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Household methods of HIV infection. How do you get infected with HIV and AIDS? More information about your illness

HIV is a virus that deprives the human body of protection by destroying immune system. This disease became known in the 80s of the 20th century, when scientists found that an adult infected human HIV, the immune system became weak, like that of a newborn.

The disease is called AIDS - immune deficiency syndrome. The human immunodeficiency virus was officially announced in 1983.

The disease is now so widespread that it has become an epidemic. Presumably, 50 million people in the world are currently carriers of the virus.

There is no medicine that can restore human immunity yet, so the only way to fight HIV is prevention.

In the human body, nature has a mechanism through which immune cells produce antibodies that can resist microorganisms with foreign genetic information. When antigens enter the body, lymphocytes begin to work in it. They recognize the enemy and neutralize it, but when the body is infected by the virus, the protective barriers are destroyed and the person can die within a year of infection. However, there are cases when infected people lived up to 20 years, since HIV is a “slow” virus, the symptoms of which may not appear for more than 10 years and the person remains unaware of his or her health status.

After entering the body, viral cells attach to blood cells and spread through the bloodstream throughout the body, affecting the lymph nodes, since they are where immune cells are located. more. The immune system is unable to adequately respond to the attacks of the virus, since it does not recognize it, and HIV slowly destroys immune cells, and when their number decreases to a minimum and becomes critical, AIDS is diagnosed - the last stage of the disease. This stage lasts from 3 months to two years. During this period, AIDS progresses and affects the mucous membranes, lungs, intestines, and nervous system. This happens because the protective barrier in the form of immune cells is destroyed and the body cannot resist pathogens. As a result, a person dies not from HIV, but from another secondary infection.

The most common cause of AIDS is pneumonia and intestinal disorders with diarrhea that continues for several months, as a result of which the person begins to rapidly lose weight and the body becomes dehydrated. As a result of research, scientists have found that the causes of intestinal disorders in AIDS are fungi of the genus Candida, salmonella, as well as tuberculosis bacteria and cytomegalovirus. Often, an organism weakened by the effects of HIV becomes infected with meningitis, encephalitis, and a brain tumor develops. A person’s intellectual abilities decrease, the brain atrophies, and dementia develops. In those infected, the mucous membranes are affected, erosions and cancerous tumors appear on the skin.

According to the updated version of the classification, HIV goes through 5 stages of development:

  1. The incubation period is up to 90 days. Clinical manifestations are missing.
  2. Appearance primary symptoms, which are divided into periods A, B, C. Period 2A - no symptoms. Period 2B - the first manifestations of infection, similar to the course of others infectious diseases. 2B - manifests itself in the form of sore throat, herpes, candidiasis, pneumonia, but at this stage of development of the disease, infections respond well to treatment. Period 2B lasts 21 days.
  3. The disease progresses and a short-term enlargement of the lymph nodes occurs. The duration of the period is from 2-3 to 20 years. At this time, the number of lymphocytes decreases.
  4. Destruction of T-4 lymphocytes and, as a consequence, the development of cancer and infectious diseases. At this stage, symptoms may periodically subside on their own or with medication. The fourth stage includes periods A, B and C.
    • 4A - mucous membranes and skin are affected by bacteria and viruses, and the number of upper respiratory tract diseases increases in humans.
    • 4B - skin diseases continue to progress and are also affected internal organs, nervous system, noticeable weight loss begins.
    • 4B - the disease is life threatening.
  5. The destruction in the body is irreversible. A person dies within 3–12 months.

HIV has no symptoms of its own and can masquerade as any infectious disease. At the same time, blisters, pustules, lichen appear on the skin, seborrheic dermatitis. The virus can only be detected using tests: HIV test. When a virus is detected as a result of a blood test, the person becomes HIV seropositive, which means: antibodies to the virus have formed in the person’s body, but the disease has not yet manifested itself. However, HIV cannot be detected immediately after infection. It can appear only after a few months, so the person does not know about his disease.

More about the disease

Viruses are constantly present in the life of every person. These are FLU, herpes, hepatitis, retrovirus AIDS and other viral and infectious diseases. All viruses cause complications on the human body and therefore require antiviral therapy. There are a huge number of viruses and they constantly mutate, so there is no one most effective drug that can cope with any infection. Different antiviral drugs are used to combat each virus. The action of antiretroviral drugs is based on the mechanism of stopping the “stamping” of AIDS virus cells.

Antiretroviral drugs are divided into main groups:

  • Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs): zalcitabine, stavudine and others. These drugs are highly toxic, but most people infected with HIV tolerate them well. Side effects are observed in 5% of infected people.
  • Protease inhibitors (PI): Ritonavir, Nelfinavir, Lapinavir and others.
  • Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs): Delaverdine, Efavirenz. These drugs are effectively used in combination with NRTIs. Side effects from taking this type of drug are observed on average in 35% of infected people.

The virus, destroying the immune system, destroys barriers to other viruses and infections. In order to prevent the development of opportunistic infections, that is, those that are constantly present in the body of any person and are considered opportunistic, preventive therapy is used for those infected with the virus using antimicrobial drugs that do not affect the virus, but suppress opportunistic microflora .

