What is SAFER SEX?!
| In
the early 1980's, there arose a panic in the United
States (US) gay community. A new sickness slowly began to
show itself, one which no one had ever seen or heard
about before. It was then called GRID - Gay Related
Immune Deficiency - also called "the Gay
Cancer". It soon became clear that this was a
sickness with deadly effect, and that more and more men
were becoming ill. Conservative politicians in the US
greeted news of the new sickness with joy, as it enabled
them to pursue discriminatory policies against
homosexuals. However, relatively soon after the outbreak
of the disease in the US, it was observed that persons
outside of the gay community were also becoming ill. In
1986, the HI-Virus (HIV) was discovered which could be
transmitted between human beings. This made it clear that
the heterosexual community was also in danger.
The international medical community has a relatively large amount of information about the HIV virus, especially about how the human body's defense mechanism reacts to the virus. The goal of reaching a full understanding as to how the virus makes a person ill, and preventing this from happening, has not yet been reached however. We know that HIV is a very fragile virus that can't survive outside of the human body. Inside of the human body, the virus attacks cells compromising the disease fighting defensive system, also called the immune system (e.g. the T4-helper cells). It is through these attacks on the immune system that the body's ability to fight disease is eventually weakened or disabled. Whoever becomes infected by HIV will not notice any immediate effects. Sometimes the first symptoms will be a flu-like illness with fever and swelling of the lymph nodes. The body tries to defend itself against the virus in its usual way through the generation of anti-body cells. It is these anti-body cells which can be detected in an HIV blood test to determine if a person is "positive" for HIV. "AIDS" is the eventual result of an HIV infection, in that progressive weakening of the body's immune system allows "opportunistic" diseases to develop (e.g. lung infections, skin cancer called Kaposi Sarcoma, pneumonia, etc.). Despite great scientific efforts to develop treatments to slow progression of the disease, an immunisation to prevent infection is not available - nor is it expected in the near future. The only way to prevent infection and protect yourself from AIDS is to prevent HIV from entering your body. How is HIV Transmitted? An infection starts when HIV is transmitted from the bloodstream from one person to another person. Because large numbers of the virus can be found in blood, sperm and mucous, contact with these bodily fluids is especially risky. It has been confirmed that HIV can be transmitted through unprotected anal or vaginal sex, and also through the sharing of needles used for injections. The mucous membrane in the rectum, the vagina and on the head of the penis is very thin and supplied with a rich amount of blood. During sexual intercourse - anal or vaginal - microscopic injuries occur to the mucous membranes which cannot be detected by the eye, but which can allow an entry point for HIV. Even undamaged mucous membranes can allow an entry point for the virus due to the rich blood supply close to the surface. This knowledge makes it clear that intercourse without a condom is very risky indeed. Even though saliva in the mouth has a virus-inhibiting effect, an infection through the mucous membrane in the mouth is still possible. Kissing is thought to be safe from the danger of HIV infection. How do I protect myself? There are only three known forms of protection today:
Notice: You will not infect yourself when your partner is careless, but rather when YOU are careless and don't follow the "safe sex" rules. YOU are responsible for ensuring that your partner wears a condom if he fucks you. YOU share the responsibility that nobody ejaculates in the mouth. |
What is HIV?
What is AIDS?