The HIV Megathread

[Wobblier]

Welcome to the HIV megathread!

This thread will be used to discuss all kinds of HIV related topics such as:

- What is HIV?
- WHO disease staging system for HIV infection and disease

- How HIV is transmitted(2)
- Can you get HIV through kissing?(2)
- Can you get HIV through oral sex?(2)
- Probabilities of HIV transmission (2)(3)(4) (5)(6)
- Reducing Risk (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) (8 )(9)(10)(11)
- Needle Exchange Locations (US)(2)

-How risky is risky sex? HIV, condoms and the PARTNER study Video

- Am I infected?
- HIV anxiety linked to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (2) (3) (4)

- When to get tested (2) (3)
- Dealing with a positive result
- Attitude (optimism)
- Life expectancy (2) (3)
- Disclosure. Who, why, when, how? (2)
-HIV Disclosure To Children
- Relationships
- Family
- Sero-concordant
- Sero-discordance
- Blame
- Stigma (2) (3)
- Serophobia(2)
- Personal stories
- Blogs
- Forums (2)
- HIV and Me (Documentary)

- HIV Life Cycle (Animation)
- HIV Replication Steps (Animation)
- How HIV reproduces in your body (Animation)
- Seroconversion (2)

- Hepatitis C (2) (3) (4) (5)(6)
- Co infection (2)
- STIs (2) (3) (4)(5)

- Anti retro-viral drugs available (2) (3)
- When to start treatment
- What drugs will work for you?
- How some drugs work (Reverse-Transcriptase-Inhibitors) (Animation)
- Possible side effects
- Drug Interaction Charts (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)
- Adherence (Time zone changes)
- Vitamins, Minerals and Herbal Supplements (2)
- PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) (2) (3)(4)(5)
- PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis) (2)(3)

- CD4 & Viral Load, the basics
- Undetectible Viral Load (2)

- Living with HIV
- Mental Health
- Healthy living

- Can HIV+ people have children? (2) (3)
- Conceiving Naturally(2)
- Sperm washing

- Insurance
- Travel
- Travel insurance

- Criminalization (2)(3)(4)
- Discrimination, know your rights
- Law(2) (3)
- HIV Is Not a Crime, 2011 Film by Sean Strub

- Non documentary films and documentary style films

- HIV and drug culture (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
- Injecting drug users(2)
- Getting High on HIV Medication (Documentary)
- Efavirenz: New starting point for 5-HT2a agonists
- Slamming parties and the possible link to HIV

- HIV 'then' and HIV 'now'
- Infographic: HIV/AIDS—Then and Now

- Myths debunked(2)

- Living Beyond Loss

- Functional cure / future cure:
VISCONTI study;
Berlin patient;
American baby;(2)
DAVEI;
stem-cells;
DNA Scissors;
Genetic Engineering;
New weakness found in HIV;
CCR5 Gene Therapy Milestone;
[url=http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/hiv-undetectable-two-patients-following-cancer-treatment]Bone marrow transplants / CCR5 gene;
CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology;
Vaccine;
Proteins[/url] (etc.).

-Stand Tall

.HIV

General Links:
http://www.bhiva.org/
http://www.tht.org.uk/
http://www.aides.org/
http://www.thebody.com/
http://www.aidsmap.com/
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/
http://www.poz.com/
http://www.thelancet.com/themed/hiv-aids-2013
http://www.gmhc.org/
http://www.reddit.com/r/hivaids/
http://www.reddit.com/r/hepc/
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/439371/UFC-HIV-awareness-campaign/
Awareness Days (2)

The USA Center for Disease Control’s AIDS hotline is 1-800-342-2437.

The UK national AIDS helpline is 0800 567 123, there is an ethnic languages service available on 0800 917 2227.

The definitive list of Australian AIDS organisations can be found at http://www.medicalonline.com.au/medi.../resources.htm - there are toll-free numbers included in the list.