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In addition to opportunistic infections, a person with a retrovirus is constantly threatened by other infectious diseases, to prevent which vaccination (immunization) is used. However, it is only effective on initial stage diseases when the immune system is still functioning normally, therefore HIV-infected people are recommended to be vaccinated against influenza and pneumococci.

Since people infected with HIV cannot resist infections, serious danger for them the bacterium Salmonella is present, so it is necessary to avoid eating raw eggs and thermally poorly processed poultry meat. People infected with HIV should also be careful when visiting many countries where infection with tuberculosis is possible.

Symptoms of HIV in early and late stages in men and women

Women are more susceptible to HIV infection because their immunity is weaker different periods life is weaker than that of men. This is the period of pregnancy and menstruation. HIV is dangerous not only for a woman, but also for her child, as it can be transmitted during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

To prevent this, women need to know about early symptoms HIV disease. In the early stages, symptoms of HIV in women include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin itching, rashes, sore throat, muscles and joints. Ulcers appear in the mouth, lymph nodes in the neck, groin and armpit increase. Since similar symptoms of HIV are characteristic of other infectious diseases, the cause can only be determined through tests.

In the later stages of HIV, it manifests itself in women with the appearance of ulcers and ulcers on the genitals, lesions of the oral mucosa with formations similar to ulcers due to stomatitis, herpes worsens, warts form, disorders menstrual cycle and sexual dysfunction develops. Anorexia cannot be ruled out. Due to the destruction of the immune system, they develop oncological diseases: cervical cancer, lymphoma, sarcoma.

With this course of the disease, life expectancy is rapidly reduced. A woman can no longer live in such a state. normal life because she is bedridden. The course and symptoms of the disease in men are somewhat different from women. Usually, in the early stages, the infection manifests itself with symptoms similar to ARVI: increased body temperature, fever. At the initial stage (about 20 days after infection), among other symptoms of HIV, a characteristic rash appears. The first symptoms quickly pass and an asymptomatic period begins.

Enlarged lymph nodes, characteristic of HIV infection, also passes. When the disease reaches late stage development, the man begins to experience a constant feeling of fatigue, he is bothered by incessant diarrhea, and white spots appear in the mouth, while swelling of the lymph nodes lasts for several months. All of these symptoms in men and women infected with HIV occur due to the destruction of immune cells by the virus.

For the same reason, wounds in HIV patients do not heal for a long time, and their gums bleed. Due to the development of the virus, ARVI, tuberculosis, and pneumonia become constant companions of an HIV-infected person. Tests are done to determine the level of viral load, or the amount of virus in the blood. Based on the test results, doctors determine the rate of spread of the virus throughout the body. Test indicators may change throughout life, but if the load is consistently high over several months, this is a signal of the progress of the disease.

To obtain reliable information about the condition of an infected person, a blood test is used to determine immune status(immunogram). Analyzes and tests will not be able to give an exact answer to the question: how long to live, since each person develops the virus individually and, accordingly, there may be differences in the symptoms of HIV.

How HIV is transmitted: main risk groups and HIV vaccinations

Today, HIV has been well studied and the development of the disease has been learned to be contained.

However, this does not make it any less dangerous, and therefore every person should know how HIV is transmitted and what to do to avoid becoming infected with it.

People who frequently change sexual partners, practice homosexual intercourse, anal sex, and use the services of prostitutes are at risk of becoming infected with HIV, first of all. And given how popular such relationships have become in modern world, the risk of infection has increased and HIV can also be transmitted to people with high social status. The virus enters the body through blood, milk from mother to child, semen and vaginal discharge.

HIV is not transmitted through saliva, feces and urine, so the household route of infection is excluded and exists only hypothetically.

Since the virus is unstable and dies when boiled for 1 minute or at 57 degrees after 30 minutes, it is enough to follow basic precautions in everyday life to prevent HIV from being transmitted. People who use drugs intravenously are at risk for HIV infection, since in a state of drug intoxication the sense of danger is dulled and the sharing of syringes is possible.

It is rare, but it is possible that HIV is transmitted through a transfusion of contaminated blood, since the virus does not immediately show its activity after entering the human body and can be detected using tests: HIV tests. Healthcare workers working with open wounds of patients are at risk of infection. After infection, the body begins to produce antibodies, they are detected during analysis, and the person is considered HIV seropositive. However, this only means that HIV may be present in the blood.

If a blood test reveals HIV seropositivity, you need to protect yourself from infections that become deadly for the infected person with vaccinations against influenza and pneumococcus. However, only a doctor should determine the timing of immunization, since HIV-infected people have a higher risk of developing side effects. To decide on the possibility of vaccination, doctors prescribe tests to determine immune status.

AIDS: what it is, its diagnosis and modes of transmission

If a person is diagnosed with HIV infection, this does not mean that he has AIDS, since AIDS is the fifth and final stage of the disease, which can occur 20 years after infection. AIDS is diagnosed in a person when the immune system is destroyed and can no longer resist viruses and infections.

