### Living with HIV: Understanding Transmission and Prevention
With over 1.2 million Americans aged 13 and older living with HIV, the epidemic remains a significant health issue that impacts millions globally. Its highly contagious nature means the number of HIV-positive individuals increases each year.
Despite ongoing awareness campaigns, there’s still confusion regarding how HIV spreads. This article will delve into the most common and less common transmission methods.
### How Does HIV Spread?
The primary means of HIV transmission are through sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal) and sharing needles. HIV-negative individuals can contract the virus when exposed to contaminated blood, vaginal fluids, breast milk, and semen from an infected person.
HIV transmission occurs when HIV-infected fluids enter the bloodstream of an HIV-negative person. This often happens through cuts, sores, or the mucous membranes found in the rectum, mouth, vagina, or tip of the penis, as well as through direct needle injections.
### Common Modes of Transmission
Let’s explore the most prevalent ways HIV can be transmitted:
**1. Unprotected Vaginal or Anal Sex with an HIV-Positive Person:** The highest risk of contracting HIV comes from having unprotected sex (without condoms or other contraceptives). Anal sex poses a higher risk compared to vaginal sex for HIV transmission.
**2. Sharing Drug Equipment Such as Needles and Syringes:** Reusing or sharing needles and syringes contaminated with HIV-positive blood significantly increases the risk. Injecting with such needles allows the virus to enter directly into the bloodstream.
### Less Common Modes of Transmission
Although rarer, several other ways HIV transmission can occur include:
**1. Mother-to-Baby Transmission During Pregnancy:** While instances of mother-to-baby HIV transmission exist, the use of preventive HIV medications has greatly reduced these cases. In the U.S., medical advancements have substantially decreased the virus’s transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding.
**2. Needle Stick or Sharp Injury Exposure:** This risk particularly affects healthcare workers, although the chance of transmitting HIV this way is very low.
### [HIV Drugs](https://prohealthsupporter.com/hiv/)
Taking prescribed HIV medication can enable individuals to live long, healthy lives while reducing the risk of transmission to sexual partners. One crucial medication for prevention is PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
PrEP involves collaborating with a healthcare provider to develop a specific medication plan that prevents HIV. Clinical studies have demonstrated that PrEP is 99% effective in reducing HIV transmission. The FDA has approved three main medications for PrEP: Truvada, Descovy, and Apretude.
– **Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg)**
– Preferred for daily or on-demand oral dosing.
– **Descovy (tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg)**
– Approved for daily dosing in cisgender men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women.
– **Apretude (long-acting injectable cabotegravir 600 mg)**
– Preferred for HIV prevention, though not typically used during pregnancy.
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