Massive propaganda has reached its goal - today everyone and everyone (at least if we talk about people in society) knows what AIDS and HIV are. Once again, talking about the symptoms and consequences of this disease ... really, is unnecessary. But it’s worth listing the ways of transmitting HIV infection , if only because even existing, and quite strong, knowledge doesn’t save society from phobia. Fear is still strong in people, and not of abstract infection, but of concrete contact with those who are already infected. Not everyone is able to simply communicate with an HIV-infected person at ease , not to mention shaking hands. Therefore, this topic will be relevant for a long time, and it is too early to slow down the pace of preventive work. But if earlier the emphasis in it was to talk about how you can get infected with HIV, then now the emphasis should be shifted, changing "you can" to "not." In the name of deliverance from fear. And for the sake of those who are no different from everyone else, except for the diagnosis of HIV-positive.
Do not count studies conducted around the world, but all of their results are reduced to a single denominator: there are only three ways of transmitting HIV infection, the rest is nothing more than delusions, myths and artificially created sensations. Infection is possible either through sexual contact, or vertical (that is, from mother to baby), or parenteral (through blood, transplanted organs, injections). The implementation of the mechanisms of transmission of the pathogen may be different - we will talk about this now - but these will be the same three already mentioned ways of HIV transmission, the fourth and subsequent ones do not exist.
According to statistics, 86 percent of infections occur through sexual contact, of which 71 percent are heterosexual and 15 percent homosexual. And although not every sexual act with an HIV-positive partner will necessarily lead to infection, this route of infection is the most common. At the same time, using a condom reduces the risk to nothing.
The vertical route - HIV infection in newborns - can occur both in utero and during childbirth, and subsequently during breastfeeding.
In the last quarter of the last century, cases were often recorded when patients were infected in medical institutions by blood transfusion. However, the modern control system also reduced this risk to almost zero. Therefore, the transmission of HIV through the blood is mainly the use of a common syringe by drug addicts and infection through a razor blade or manicure items contaminated with blood. However, the latter method is purely theoretical, since there is no documentary evidence of infections through a razor or scissors.
On this, all possible ways of HIV transmission are exhausted. Although the virus can be found in all biological fluids, its concentration in urine, sweat, saliva and tears is extremely low, insufficient for infection. Therefore, it is impossible to “catch” HIV infection neither by airborne droplets - like flu and other respiratory diseases - either by food or water. Not just handshakes and hugs, but even kisses are completely safe in this regard.
Judge for yourself: not a single dentist in the world was infected through the patient’s saliva, not a single lab worker who examined the urine and feces of patients was infected. No matter how many family members of HIV-positive people were examined, they never revealed a case of transmission by domestic means - not through a washcloth or towel, or through bedding, or through dishes, or through a toilet seat, or through any other household contact.
Just remember: in no other way than unprotected sex, you can not get infected from an HIV-infected person. So feel free to reach out to him!