In 80% of cases, HIV is transmitted sexually through semen and vaginal secretions, in almost 10% - through syringes, about 10% of cases - transmission of the virus occurs from mother to newborn child, including through breast milk. Medical workers become infected with HIV in 0.01% of cases.

note

In everyday life, you cannot become infected with HIV through dishes, in a swimming pool or bathhouse, or by coughing or sneezing, but you can, for example, in a tattoo parlor if the instruments are processed in violation of the technology, since the virus is contained in the blood.

Timely diagnosis of HIV is crucial, since if the disease is detected early stage, the destructive effect of the virus and its transition to the AIDS stage can be noticeably stopped and prevent it from quickly destroying the immune system. However, due to the lack of symptoms, diagnosis in the first stage of the disease is almost impossible and difficult in the second stage.

You can suspect infection with the AIDS virus if there is unmotivated fatigue and a short-term rise in body temperature to 39 degrees. In this case, a person has sudden loss weight with diarrhea syndrome. For such symptoms, it is necessary to laboratory research exclude HIV infection.

Symptoms of AIDS in women and men, its treatment and prevention

In women, the symptoms of AIDS differ from those in men. As a rule, HIV in women manifests itself as vaginal diseases and dysfunction genitourinary system, for example, relapses of candidiasis (thrush) occur. Herpes may worsen, and ulcers and warts appear on the mucous membranes of the genital organs. Regardless of the time of day or season, a woman experiences symptoms of fever with profuse sweating.

note

A characteristic symptom of AIDS is loss of appetite and weight loss, an irresistible desire to sleep due to constant feeling fatigue.

Symptoms of AIDS in men are disguised as FLU: the temperature rises, the person experiences chills, headache of different intensity. A rash appears on the skin, and skin discoloration occurs in some areas. The lymph nodes on the neck, in groin area and under the armpits enlarge and become firm to the touch, but not painful.

Appetite disappears, weight decreases and the person constantly feels tired. Such acute period lasts about two weeks, and then the symptoms disappear for several months or even years. This is misleading and the man continues to live ordinary life, allowing the virus to continue to destroy the immune system. When the last stage of the disease occurs in a man, all chronic infectious diseases become aggravated.

HIV may not show symptoms for a long time if a man's immune system is strong. However, the rash appears within 2 weeks after infection.

Treatment for AIDS symptoms initial stages possibly with the help of antiviral drugs. However, over time, the immunodeficiency virus gets used to antiviral drugs and therapy becomes ineffective.

Increasing the dose of drugs only leads to an overdose and increased side effects. AIDS cannot be cured, but at some stage antiviral medications have the effect of stabilizing the symptoms of the disease. To strengthen the immune system in the treatment of AIDS symptoms, they are used homeopathic medicines, which help the body resist secondary infection. To strengthen the immune system, immunomodulators and immunosubstitutes are used. However, when treating AIDS, it is necessary to really select effective drugs, which provide not only a psychological effect, since one’s own immunity gradually weakens.

In addition, when using immunomodulators, it is necessary to take into account that these drugs are not harmless, since an overdose of them can cause reverse effect, which is doubly dangerous with AIDS. Therefore, doctors carry out therapy with immunomodulators in cycles. Humanity has not yet learned to treat HIV and AIDS, but maintains the virus in a state of sluggish disease modern medicine This may be why it is important to diagnose the virus promptly and begin to suppress its symptoms.

Prevention of HIV and AIDS

The best treatment is to avoid getting AIDS. The largest percentage of infection occurs during sexual intercourse, since the mucous membranes and urethra have high degree permeability to the virus. Those who practice anal intercourse are at great risk, since the intestinal walls are very vulnerable.

According to WHO, 75% of those infected are homosexuals and women who have anal sex with men. Avoiding anal intercourse reduces the risk of HIV infection. Since the virus also enters the body through the blood, you should not take risks and visit dubious tattoo parlors, random dental clinics, manicure rooms where the technology for processing instruments is violated.

It is necessary to get tested regularly if your sexual partners change frequently. Household way transmission of AIDS is practically excluded, since in external environment the virus is quickly destroyed. However, when using a razor and personal hygiene items, infection is possible. Therefore, you should not use other people’s objects in a hostel environment.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a deadly disease. The immune system of a sick person loses its functions. The immune system weakens so much that it cannot resist the penetration of bacteria and viruses into the body, and cannot fight them. With AIDS, the patient is at risk of developing the most various diseases much more than a common person. And many of them can be life-threatening.

In recent decades, AIDS has gained enormous proportions. Many people suffer and die from it in all countries of the world. Therefore everyone modern man must know how AIDS is transmitted, in what ways, in order to protect yourself and your sexual partner from this very dangerous disease.

HIV infection - the initial form of AIDS

AIDS is the final stage of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. In this case, the death of the sick person occurs 9 or 10 years from the moment of infection. A person with AIDS lives, on average, from 6 months to 2 years.

