How Are HIV & STDs Spread?
Here is how HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
are spread:
STDs are spread easily by sexual touch with any part of the body which carries
the infection, such as the penis, vagina, anus, and even the mouth. STDs
include diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, Chlamydia, genital warts (HPV)
and herpes. We now know that if you have an STD it is much easier
to become infected with HIV. In 1990 alone, more than three million
teenagers became infected with STDs.
Probably by now you know
that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. Because HIV is a very fragile
virus, it is hard to become infected with HIV unless you put yourself at
risk.
The truth is you probably will not become
infected with HIV if you understand how it is transmitted and if you always take
actions to protect yourself.
Here is how most people become
infected with HIV: by sharing needles and works to shoot drugs or steroids with
someone who is infected with HIV. Sharing needles for ear piercing or
tattooing can also cause HIV infection, and by taking part in any type of
unprotected sexual intercourse - anal, oral or vaginal. Children who are
born to HIV-positive women may also be infected with HIV. Remember, an
HIV-positive person may not look sick and probably feels healthy. That
person may not even know he or she is HIV-positive. But, an HIV-positive
person can infect a sexual partner, whether that partner is heterosexual, gay,
lesbian, or bisexual.
