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Below are some frequently asked questions by gay men. If your question isn’t answered below or within our site get a hold of us through the contact us section of the site. The answers below are provided by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. Question: What is AIDS?
Answer: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a condition that results from your body's weakened immune system as a result of infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). AIDS is medically defined by three criteria: 1) HIV antibodies have been detected in the person’s body, 2) T-cell (CD4) count less than 200, and 3) one or more opportunistic infections, including thrush, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, Kaposi’s sarcoma, toxoplasmosis, and others. Question: How do you get HIV?
Answer: HIV can be found in the blood, cum/pre-cum, vaginal fluid, or breast milk of an infected person. An uninfected person can get HIV if blood, cum/pre-cum, vaginal fluid, or breast milk from an infected person enters his body and gets into his bloodstream. HIV can enter the body through a vein (by IV drug use), the anus/vagina/penis/mouth (by unprotected sex), other mucous membranes (like the eyes or inside of the nose), or any open cuts/sores. The two major ways you can get infected with HIV are through: UNPROTECTED SEX — That's having unprotected (without a condom/barrier) anal, vaginal, and (to a lesser extent) oral sex with an HIV-infected person, and/or SHARING NEEDLES — That's sharing intravenous (IV) drug needles, syringes, and/or equipment/rigs with an HIV-infected person.
On top of that, HIV is not the only infection that you can get from sexual contact. You can also get other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) — such as Chlamydia, genital warts, gonorrhea, hepatitis B/C, herpes, intestinal parasites, non-gonococcal urethritis, and syphilis — through unprotected anal, vaginal, and oral sex as well as other sexual practices like rimming. If you have any of these STDs and do anything sexually that can transmit HIV, you're also at much greater risk of actually getting HIV. Question: Can I get HIV from performing oral sex?
Answer: Yes, it is possible for you to become infected with HIV through performing oral sex, but it is considered low risk. There have been a few cases of HIV transmission from performing oral sex on a person infected with HIV. While no one knows exactly what the degree of risk is, evidence suggests that the risk is less than that of unprotected anal or vaginal sex. Blood, semen, pre-cum, and vaginal fluid all may contain the virus. Cells in the mucous lining of the mouth may carry HIV into the lymph nodes or the bloodstream. The risk increases: - If you have cuts or sores around or in your mouth or throat,
- If your partner ejaculates in your mouth, or
- If your partner has another sexually transmitted disease (STD).
If you choose to have oral sex, and your partner is male:
- Use a latex condom on the penis; or
- If you or your partner is allergic to latex, use a plastic (polyurethane) condom.
If you aren’t going to use a condom, the following are ways to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.- Don't brush or floss your teeth for at least an hour before giving head. You can use a mouthwash, breath mint, or gum instead. This will keep the number of tears and cuts in your mouth to a minimum.
- Try not to eat abrasive foods (like tortilla chips, French bread, pretzels, etc.) for the same reasons.
- In general, it's also a good idea to maintain excellent oral hygiene to prevent the possibility of easy tears/cuts in the mouth.
- Avoid getting semen in your mouth; semen contains active HIV. If you do get semen in your mouth, as the saying goes: ‘Swallow or spit, just don’t let it sit.’ The longer semen is in your mouth, the more potential for HIV to find an entry point into your body.
- Avoid deep throating since this can cause abrasions in the throat. Precum/semen can come into contact with these abrasions, creating an effective entry point for HIV infection.
Question: If someone is HIV positive, but has an undetectable viral load, is it still 'safe' to suck their penis without a condom?
Answer: An undetectable viral load is only a measure of the HIV levels in a blood sample. Most men who have undetectable blood viral loads also have undetectable semen viral loads, but not all of them. Because of this, oral sex with an undetectable man can be considered lower risk than oral sex with someone who has a detectable viral load, but it cannot be considered completely 'safe'. Question: What's the risk of getting HIV from rimming Rimming (Oral-Anal Intercourse)?
Answer: There's a very, very low risk of getting HIV from rimming, but there are others STDs that are much easier to get from rimming — like hepatitis A/B, Shigella, and herpes. Question: How can people who use injection drugs reduce their risk for HIV infection?
Answer: The CDC recommends that people who inject drugs should be regularly counseled to: Stop using and injecting drugs; Enter and complete substance abuse treatment, including relapse prevention. For injection drug users who cannot or will not stop injecting drugs, the following steps may be taken to reduce personal and public health risks: Never reuse or ‘share’ syringes, water, or drug preparation equipment; Only use syringes obtained from a reliable source (such as pharmacies or needle exchange programs); Use a new, sterile syringe to prepare and inject drugs; If possible, use sterile water to prepare drugs; otherwise, use clean water from a reliable source (such as fresh tap water); Use a new or disinfected container (‘cooker’) and a new filter (‘cotton’) to prepare drugs; Clean the injection site prior to injection with a new alcohol swab; Safely dispose of syringes after one use. If new, sterile syringes and other drug preparation and injection equipment are not available, then previously used equipment should be boiled in water or disinfected with bleach before reuse. Injection drug users and their sex partners also should take precautions, such as using condoms consistently and correctly, to reduce risks of sexual transmission of HIV. Persons who continue to inject drugs should periodically be tested for HIV.
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