Currently medical science developed the latest techniques treatment. And although the medicines for complete cure HIV has not yet been developed, timely, correct drug treatment can prolong the life of the sick person for many years.

How is AIDS transmitted?

The most important thing you need to know: the immunodeficiency virus can be contained in the biological fluids of a sick person. This is blood, lymph, breast milk, as well as sperm, vaginal secretions and seminal fluid. Infection occurs when the listed liquids enter the body of another person through blood or damaged mucous membranes.

There are several types of infection:

Sexual tract: infection occurs through unprotected sex (vaginal, anal). With oral contact, the risk is much lower. This depends on the entry of seminal fluid or sperm into the oral cavity when there are ulcers, scratches, wounds, and other damage on its mucous membrane.

Injection method: This method is well known not only to drug addicts. The virus can enter the bloodstream directly through reusable disposable syringes. The virus can be “caught” in a medical facility when using poorly sterilized instruments.

Blood transfusion infection. This is a method of transmission of the virus through a transfusion of blood (its components) taken from a sick person. Or when administering medications made from the blood of an infected person.

Perinatal method. It suggests that the baby is infected from a sick mother. Transmission of the virus can occur during childbirth. An infant can become infected by breastfeeding infected mother's milk. This method of transmission is called milk transmission.

Infection through transplantation. AIDS is transmitted through organ transplantation from an infected person.

Domestic (occupational) infection. The virus enters the blood through damaged areas of the skin, mucous membranes, when they come in contact with blood or other contaminated fluid of a sick person. This often happens with medical workers having contact with the blood of patients. To become infected with the virus, even a very small drop of infected blood enters the blood of a healthy person.

Household infection is impossible through contact with the saliva or tear fluid of a patient. AIDS is not transmitted by airborne droplets. Infection does not occur through water or food.

How is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome not transmitted?

HIV (AIDS) viruses are not temperature resistant and die at 56 degrees. Also, when the infected biological fluid dries, the virus dies, making infection impossible.

You can't get infected through a kiss. However, if contaminated saliva gets into damage to the mucous membrane oral cavity, the risk increases significantly.

It is impossible to become infected by talking, coughing, or using utensils if there is no fresh blood or other contaminated biological fluid on it.

It is impossible to catch the virus from a handshake if there are no bleeding skin lesions on the palms of a healthy and sick person.

You cannot get sick from a mosquito bite. Although there is a risk of infection, it is extremely minimal. The mosquito does not release blood, it absorbs it.

In order not to become infected with HIV or develop AIDS, do not forget about simple preventive measures, do not practice unprotected sex, do not change sexual partners frequently. Eliminate drugs from your life. Use disposable syringes, keep healthy image life. For the purpose of prevention, undergo periodic medical blood tests. Be healthy!

The well-known route of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus is sexual contact with an infected partner without a condom. It occupies a leading position in the study of the causes and diagnosis of the disease, and accounts for 70% of clinical cases according to WHO. Modern generation People are increasingly concerned about whether it is possible to become infected with HIV through saliva after a kiss.

The topic is raised for a reason and is significant due to the prevailing standards of understanding. For a long time, society was forced to believe that it is better to avoid sick people. This has led to the fact that every second person is inclined to believe information about the likelihood of transmission of infection through saliva, handshakes, and the use of shared towels and household items. In those days, there was not even a dilemma about whether it was possible to become infected with HIV through saliva. Almost everyone was sure that this is how infection occurs.

Thanks to multiple studies and modern medical equipment It was possible to establish that the virus is transmitted only through direct contact of the biological fluids of an infected and healthy person. Most often it is blood and sperm. For HIV to be transmitted through saliva, there must be a bleeding wound in the mouth of an uninfected person, for example, a damaged gum or cheek. There is a valid medical explanation for such a statement: contact between the virus and blood is necessary for infection.

In other situations, if there are no wounds in the mouth, then even with diagnosed last stage the patient will not become infected. Answering the question of whether it is possible to become infected with HIV through saliva, doctors state the need to exchange more than two liters of liquid for infection. This is due to the low concentration of the virus in saliva. Therefore, with a typical kiss, transmission of the disease is impossible. Some people tend to confuse the concepts of HIV and AIDS. In the first case, the virus progresses in the patient’s body, which gradually degenerates into a disease - acquired immunodeficiency.

Based on this, it follows that it is impossible to become infected with AIDS; infection is only possible with a virus, that is, HIV. The disease itself cannot be transmitted to a healthy person through sweat or urine. Only a virus has such abilities, which, upon entering the body, suppresses the immune system. The frightening word AIDS and a more terrifying disease cannot be transmitted through saliva, so only infection reaches a healthy person. It can be transmitted through a kiss, but only on condition that the mouth of the uninfected person has at least the slightest bleeding damage.