AID Atlanta
(404) 872-0600 www.aidatianta.org

AIDS Project Los Angeles (323) 993-1500 www.apia.org

Gay City, Seattle (206) 860-6969 www.gaycity.org

Gay Life, San Francisco AIDS Foundation
(415) 788-LIFE www.gaylife.org

Gay Men's Health Crisis New York City
(212) 367-1000 www.gmhc.org

National AIDS Hotline
English: (800) 342-2437 Spanish: (800) 344-7432

Stop AIDS Project, San Francisco
(415) 575-0150 www.stopaids.org

Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations (2) 221 2955

Eire (AIDS Helpline, Dublin) (1) 872 4277

France (AIDS Ftdtration Nationale)
(1) 53 26 26 26

Germany (Deutsche AIDS-HILFE) (30) 69 00 87-42

Dutch HIV Association (20) 685 0055

Sad-Schorer
(20) 662 4206

Terence Higgins Trust Helpline 0171 242 1010

UK National AIDS Helpline 0800 567 123

National AIDS Helpline (Northern Ireland) 0800 137 437

This thread is very much a work in progress. Let us if you have ideas for improving this thread.

 

[Foreigner]

Of those questions, which are the most pressing for you?

As the OP, being a little more specific can help get this topic off the ground.

 

[Wobblier]

^ Thanks, good point

They are very inter-changeable and subjective per person time and situation.

Currently, today, I am going to have some major dental work. Should I disclose my HIV status to the dentist? In a foreign country with very slight deportation concerns.

I have also been PM'ed (I haven't replied yet BL time restrictions) 'Can you get HIV through oral sex?'

(So people are obviously looking for information, maybe Bluelighters can help?)

So there's three:

- Disclosure
- HIV laws per country
- Can you get HIV through oral sex?

I don't have all the information and I don't want to give out any misinformation so I thought I would open this up to a general discussion on BL. More sources the better. I a kind of 'mega thread' in a sense, for example the DMT mega thread has people posting everything regarding DMT which is not always specific. Maybe this could also help create sub -threads of varying degrees of specification? Or maybe it just isn't much of a concern to Bluelighter's, we'll soon see.

Harm reduction and risk reduction (and possible life-style restrictions etc.) are key.

Thanks

 

[Foreigner]

Currently, today, I am going to have some major dental work. Should I disclose my HIV status to the dentist? In a foreign country with very slight deportation concerns.

Dental workers should be taking every precaution to prevent exposure to themselves, including wearing gloves and following clean field protocol. The chances of a dental worker having a needle-stick injury or something like it are low. If a needle-stick injury does happen, it's the health care provider's responsibility to ask you your status to assess their own risk.

If there is legal risk to you once you reveal your status, then I wouldn't volunteer the information unless the provider has somehow been exposed to your blood.

I have also been PM'ed (I haven't replied yet BL time restrictions) 'Can you get HIV through oral sex?'

If the oral mucosa is in tact and there's no exposed lesions or sores in the oral tract, then the chances are low. You should not have oral sex within 30-60 minutes of brushing your teeth because brush bristles can create micro-tears in the gums, allowing viruses in.

I know someone who contracted HIV orally because they gave oral sex while there was a cut on their lip, and exposure to semen infected them. Speaking personally, I would not perform unprotected oral sex on someone with HIV because I have no way of knowing if my entire mouth is 100% free of micro-lessions. Viruses are way, way smaller than even the tiniest tear in the oral lining.

I don't have all the information and I don't want to give out any misinformation so I thought I would open this up to a general discussion on BL. More sources the better. I a kind of 'mega thread' in a sense, for example the DMT mega thread has people posting everything regarding DMT which is not always specific. Maybe this could also help create sub -threads of varying degrees of specification? Or maybe it just isn't much of a concern to Bluelighter's, we'll soon see.

An HIV megathread that answers any and all questions is a good idea. Sub-threads are not necessary.

 

[ilikestims]

The odds it will be transmitted (vaginal and anal, top versus bottom)

 

[Wobblier]

Thank you Foreigner you seem very well informed.

Do you have any questions you would like to add, anything you would like to share or do you find specific areas which most people find complicated/confusing/tricky/misinformed/interesting? If so what would these be? - again trying to spark discussion. Thanks

ilikestim, sorry I am not sure if I understand, can you expand on that please?

Here's another question regarding insurance:

To work in some foreign countries, some companies want you to use their health insurance (once you have arrive and accepted the job) which sometime includes a HIV test. This in a country with no discrimination laws.

How would you handle this situation? What are your thoughts?

 

[Maya]

Hi Wobblier, I wanted to reply to your thread earlier today but it was extremely busy at work so I did not get a chance.

I must admit that I was one of the many who was scared of HIV. I really like this thread because it brings not only awareness but the misconceptions most people have regarding the disease. Through educating people, preventative measures and precautions we will have a better understanding of HIV.

