HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It is transmitted from one person to the other by entering the body then the blood stream. The HIV virus mutates the cells that protect the immune system. When the immune system is compromised to the point of it being unable to ward off infections, it is then AIDS. People who have HIV/AIDS are often stereotyped. Often, people are afraid of them, because they are uneducated on how the HIV virus is spread. It is important to know how you can and cannot get the virus.
How You Can Get HIV
You can get the HIV virus by having unprotected sex with a partner who is infected. This includes vaginal sex, anal sex, and oral sex. The virus is also transmitted from one person to the other by sharing needles that are unclean and have been used by someone who is positive for HIV. This is common among drug users. Babies can also be born with the virus if the mother is HIV positive; however, there are now drugs that she can take during pregnancy that can reduce the chance of the child being born with HIV. Another way HIV can be transmitted is through unsterile needles used during the application of a tattoo or piercing. If the equipment is used on someone who is HIV positive, and then used on another person without the equipment being sterilized, HIV can be transmitted.
How You Cannot Get HIV
You cannot get HIV from kissing. Though the virus is present in saliva, there isn’t enough to cause transmission. The only way it could be passed on by kissing is if both partners had open sores or bleeding gums. No one has contracted the virus by drinking or eating after someone with HIV. The virus cannot live outside the body. This is why it also can’t be transmitted in swimming pools, showers, or shared musical instruments. There is also no evidence to prove that we can get the virus through insect bites. The virus cannot live inside of an insect. The virus is not transmittable through sneezing or coughing either. Again, it cannot live outside of the body.
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