Based on this information, it is necessary to dispel some myths regarding the routes of transmission of the disease:

  1. You can become infected through saliva. Yes, this option is possible, but if the mucous membrane is not damaged, then you can rest assured about your health.
  2. You can get infected by airborne droplets. No, this type of transmission is impossible, which is due to the inability of the virus to survive outside the human body.
  3. You can become infected through contact with a drug addict. No, this route of transmission does not exist, because infection requires contact of an infected biological fluid with the blood of a healthy person. Although, statistics show that the majority of patients are representatives of disadvantaged sections of the population (alcoholics, drug addicts, people who are promiscuous).

Society must be tolerant of people with HIV and AIDS. To do this, it is important to know the likely risks and methods of infection. This is the only way to avoid the question of whether HIV can be transmitted through saliva and whether carriers of the virus should be avoided. If a person has sexual contact with HIV positive partner without using a condom, the probability of infection is almost 100%.

Any biological fluid that gets on the mucous membrane of a healthy person transmits the virus. This applies to oral, anal and vaginal sex. Unfortunately, cases of infection in medical institutions, for example, during a transfusion or blood collection. If blood was taken from an HIV-infected person before a healthy person, and then the instrument was not sterilized, or a new one was not used, the likelihood of infection is the same as through sexual contact.

It is also possible that the blood of an infected person could have been used during the transfusion. This may include infection during organ transplantation. Children who are in the womb of a sick mother are not protected. During childbirth, the child passes through the path and comes into direct contact with the mucous membrane, as a result of which infection occurs.

WE ADVISE! Weak potency, a flaccid penis, lack of a long-term erection are not a death sentence for a man’s sex life, but a signal that the body needs help and male strength is weakening. There are a large number of drugs that help a man gain a stable erection for sex, but they all have their own disadvantages and contraindications, especially if the man is already 30-40 years old. help not only to get an erection HERE AND NOW, but act as a preventive measure and accumulation of male power, allowing a man to remain sexually active for many years!

Knowing exactly whether you can become infected with HIV through saliva, you should not forget about possible risks getting the virus:

  • healthcare workers who frequently come into contact with body fluids different people, may acquire immunodeficiency if the substance gets on the injured surface of the skin;
  • people who have complex accompanying illnesses: syphilis or hepatitis;
  • upon contact with a sick person, while having microtraumas of the mucous membrane: ulcers, erosions, scratches.

In addition, doctors say that the likelihood of infection in females is three times higher than in males.

Is HIV transmitted through saliva - in what cases can and cannot you become infected with HIV?

Undoubtedly, it is important to understand in what cases you can become infected with HIV through saliva. When examining this issue, we should not forget that transmission of the virus is possible only through direct contact of an infected biological fluid with the blood or mucous membrane of a healthy person. Only if the partner has open wound, there is a possibility of infection.

So there are several options:

  1. The virus is transmitted to a man from a woman through cunnilingus if there is damage to his oral cavity.
  2. The virus is transmitted to a woman from a man during a blowjob if sperm gets into the mouth and the mucous membrane is injured.

If we summarize in what cases you can become infected with HIV through saliva, then this is oral sex, provided that the partner has bleeding wounds in the mouth.

To finally dispel all myths and doubts about communicating with or avoiding people with AIDS, you should know the situations in which the immunodeficiency virus is not transmitted.

First of all, this is everyday communication: hugs and any other contact with the skin (superficial) are not dangerous. There is no need to be afraid to live together with a person who has been diagnosed with HIV infection (you can use the same dishes, wear the sick person’s clothes and even sleep on the same bed linen), because the virus does not survive outside the body. The same applies to fears of catching an infection in a bathhouse, sauna or swimming pool. Pathogenic cells die in water almost instantly.

Some believe that a mosquito or other insect bite can transfer the virus from the blood of a patient to the body of a healthy person. But this is also not true, because bacteria can only live in the human body.

Thinking about the cases in which you can become infected with HIV through saliva, you involuntarily recall newspaper headlines that said that a person was infected with a syringe injection in a public place. To date, not a single case of such infection has been recorded, which, again, is due to the inability of the virus to survive outside the body.

Even though modern medicine has not yet invented a cure for HIV and AIDS. But this should not make sick people outcasts in society. It is very important to be able to communicate correctly with infected people and not to neglect safety measures.

AIDS is one of the most global problems today, a global disaster, a serious and least studied disease, with which many rumors, myths and speculations are associated. Final stage HIV infection, a deadly disease, is transmitted in only a few ways. But people tend to exaggerate the significance of danger; this is dictated by the instinct of self-preservation. The lack of knowledge about the nature and modes of transmission of the disease gives rise to an inadequate attitude of society towards those who are sick with the immunodeficiency virus.

The methods of transmission of AIDS should be clearly known to everyone - from schoolchildren to the elderly. This will help protect the world from new infections, save yourself and your loved ones from a fatal disease, and increase society’s tolerance towards people who were unable to avoid infection. People’s ignorance of all the information and inattention to details makes them fear and hate those who are sick, considering them an indispensable source of infection. This makes patients outcasts at a time when they so desperately need support and understanding, including psychologically.

