Are You at Risk for HIV? Are You at Risk for HIV?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you should get tested:
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Have you shared needles or syringes to inject drugs or steroids? |
Have you ever had unprotected sex of any kind? |
If you are a male, have you had unprotected sex with other males? |
Have you had unprotected sex with someone who has HIV? |
Have you had a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? |
Have you received a blood transfusion or clotting factor from 1978 to 1985? |
Have you had unprotected sex with someone who would answer yes to any of the above questions? |
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If you have had sex with someone whose history of risk-taking behavior is unknown to you or if you or they may have had many sex partners, then you have increased the chances that you might be HIV infected. |
Need More Information?
Many people infected with HIV have no symptoms and have not been tested. If you have unprotected sex with one of them, you put yourself in danger. Also, the more sex partners you have, the greater your chances of encountering one or more who are infected and of becoming infected yourself. The only sure way to avoid infection through sex is to abstain from sex or engage in sex only with someone who is not infected and only has sex with you. Latex condoms have been shown to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. But you have to use condoms correctly EVERY TIME you have sex - vaginal, anal, or oral. Condoms made of polyurethane should also be highly effective. Condoms made of lambskin, however, do not offer good protection.
If you have concerns about anything that may have put you at risk for HIV PLEASE GET TESTED
You can get HIV from having sex.
HIV can be spread through sex, from male to male, male to female, female to male, and from female to female.
HIV is sexually transmitted, and HIV is not the only infection that is passed through intimate sexual contact. Other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, and chlamydia, can also be contracted through anal, vaginal, and oral sex. If you have one of these STDs and engage in sexual behaviors that can transmit HIV, you are at greater risk of getting infected with HIV.
HIV can be transmitted through contact with an infected person's
blood, semen, vaginal secretions, or breast milk.
HIV can enter the body through cuts or sores in the skin. HIV can also enter the body through the moist lining of the vagina, penis, rectum, or even the mouth, in which case cuts and sores in these areas greatly increase the risk of infection. Some of these cuts or sores are so small you may not even know they're there. Anal intercourse with an infected person is one of the ways HIV has been most frequently transmitted. Other forms of sexual intercourse, including oral sex, can spread it as well. During oral sex, a person who takes semen, blood, or vaginal secretions into their mouth is at risk of becoming infected.
Again, the only sure way to avoid infection through sex is to abstain from sex or engage in sex only with someone who is not infected and only has sex with you. Latex condoms have been shown to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. But to prevent HIV infection you have to use condoms correctly EVERY TIME you have any type of sex - vaginal, anal, or oral.