If the oral mucosa is in tact and there's no exposed lesions or sores in the oral tract, then the chances are low. You should not have oral sex within 30-60 minutes of brushing your teeth because brush bristles can create micro-tears in the gums, allowing viruses in.

I know someone who contracted HIV orally because they gave oral sex while there was a cut on their lip, and exposure to semen infected them. Speaking personally, I would not perform unprotected oral sex on someone with HIV because I have no way of knowing if my entire mouth is 100% free of micro-lessions. Viruses are way, way smaller than even the tiniest tear in the oral lining.

I am also aware of what Foreigner mentioned about the transmission of HIV through oral sex. Likewise, I would also not perform oral sex on someone with HIV, not only because of being unsure if I have a cut in my mouth or lip I am unaware of but I am an extremely hypochondriac and I know for sure that this will drive me insane.

With regards to the criminal law in Canada where I reside, it is a criminal offence to transmit or expose another person to HIV through unprotected sex.

http://www.aidslaw.ca/EN/issues/criminal_law.htm

I would also like to share this link about the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that some people with low levels of HIV who use condoms during sex do not need to disclose their condition to sexual partners. The news is from 2012 but I think this is still valuable information:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/10/05/supreme-court-hiv-ruling.html

I have always known that HIV could be contracted through sharing needles, unprotected sex and blood transfusion which I believe has been mentioned on books and other articles on the web.

My question for now is: For the person who is infected with HIV, what are the precautions/care he/she should take for the disease to not progress to AIDS?

In addition to this, I believe it is also important to share news and related articles about future vaccines/cure that are being studied to fight HIV:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html

 

[Wobblier]

Hi Wobblier, I wanted to reply to your thread earlier today but it was extremely busy at work so I did not get a chance.

I must admit that I was one of the many who was scared of HIV. I really like this thread because it brings not only awareness but the misconceptions most people have regarding the disease. Through educating people, preventative measures and precautions will be included on this thread and how to manage the diseases as well through medication.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html

Thanks Maya, as you said 'preventative measures and precautions and managing the disease’ is key. At risk of sounding cheesy, if this thread helps at least one person then it has been worth it (you can find some interesting, non-judgmental people in the drug culture and on BL)

I am also aware of what Foreigner mentioned about the transmission of HIV through oral sex. Likewise, I would also not perform oral sex on someone with HIV, not only because of being unsure if I have a cut in my mouth or lip I am unaware of but I am an extremely hypochondriac and I know for sure that this will drive me insane.

I hear you. If I was HIV- I would go out of my mind the weeks and months following giving someone who is HIV+ oral sex, even though I know the facts and know its extremely low risk. I have enough paranoia and O.C.D to have anything else playing round my head.

Personally I can only give out the information I have been told: Two UK nurses and one doctor have said to me more than once that oral sex is fine, the risk is too low to count.

My HIV doctor in south east Asia is against unprotected oral sex, but then she is even against heavy kissing for someone who is HIV+ and not on meds.

My friend in Paris who is the manager director of a leading HIV charity / company says oral sex is completely fine.

My friend who has had HIV for 10+ years (and has just given birth to a beautiful little girl) says oral sex is fine.

So basically I would not like to say. It is down to the person but no one should feel pressured to do anything they don't want.

Also there are ways to reduce risk (and therefore stress). If the person who is HIV+ and has been on meds for a month or more, then chances are their VL (viral load) will be extremely low to non-detectible, so the risk of being infected is even less (they should know their VL and CD4 through tests made 2 -4 times a year*). This is one way I believe HIV+ men and HIV- women can have children naturally, without a condom, without the man passing HIV on to the woman*

Also if the condom breaks you can go to A and E and get some PEP drugs which will more than likely stop the virus. If this is in a country with harsh criminalisation laws then the HIV+ person might be too fearful and not disclose hoping the HIV was not passed on.

It is easiest to pass on HIV when it is in its beginning phase that is sero-converstion (when a person first gets HIV). In the first 1-3 months, the the viral load sky rockets. Some people argue that to rid the world of HIV all we need to really do is stop everyone in the world from having sex for the same 1-3 months at the same time. lol

Also my friend in Paris showed me an excellent, brand new ground breaking study that they have launched. That is they are giving Prep drugs (tenofovir) to high risk people (men who have sex with men and injecting drug users) who are HIV NEGATIVE. Studies have shown (I advise you do your own research if needs be) that this can radically reduce the risk of getting HIV.