People's ignorance of the ways of transmitting the disease gives rise to cruel treatment to the infected as inevitable sources of infection

Household contacts and the possibility of infection through them are the most common and discussed topic of AIDS.

  1. Can the virus be transmitted through saliva during a kiss?
  2. If a sick person sneezes or coughs, will he infect those who get particles of mucus from his mouth and lungs?
  3. Is it true that infant infected the mother during feeding because his saliva entered her body?
  4. If a mother is sick, can she infect her child, for example, by licking a spoon or simply blowing on hot porridge?
  5. A mentally ill person who was diagnosed with AIDS bit 30 people in the USA - did they all become infected?

Many ways of transmitting AIDS are invented by people themselves and are not reality.

There are so many questions that there are not enough volumes of encyclopedias and medical journals. How to convey information to everyone, convince true facts and refute false ones? To do this, we need to constantly and in an accessible form talk about the methods of transmission of AIDS and debunk the myths that surround this disease.

Where is the AIDS virus found?

To protect yourself, your family, loved ones and provide assistance, at least through non-resistance and lack of aggression, it is important for everyone who is sick to know exactly in what ways you can get HIV infection. To do this, you need to find out, first of all, where the virus is located.

It is important to know where the AIDS virus is located to reduce the risk of contracting it

Important! The virus can be found in absolutely all biological fluids human body, but in a dangerously strong concentration that could lead to infection of a healthy person - only in six of them.

Table. Concentration of immunodeficiency virus in biological fluids

Biological fluidIn dangerous concentrationIn a non-hazardous concentration
Lymph+
Blood+
Saliva +
Tears +
Breast milk+
Genital tract discharge+
Sputum +
Urine +
Sperm+
Sweat +
Cerebrospinal fluid+

How does infection occur?

When one of the infected biological fluids, which contains a dangerous amount of viruses, enters the healthy body infection may occur. This means that a microbe will settle in the body, which will begin to have a destructive effect on the entire immune system, gradually leading it to an unrecoverable state.

If a contaminated biological fluid with a dangerous amount of viruses gets in contact with it, infection occurs.

The immune system is a protective “screen” that prevents foreign agents from entering the body and forming in it. When it weakens, immunodeficiency occurs, which leads to a critical situation - AIDS.

Getting HIV is not as easy as it might seem. But even due to a single contact with a virus carrier, a person can become positive for the virus.

Possibility or impossibility of transfer painful condition depends on the concentration of viruses in the contact biofluid.

It is not enough to simply remember in which environments the virus is present in sufficient concentration and in which in insufficient concentration. You also need to know exactly in what ways and under what conditions infection can occur.

High concentration of viruses in biofluids in descending order:

  • blood;
  • sperm fluid;
  • discharge from the genital tract;
  • mother's breast milk;
  • substance contained in the spinal cord.

Important! Liquid filling spinal cord, contains viral bodies in a concentration that makes infection probable, but direct contact with this substance can only occur in the rarest situations. For infection to occur, it must occur spinal injury with release of the spinal cord outward. Next, it must end up in the body of the infected person.

All existing methods HIV infections are associated with the penetration of biological fluids carrying a high concentration of the virus into a healthy body in only two ways - through blood or damage to the mucous membrane.

Low concentration of virus in biofluids in descending order:

  • urine discharge;
  • sputum from the lungs and bronchial;
  • saliva;
  • sweating;
  • tear discharge.

By the way. Saliva is in third place after discharge urinary canal and sputum by the concentration of viral bodies. But, since it is classified as a biological fluid with a safely low concentration, the question of the possibility of contracting HIV through saliva is decided negatively in medical and scientific circles.

Infection through ingestion of a biological fluid with a non-hazardous concentration of viruses, for example through saliva, according to scientists and doctors, is impossible

Routes of infection

There are three ways to become infected with HIV. And the exchange of salivary fluid or any biomaterial from the list with a low concentration between an infected and a healthy person does not lead to infection.

How can you become infected with HIV?


How infection does not occur

Despite the fact that all biological fluids of an infected person contain the immunodeficiency virus to one degree or another, you cannot become infected with it in the following ways:

  • by airborne droplets;
  • through sharing food or water;
  • in everyday contact;
  • through domestic or wild animals;
  • due to insect bites.

    In everyday contact or joint reception food contamination does not occur

    Important! Scientific research state that in order to become infected with HIV through saliva, at least two liters of infected salivary fluid will need to penetrate into the blood or damaged mucous membrane of a healthy person. This is physically impossible either during a kiss or during any other actions.

    Regarding the use of shared utensils with an HIV-infected person, the answer is also clear. Infection cannot occur because:


    Important! Dried biological fluid, even containing high concentration viruses are not dangerous, since under the influence of air currents HIV dies almost instantly.

    Since the human immunodeficiency virus does not live in the air, you cannot become infected with it either by talking, or by preparing and consuming food, or by using towels, or sharing the sink, toilet, shower, or any household items.

    In conversation or sharing It is impossible to get AIDS from household items

    Handshakes and hugs are also not considered to be contagious. The skin is a protection. Infection can only occur if it is damaged, both in a carrier of the virus and in a healthy person, and these damages are in direct contact.

