How to Avoid HIV and AIDS
Understand how HIV works., Realize that most social interactions cannot spread HIV., Know how infection is transmitted.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Understand how HIV works.
HIV invades and destroys the T-cells or CD4 cells in the blood responsible for fighting off other viruses and bacteria, leaving the victim vulnerable to other infections and diseases.The HIV virus needs these T-cells in order to reproduce itself, and so cannot survive in areas without blood cells, such as skin or hair.
Someone who has been infected with HIV is referred to as "HIV positive" or "HIV+".
Someone with "AIDS" has lost almost all of their CD4 cells, or their immune system has been damaged enough that they are experiencing "opportunistic infections" or infection-related cancers. -
Step 2: Realize that most social interactions cannot spread HIV.
Speaking with or shaking hands with HIV+ people is completely harmless, so you do not need to worry whether anyone you meet has HIV.
The virus cannot survive in air, water, or most other substances outside of the human body, so sharing food, swimming in the same pool, or sharing a bathroom with an HIV+ person will not transmit an infection. , HIV is transmitted by certain bodily fluids, but not all of them.
They are: blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, breast milk and vaginal fluid.Any exposure to these fluids could result in acquiring HIV.
The following sections give you specific advice on how to avoid contact with these fluids in all situations, including sex.
Note that saliva or phlegm do not contain the virus.
This means that exposure is not possible through kissing, sneezing, or coughing, unless visible amounts of blood are mixed with the other bodily fluids.
Even then, transmission through brief contact is highly unlikely. -
Step 3: Know how infection is transmitted.
Detailed Guide
HIV invades and destroys the T-cells or CD4 cells in the blood responsible for fighting off other viruses and bacteria, leaving the victim vulnerable to other infections and diseases.The HIV virus needs these T-cells in order to reproduce itself, and so cannot survive in areas without blood cells, such as skin or hair.
Someone who has been infected with HIV is referred to as "HIV positive" or "HIV+".
Someone with "AIDS" has lost almost all of their CD4 cells, or their immune system has been damaged enough that they are experiencing "opportunistic infections" or infection-related cancers.
Speaking with or shaking hands with HIV+ people is completely harmless, so you do not need to worry whether anyone you meet has HIV.
The virus cannot survive in air, water, or most other substances outside of the human body, so sharing food, swimming in the same pool, or sharing a bathroom with an HIV+ person will not transmit an infection. , HIV is transmitted by certain bodily fluids, but not all of them.
They are: blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, breast milk and vaginal fluid.Any exposure to these fluids could result in acquiring HIV.
The following sections give you specific advice on how to avoid contact with these fluids in all situations, including sex.
Note that saliva or phlegm do not contain the virus.
This means that exposure is not possible through kissing, sneezing, or coughing, unless visible amounts of blood are mixed with the other bodily fluids.
Even then, transmission through brief contact is highly unlikely.
About the Author
Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Mitchell specializes in non profit and has been creating helpful content for over 12 years. Bobby is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
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