What would happen is: a person who is going to take part in ‘risky behaviour’ (normally unprotected homosexual anal sex) and is HIV NEGATIVE. Then that person would take two tablets of tenofovir the day before and then one tablet for three days after the ‘risky activity’.

This is ground-breaking stuff and some studies have shown that % wise this can be safer than condoms. Condoms only being 85% safe (I think I forget the figures). Obviously the more safety precautions used the better (Prep, PEP, condoms, dental dams, female condoms, effective lubricant etc.) and obviously more research is needed (so please don't stop using condoms).

HIV home testing kits are available to buy in pharmacies in the UK and one day who knows maybe tenofovir (or who knows what meds) will be available, maybe even available in toilets in pubs and bars like Condom machines lol
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18700121

http://www.aidslaw.ca/EN/issues/criminal_law.htm[/url]
[/url]

Canada is surprisingly draconian in its views on HIV criminalisation.

‘...people living with HIV to disclose their HIV status before engaging in behaviours that risk transmitting HIV.' - From the site you referenced.

First, what is deemed 'risky', there are too many variables, which will result in people getting hurt.

'..people with low levels of HIV..'

What is 'low levels'. These levels can sometimes change per day if not hour. I can see the court cases now, getting into the semantics of 0.0001% per cubic ml etc.. Sounds like a nightmare.

Anyway studies have shown this is very counterproductive. Criminalizing HIV in this way, results in a more rapid spread of HIV. It pushes it underground where it explodes. Think of it like this: if you do not get tested and do not know you are HIV+ then you can NOT be prosecuted.

Criminalization like this only makes people not get tested and getting tested and prevention is key in stopping the spread of HIV.

It could be worst America has only just stopped HIV segregation in Jails.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/04/13/...olina-stop-segregating-hiv-positive-prisoners

Or even worse: Have you heard the news about what’s happened in Greece? The police have rounded up sex workers and forced them to have HIV tests and if they test if positive they have thrown them in jail. So sad (a bullish, not thought out, over reaction to Greece having no money for drugs in general).

http://www.hivjustice.net/news/gree...workers-drug-users-and-undocumented-migrants/

In the UK you do not have to disclose unless the condom breaks. Same in most of Europe now and it will be a GBH offense not a murder/manslaughter charge, if HIV passes over to someone else and they do not disclose.

Police also need to be trained how to act in these situations, false accusations among others.

My question for now is: For the person who is infected with HIV, what are the precautions/care he/she should take for the disease to not progress to AIDS?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html

HIV medication (HARRT), that is all. Then on top of that all the usual things to improve your health and life expectancy: Don't smoke, eat healthy, vitamins and exercise, which is the same for everyone.

Would anyone else like to add to this please?

Also it depends on what the country classes as AIDS. Some countries say if your CD4 drops below 200 then you are classed as having AIDS, even if you are walking around perfectly normal and are fine.

So we need to be careful. Not many people are able to have a rational conversation when it comes to the word (or acronym) AIDS (and HIV). When you hear the word AIDS in most peoples minds you think of a image of a skeletal man, sick dying in a hospital bed. In a lot of cases this is clearly not the case.

Governments and countries are constantly changing the definitions of AIDS (no one really knows what it is), [url=http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/staying-healthy-with-hiv-aids/potential-related-health-problems/opportunistic-infections/]it is a list of diseases and this list changes in size and it is also the CD4% number which changes in size per country and per time.[/url]

Why do governments keep changing this? Some people say it is linked to funding etc. The more people caught in the AIDS 'net' and classed as having AIDS the greater the outcry and funding.

‘Nobody should have to die of HIV with early diagnosis and free access to care and anti-retroviral drugs’.
http://www.bhiva.org/documents/Confe...lance/P134.pdf (the only website recommended by doctor)


I read somewhere that HIV+ people can burn 10% more energy than 'normal' people doing nothing, just fighting the disease so should eat more and a non-protein diet is not advised. Also, I have read that they need more vitamins. I am not 100% on this. Can anyone add to this please?*

http://aids.about.com/od/hivaidsletterh/g/haartdef.htm

In addition to this, I believe it is also important to share news and related articles about future vaccines/cure that are being studied to fight HIV:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html

Great news :D

*

Does anyone please have any information regarding having children. In my case if the man is HIV+ and the women is HIV-? What are the options, risks and costs etc.?