    Handshakes (hugs) can cause infection only if there is contact damaged areas skin

    Many people believe that AIDS can be contracted from insect bites. For example, mosquitoes and other blood-sucking creatures can transmit the virus from sick to healthy people. But the mosquito’s “blood sampling apparatus” is designed in such a way that the blood of a previous victim cannot get into a new one. Therefore, there is not a single confirmed case of infection from a mosquito bite.

    By the way. It is also not possible to become infected with the immunodeficiency virus from animals, domestic or wild. The virus does not multiply in their body. That is why it is called HIV – human immunodeficiency virus.

    Animals cannot be carriers of HIV infection, therefore it is impossible to become infected from them

    As for a public pool, bathhouse or sharing a shower/bath with an infected person, there is also no possibility of infection, since the virus does not spread in water.

    Controversial episodes and debunking myths

    Saliva is a product of airborne exchange. And there is a lot of medical evidence that the saliva of not only an HIV-infected person, but also a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome contains the virus in such a low concentration that even if it enters the blood of a healthy person, infection cannot occur.

    By the way! About a case that actually happened in the USA, when a patient with AIDS, due to mental disorder, bit 30 fellow citizens. None were infected.

    In addition, there is a lot of irrefutable evidence confirming that the salivary secretions of someone infected with AIDS are not dangerous to healthy people who are in contact with him. Until now, there have been no officially registered cases of transmission of the virus from infected people to close relatives through the use of things, shared utensils and other items not related to intimate hygiene genitals.

    During a sexual kiss, when there is contact between mucous membranes, not a single fact of HIV infection has been recorded.

    By the way. Purely theoretically, doctors admit that one can become infected if the mucous membrane is bitten or injured during a kiss, but this will only happen if an AIDS patient has ulcerative stomatitis or periodontal disease. Blood from the gums or ulcers of the infected person should get into the wound of the infected person. Let us repeat, this is a theory; in practice, such episodes have not been recorded.

    In theory, infection through a kiss is possible in the presence of bleeding ulcers, both in an infected and a healthy person

    There is, however, clinical case when an AIDS carrier, a baby, infects the mother during breastfeeding. Since the mother did not transmit the virus to the baby, which could have happened through breast milk, doctors decided that it happened through the baby's saliva. But after a thorough examination, it was proven that the child was diagnosed with ulcerative stomatitis, and the mother has cracked nipples. In addition, the child also bit his mother on the nipple, since he already had his first teeth in his mouth, as a result of which an infection occurred.

    There is a claim, actively supported by the “yellow” media, that you can get AIDS after visiting a dentist, a mini-pedicure salon, or being attacked by maniacs with syringes filled with infected blood on public transport.

    Cases of infection after visiting nail salon or there was no dentist

    IN real world not a single case of such infection has been recorded, although theoretically the risk of infection through an unsterilized instrument remains possible.

    By the way. No maniacs have actually made any attempts to inject citizens with AIDS-contaminated syringes in the entire history of the disease - this is pure fiction and has nothing to do with reality.

    The attack of maniacs with AIDS infected syringes is nothing more than fiction

    Thus, there are only three routes of HIV transmission to be concerned about.

    1. Unprotected sexual contact.
    2. Blood to blood.
    3. From mother to child.

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HIV is the general name for a group of pathologies that represent the human immunodeficiency virus. How is HIV transmitted and what causes it? It provokes intense damage to the human immune system, provoking the development of such a dangerous disease as HIV infection.

HIV belongs to the category of incurable infectious diseases, which are characterized by a slow and long-term course. The disease can lead to the most severe consequences for the human body. The most severe complication HIV infection is the development of AIDS – acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

  • What is HIV?
  • Routes of transmission of HIV infection
  • Symptoms of HIV
    • HIV diagnosis
    • Prevention of infection

What is HIV?

In order to answer the question of how HIV is transmitted, you need to know exactly what it is. this infection. Many people believe that HIV and AIDS are the same disease. But this opinion is fundamentally wrong. When a virus enters the human body, it first develops viral infection, which has not manifested itself at all for many years. But under favorable circumstances, the viral agent can become more active and develop into AIDS. As you know, AIDS is one of the most serious illnesses, characterized by almost 100% lethal outcome.

Thanks to the human immunodeficiency virus, the body is completely deprived of the ability to independently defend itself from any foreign invasion, which gives various pathogenic viruses and bacteria can freely penetrate the body, actively multiply and provoke the development of numerous diseases.

Despite the fact that the main routes of transmission of HIV infection have long been known, and today medicine cannot offer effective medicinal product, allowing you to defeat the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is considered an incurable disease, and all treatment methods are aimed at maximizing the life expectancy of the patient.

Routes of transmission of HIV infection

The methods of transmission of HIV infection can be very diverse. Every person should know how one can become infected with HIV, because with this disease, the main way to avoid serious consequences is competent prevention.

