taken in 1959 from a man living in what is now Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sample was retrospectively analysed and HIV detected. There are numerous earlier cases where patterns of deaths from common opportunistic infections, now known to be AIDS-defining, suggest that HIV was the cause, but this is the earliest incident where a blood sample can verify infection.9

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How Can I Make Sure I Dont Give Hiv To Anyone During Sex

If you find out that you have HIV, try to stay calm. People living with HIV can have normal, healthy relationships and sex lives. But its important to take precautions to help your partner stay HIV-free.

There are a few ways that you can avoid giving HIV to other people:

• Always use condoms when you have vaginal and anal sex.

• Start treatment for HIV as soon as possible, and keep taking your HIV medicine. When you take it correctly, HIV treatment can lower or even stop your chances of spreading the virus to your sexual partners .

• Theres a daily pill your partner can take to lower the risk of getting HIV, called PrEP.

• Dont share needles for shooting drugs, piercings, or tattoos.

• Get tested and treated for other STDs besides HIV regularly. Having other STDs makes it easier for you to spread HIV to others.

If you test positive for HIV, its important to tell your sexual partners about it so they can be tested, too. Even if youre really careful to not spread HIV, be honest with your future partners about your status so you can both be informed and help each other stay healthy. Read more about talking with your partners about HIV.

How Do People Get Hiv From A Mani Pedi Salon

Although HIV transmission from menicure is very low, one must also be careful that mani pedi devices that are not properly sterilized can transmit HIV or hepatitis C.

The risk of transmission is greater if a person has wounds, or other skin damage.

To prevent transmission from the salon should care salon equipment properly, such as using hot water and antibacterial soap, then sterilize the appliance by soaking it in hot water or wiping the equipment using alco**hol.

Thank you very much for reading How Do People Get HIV: Myths and Facts, hopefully useful.

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Hiv Diagnosis And ‘window Period’

You wonât know if you have HIV right after youâre infected. It takes time for your body to make antibodies and for antigens to show up.

The âwindow periodâ is the time between when you might have been exposed to HIV and a test can tell for sure you have it. This varies from person to person and test to test. Your testing counselor can tell you more about the window period for the test youâre taking. Here are some general guidelines:

An antibody test can detect HIV 23 to 90 days after youâre exposed to the virus. The window for a test that uses blood from a vein is faster than one that uses oral fluid or blood from a finger stick.

An antigen/antibody test done in a lab on blood from a vein can detect HIV infection within 18 to 45 days. It takes longer if the testâs done with blood from a finger stick.

A nucleic acid test usually has the shortest window: 10 to 33 days. This test is not generally used to diagnose HIV infection unless you have symptoms and a history that suggest you were infected only a few days ago.

If you have a negative test and werenât exposed to the virus during the window period for that test, you can be certain you didnât have HIV when you were tested.

The CDC recommends that all adults have an HIV test at least once, even if theyâre not at risk. If your risk is higher — for example, you have multiple sex partners or use needles for drugs — you should be tested every year.

Is Hiv And Aids An Occupational Concern

Where ever there is the possibility of contact with blood in the workplace, workers should take precautions to prevent contact with the skin, eyes or mucous membranes .

Routine Practices are recommended to prevent the spread of HIV in the workplace. Routine practices are based on the principle that all blood, body fluids, secretions, and excretions except sweat, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes, unless they contain visible blood, may contain transmissible infectious agents. Steps involve using protective clothing such as gloves, gowns or aprons, masks and protective eye wear when dealing with peoples blood and other blood-contaminated body fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions. They also do not apply to saliva except in dentistry where saliva is likely to be contaminated with blood.

Hand washing after contact with blood, blood-contaminated body fluids and soiled items is also recommended to reduce the risk of infection.

The best approach to most diseases is to prevent their occurrence occupationally-related diseases are no exception. In the case of HIV, prevention is the only cure.

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How Often Should A Man Get Tested

Sexually active men should get routine tests for HIV.

Men who are sexually active should get tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime as part of their routine health care.

The CDC recommend that everyone between the ages of should take an HIV test.

The CDC also recommend that people with specific risk factors should take a test at least once a year . This recommendation applies to gay and bisexual men, and men who have sex with men, and users of injectable drugs.

Besides these formal recommendations, everyone who may have been exposed to HIV or had sex without a condom should also take a test.