In about a year and a half I might be going to Zambia to work with HIV/AIDS orphans. Since I know nothing about STDs what are the chances of me catching them and how would I catch them?
STDs - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Gee, I guess that depends on how much you have unprotected sex...?
2 :
HIV/AIDS is not only caught through sex but also by exchanging of bodily fluids i.e. saliva, tears etc. But even so the chances are supposed to be extremely low
3 :
ive asked that question once. you dont get it by masturbation, although theres a chance you can in mutual masturbation. that involes 2 persons. if you have sex with a virus positive person, then youre cooked. sharing needles. drugs. wtf.
4 :
Then you have a year and a half to educate yourself. Yahoo Answers is not a suitable source of factual information for this type of situation. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/ http://www.avert.org/aids-zambia.htm http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/Countries/africa/zambia.html
5 :
Depends on the kind of sex, what genders are involved, and who's harboring the infection. In general, unprotected heterosexual vaginal intercourse has a low transmission rate (in the neighborhood of 1/300-1/1000 chance of infection per act of intercourse). Females are more readily infected by male partners than males are infected by female partners (aka easier to transmit the virus from male->female than female->male). Unprotected anal intercourse (male-male or male-female) significantly increases the infection rate (1/10 to 1/100 infection risk per act of intercourse are commonly reported). There is some thought that transfer of infected macrophages is required to transmit the infection, and that transmission of free virions alone is not sufficient or less effective in establishing new infection (which may account for the relatively low transmission rates). Lot of work going on here right now. http://www.whfhhc.com/HIV/44466.htm
6 :
I'd say they are very slim unless you have unprotected sex while there. Sounds like a very good cause and should be a real adventure at the same time. I'm also sure that whomever you will be working with will educate you on precautions and risk regarding HIV/AIDS. Good luck with your work experience.
7 :
First lets talk about the routes of infection by HIV/AIDS. It can be transferred by sexual intercourse. The person who would be most likely to get HIV from intercourse is which ever partner is the receiver due to the friction of intercourse on the mucous membrane(anus or vagina)So I would avoid having sex if you want to be safe from that route, if you do have sex wear a condom but thats not 100% safe. The next major route is through blood to blood contact. That being said anytime you come into contact with any kind of blood other than your own you should be wearing gloves. This is called Body Substance Isolation. Now lets say you do get some blood with HIV on your skin. Want to hear how simple it is to get rid of? Warm water and soap. HIV is one of the easiest diseases to prevent. If you were to have a direct blood to blood contact I would recommend the first action you take to pour hydrogen peroxide on the cut. It is a great antiseptic. Then immediately seek medical attention. They can give you some shots of interferon that if taken early enough can reduce the risk of infection even if some infected blood were to enter your blood stream. Saliva is another mode of infection although it is much rarer than the other two. Just don't share food or drink and you'll be fine. The amount of HIV harbored by the salvia is minimal. The best thing you can do is always carry a pair or two of gloves. Use them anytime you would come into contact with a bodily fluid.
8 :
Most of the people here do not know what they are talking about. HIV is ONLY transmitted by unprotected vaginal/anal sex, from mother to child, from blood transfusion and from sharing IV for drugs. I am ABSOLUTELY surprised by the one of the comment that says it is transmitted by tear. If you do not have any unprotected sexual encounter there, you will not catch HIV. HIV is not transmitted by casual contacts and not transmitted by environmental surfaces. Before you go, talk to your family doctor and he/she will tell you what to do. Most probably he/she will repeat the same things that I told you. Good luck in Africa. Must be very interesting to be there!
9 :
You see its all right you can get it from ONLY contacting with bodily fluids. Saliva and tears are not enough to infect.But blood,semen and vaginal fluids need only 1-2 drops to get you infected and well the timer will be ticking. If you won't contact their blood,semen,vaginal fluid then your fine. And NO CONDOM DOSENT HELP THERE IS A 20% CHANCE CONDOM CAN RIP OR BREAK.
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