Also does anyone please have any more information/views regarding HIV+ people’s dietary recommendations, including vitamin intake?

Also how often should a HIV+ person get their VL (viral load) and CD4 checked?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Stay safe

 

[Maya]

I found this article while searching for news/articles about having children while infected with HIV:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mississippi-baby-born-hiv-functionally-cured-doctors/story?id=18645410

It says on the article that the doctors started on antiretroviral treatment (AZT, 3TC, nevirapine) about 30 hours after birth. Now the baby is cured and has been off the drugs for about a year.

 

[Wobblier]

I found this article while searching for news/articles about having children while infected with HIV:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mississippi-baby-born-hiv-functionally-cured-doctors/story?id=18645410

It says on the article that the doctors started on antiretroviral treatment (AZT, 3TC, nevirapine) about 30 hours after birth. Now the baby is cured and has been off the drugs for about a year.

Wow Thanks Maya, you are a diamond, that's great!

check this one out (it really is exciting times): http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/aids-hiv-vaccine-western-university_n_3865059.html

My friend who is HIV+ has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. The baby is HIV- due to the mother changing her med's and the fact that the baby has its own blood source in the womb and they gave the baby anti-retro-viral med's when she was born, just in case.

However, I am HIV+ and my girlfriend is HIV-. One day we would like to have children. Does anyone have any experience with this? Sperm washing (how its done etc?) or any other methods and advice please?

 

[Foreigner]

The odds it will be transmitted (vaginal and anal, top versus bottom)

The person on the receiving end of unprotected sex is always at higher risk. Anal sex is riskier than vaginal because the tissues of the anal canal are not naturally lubricated and micro-tears form easily, which will let the virus in. However, the friction of sex can create micro-tears in the penis whether it's vaginal or anal sex, and this can expose the top to infection as well.

Wow Thanks Maya, you are a diamond, that's great!

check this one out (it really is exciting times): http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/aids-hiv-vaccine-western-university_n_3865059.html

My friend who is HIV+ has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. The baby is HIV- due to the mother changing her med's and the fact that the baby has its own blood source in the womb and they gave the baby anti-retro-viral med's when she was born, just in case.

However, I am HIV+ and my girlfriend is HIV-. One day we would like to have children. Does anyone have any experience with this? Sperm washing (how its done etc?) or any other methods and advice please?

Sperm washing is the process of separating the sperm cells from the seminal fluid. The latter is what contains HIV, the sperm cells themselves do not. The washed sperm are then deposited directly into the uterus and natural fertilization occurs. It's done when the man is HIV+. Even if the woman is HIV+ it would be a good idea to do this because there are different sub-strains of HIV and not all of them can be treated with medication yet, so it's possible for one HIV+ person to "re-infect" another HIV+ person, but with a different strain. AFAIK the sperm washing technique is a guarantee that the woman won't get HIV.

Aside from that, HIV medications have a much higher success rate these days. In cases where the viral load has been reduced to undetectable levels and sero-conversion is high, it might be possible to conceive naturally, but you'd have to get the advice of a specialist about that one.

 

[L2R]

a friend of mine recently contracted HIV. he's very active and promiscuous, but very cautious with his safety. despite being protected, it happened anyway. the interesting part is, they did some tests on his skin around there and found the entry point to be a pimple nearby, and upon hearing this he recalled feeling an unusual burning sensation on it at the time.

my friend is actually his normal and very cheerful self. this turn of events seems to have upset us, his friends, more than him. he's confident that with modern treatment, it will hardly affect his quality of life.

 

[Maya]

a friend of mine recently contracted HIV. he's very active and promiscuous, but very cautious with his safety. despite being protected, it happened anyway. the interesting part is, they did some tests on his skin around there and found the entry point to be a pimple nearby, and upon hearing this he recalled feeling an unusual burning sensation on it at the time.

my friend is actually his normal and very cheerful self. this turn of events seems to have upset us, his friends, more than him. he's confident that with modern treatment, it will hardly affect his quality of life.

There are actually people who have had HIV for years and managed the disease, I think Magic Johnson was eventually cured. I am curious, where was the pimple, and I find it odd that he contracted the disease when he was protected unless the condom broke...

 

[L2R]

on his ballsack.

 

[Maya]

Oh ic . I attended Pride last month and there were trucks where you can get tested and the results came back the same day. I'm really happy that Science is progressing over the years and doctors and scientists might discovere a faster cure hopefully not too far from now.

