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HIV transmission is not through saliva, sweat, touch, kisses, or mosquito bites. HIV can be transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, such as vaginal secretions or sperm during sexual activity, sharing needles and syringes
HIV or human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that attacks the immune system. HIV can be fatal if left untreated and can be contagious in certain circumstances. That is why it is important to know how HIV is transmitted, in order to prevent the transmission of this disease.
Knowing Various Ways of Transmission of HIV
Anyone can be infected with HIV, including babies born to mothers with HIV. Because, basically HIV transmission can occur through body fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk into a person's body.
These fluids can enter the body through the following methods:
1. Sex
HIV transmission can occur through unprotected sex, either through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. In addition, someone who likes to change sexual partners is also more at risk of getting HIV.
2. Use of syringe
HIV can be transmitted through needles contaminated with the blood of an HIV-infected person. Sharing needles or using used needles puts a person at risk of contracting diseases, including HIV.
3. Pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding
A mother with HIV who later becomes pregnant or breastfeeds is at high risk of transmitting HIV to her baby. For that, don't hesitate to consult a doctor if you are an HIV patient who is pregnant, so that the risk of transmitting HIV to the baby can be reduced.
In some cases, HIV transmission can also occur through blood transfusions. However, this incident is becoming increasingly rare because of the implementation of donor eligibility tests, including donors of blood, organs, or body tissues. With proper testing, recipients of blood donors have a lower risk of becoming infected with HIV.
Treating HIV Infection
Until now there is no medicine or vaccine that can prevent and cure HIV/AIDS infection. However, for people with HIV, there are efforts that can be made to control the infection, namely by taking antiretroviral drugs according to the dose recommended by the doctor.
Antiretroviral drugs will help suppress the activity of the virus in the body, so that people with HIV have hope to live longer, live he althier lives, and are able to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their partners.
Preventing HIV Transmission
There are several steps you can take to prevent HIV transmission, namely:
1. Use a condom every time you have sex
If you do not know your partner's HIV status, use a condom every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex. For women, you can use a female condom.
2. Avoid risky sexual behavior
In addition to not using condoms, anal sex is a sexual activity that has the highest risk of transmitting HIV. Perpetrators and recipients of anal sex are both at risk for contracting HIV, only recipients of anal sex are at higher risk.
Therefore, it is recommended to have safe sex and use condoms to prevent HIV transmission.
3. Use new needle
Needles can be used in various activities, such as piercing procedures, tattooing, and injecting drugs or vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine. To avoid transmitting HIV, make sure that the syringe used is a new, sterile syringe.
4. Perform pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
PrEP is a method of preventing HIV by taking antiretroviral drugs for those who are at high risk of contracting HIV, such as:
- People who have a partner who is HIV positive
- Injecting needle users are at risk
- People who frequently have unprotected sex
- People who are sexually active and have had a sexually transmitted disease in the last 6 months
Misunderstanding about HIV transmission and lack of knowledge about safe sex are some of the obstacles in HIV prevention and control.
You can consult directly with a doctor to get more information about HIV transmission and HIV-related early examination through the VCT method.