The most common way of transmitting HIV is through sexual intercourse. However, the virus can be transmitted as a result various types sex:

  • During unprotected sexual intercourse.
  • In case of promiscuity and frequent changes sexual partners.
  • Addiction to anal sex.
  • Through blowjob, the virus can be transmitted if the partner has bleeding ulcers, erosions or microcracks in her mouth.
  • Homosexual sexual acts.
  • The likelihood of contracting HIV increases significantly if you engage in group sex.
  • For a woman, the risk of contracting AIDS or the human immunodeficiency virus increases in the presence of cervical erosion or other gynecological pathologies.

If partners have any sexually transmitted infections, any sexual intercourse must be protected. Quite often, HIV infection occurs through blood. The routes of HIV transmission can be very diverse - this does not necessarily require a blood transfusion from an infected person. Other medical manipulations are quite enough to injure skin an object that previously injured an HIV-infected person. Most frequent ways HIV infection - the use of unsterile dental, cosmetic or manicure instruments.

Many young people wonder whether it is possible to become infected with HIV in a tattoo parlor. And experts answer this question positively. In case several people are tattooed with the same syringe, healthy man becomes infected infectious disease. The master must disinfect all tools used, which will prevent possible infection.

The highest risk of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus is in people who use drugs intravenously. As a rule, such people do not care about the rules of personal hygiene and can easily pass a syringe from their vein to another person. It is not surprising that AIDS is being transmitted at a rapid rate among drug addicts.

In order to answer the question of how young children become infected with AIDS, it is necessary to take into account the health status of their mothers. During pregnancy, an infected mother experiences activation of viral agents, which is associated with hormonal changes body. This is why a baby can become infected with HIV from an infected mother through the birth canal. Quite often, HIV infection can occur during breastfeeding, since the virus is present in breast milk.

Is it possible for people to become infected with the HIV virus through a condom? Doctors are confident that when choosing a high-quality contraceptive, the likelihood of infection is minimized. Quite often, young people wonder whether HIV is transmitted through saliva. If a partner is infected, and there are bleeding wounds or erosions on the surface of his oral cavity, it is quite possible to become a virus carrier after kissing such a person.

When answering the question whether you can become infected with HIV through a kiss, you should remember that even an innocent touch on the lips of an infected person can have the most severe consequences - especially if the oral mucosa has various microcracks and other damage. Men and women wondering whether HIV is transmitted through saliva should remember that such transmission of HIV is possible in the most in rare cases- only if there are wounds and bleeding erosions in the partner’s mouth.

To summarize the above, it can be noted that the main routes of HIV infection are as follows:

  • Sexual intercourse without using contraception.
  • Homosexual sexual intercourse.
  • HIV is transmitted through blood transfusion.
  • Repeated use of a syringe by several people, one of whom is infected.
  • Insufficient disinfection of instruments before tattooing.

Quite often people wonder how AIDS is transmitted. Its modes of transmission are the same as for HIV. It should be remembered that in order to become infected with this disease, direct contact with the blood of an infected person is required. The likelihood of contracting AIDS after kissing or using shared utensils or towels is practically zero and is possible only if there are bleeding wounds and erosions on the patient’s body.

Symptoms of HIV

The incubation period for infection can vary in length, depending on the person’s health status and level of immunity. Some people have a stage asymptomatic can last from 2 weeks to a year.

Signs of HIV infection are almost impossible to distinguish from symptoms of other common diseases. They may be as follows:

  1. Increased body temperature.
  2. Generalized lymphadenopathy – that is, enlargement of the lymph nodes.
  3. Lethargy, drowsiness, apathy, loss of strength.
  4. Rhinitis, cough and other signs of a cold.
  5. Skin rashes.
  6. Stool disorder.
  7. Painful sensations in the throat.

In most cases, the signs of infection are no different from the signs of a common cold, so a person may not even pay attention to them. The above symptoms disappear on their own, the patient is unaware of severe consequences HIV.

The immune status begins to rapidly deteriorate, the body can no longer fight any viruses and infections on its own. 5-10 years after infection, the infected person develops one of the most dangerous and incurable diseases- AIDS. It is for this reason that every person should know all the stages of the disease and ways of contracting HIV.

HIV diagnosis

The symptoms of HIV infection are very similar to those of other diseases, such as influenza or tonsillitis. Therefore, it is very important not only to know how you can become infected with HIV, but also to diagnose the pathology in a timely manner.

A blood test is required, which indicates the presence of viral agents in it. The patient is also given special HIV tests, linked immunosorbent assay, showing the presence of viruses in the blood.

Prevention of infection

Prevention of HIV infection lies in the fact that every person who sex life, must clearly understand how HIV is transmitted and what needs to be done to prevent infection.

It is very important to completely stop using drugs, and if you want to get a tattoo, go only to specialized salons. Every person has the right to demand that all instruments that will be used to apply a tattoo be thoroughly disinfected in his presence.

You should be no less careful about your sex life. It is best if you have one, permanent partner; it is recommended to refuse promiscuous sexual contacts. But even in this case, you should not neglect condoms.