 

[RedRum OG]

i dont know anyone with HIV, surprising since i have a lot of junkie/ex junkie friends and exfriends.

however i have one question, just out of curiosity

wiki states that chances of getting HIV from different kind of sex is all in the single digits, and some not even a whole percent. even sharing needles was i think maybe 3%. how can this be true? are the chances of getting it way over hyped or is wiki incorrect? i feel if wiki was correct, a hell of a lot less people would have it.

 

[Maya]

I remember reading an article about a woman who was diagnosed with HIV and the only reason she found out is because she was pregnant and she had to do some blood tests. The father of her baby was sued because he infected other women but some of them were not infected. I think the immune system has something to do with this. The weaker the immune system the more susceptible to the virus. I'm going to try to find this article and post it

 

[Foreigner]

wiki states that chances of getting HIV from different kind of sex is all in the single digits, and some not even a whole percent. even sharing needles was i think maybe 3%. how can this be true? are the chances of getting it way over hyped or is wiki incorrect? i feel if wiki was correct, a hell of a lot less people would have it.

Could you quote exactly what you read?

 

[Maya]

Could you quote exactly what you read?

I browsed at the information on Wikipedia and I think that RedRum is pertaining to this chart:

Average per act risk of getting HIV
by exposure route to an infected source Exposure route Chance of infection
Blood transfusion 90%
Childbirth (to child) 25%
Needle-sharing injection drug use 0.67%
Percutaneous needle stick 0.30%
Receptive anal intercourse* 0.04–3.0%
Insertive anal intercourse* 0.03%
Receptive penile-vaginal intercourse* 0.05–0.30%
Insertive penile-vaginal intercourse* 0.01–0.38%
Receptive oral intercourse*§ 0–0.04%
Insertive oral intercourse*§ 0–0.005%
assuming no condom use
§ source refers to oral intercourse
performed on a man

Unfortunately I could not find the article I have read from years back regarding a mother-to-be who was infected by her partner, but I was able to find this link that contains the Facts about HIV and Aids:

http://www.csa.za.org/facts

It mentions on the webpage that there are only four body fluids that carry a sufficient amount of HIV to be infectious: blood, vaginal fluids, semen and breast milk. Breast milk has a lower amount of HIV than the others, but as babies are usually breast fed for months, this increases the risk. The article also includes how infection takes place by remembering the acronym SAD (sufficient quantity of the virus, Access to the bloodstream and duration of exposure.

 

[Wobblier]

Thanks for the sperm washing information Foreigner

a friend of mine recently contracted HIV. he's very active and promiscuous, but very cautious with his safety. despite being protected, it happened anyway. the interesting part is, they did some tests on his skin around there and found the entry point to be a pimple nearby, and upon hearing this he recalled feeling an unusual burning sensation on it at the time.

Other STI's for example herpies can increase the risk of transmission:

"What is the link between genital herpes and HIV?
Genital herpes can cause sores or breaks in the skin or mucous membranes (lining of the mouth, vagina, and rectum). The genital sores caused by herpes can bleed easily. When the sores come into contact with the mouth, vagina, or rectum during sex, they increase the risk of HIV transmission if either partner is HIV-infected."

http://www.drugs.com/acyclovir.html

wiki states that chances of getting HIV from different kind of sex is all in the single digits, and some not even a whole percent. even sharing needles was i think maybe 3%. how can this be true? are the chances of getting it way over hyped or is wiki incorrect? i feel if wiki was correct, a hell of a lot less people would have it.

I have also heard it's not the easiest of viruses to get compared to other viruses, but would you really want to risk it?

Thanks for the stats Maya, really interesting. I remember the nurse, saying the chances I have HIV are very low and produced a leaflet and quoted the figure 1- (in) so many thousand or tens of thousand, I forget, of not getting it even if the person I had sex with was HIV+.

I will see if I can dig out the stats she gave me.

But the test result came back positive. First time in my life I never used a condom (none at hand), spur of the moment thing, it was quick and wasn't even any good at the time too lol! (wish I knew about PEP at the time)

my friend is actually his normal and very cheerful self. this turn of events seems to have upset us, his friends, more than him. he's confident that with modern treatment, it will hardly affect his quality of life.

This is really interesting. How did he disclose to you guys and how did you feel, what was going through your head at the time?