HIV is a very serious disease that either infects through sexual contact, blood infection or from mother to child during childbirth. The risk of being infected with the HIV virus is relatively low in the general population, but people in vulnerable groups need to take certain measures if they want to prevent infection.
Prevent HIV from intercourse
The most common pathway for HIV is through sexual contact, and this can occur in both conventional vaginal sex, but also through anal sex where the risk of infection is significantly greater. One can therefore say that celibacy is the most effective way to prevent sexual HIV infection, but the sound of this is very bad in most people. Fortunately, you do not have to refrain from sex completely, as it is almost as effective to have intercourse with a regular partner in a fixed relationship. However, if you are one of those who gets chills with the idea of a permanent relationship, it’s very important that you or your partner use a condom every time you have sex. Condoms do not completely eliminate the risk of infection, but one can say that the risk of being infected with HIV is reduced by 80 percent if you practice safe sex. It is also recommended that they test yourself regularly with a HIV test at home.
Prevent HIV from blood infection
HIV can spread through a sick to a healthy person, and this usually occurs in drug users who share the needles they are using to administer drugs intravenously. This risk group is encouraged to stop spraying and reuse of syringes, as well as acquiring new and sterile needles from an authorized healthcare company. There is also a risk of being infected with HIV through tattoo and piercing, if the conditions this happens are not sanitary. Here you can prevent infection of HIV by making sure that tattoo and piercing jams use sterile needles and clean equipment, but there is clearly no public body that regulates this. The hygiene routines, on the other hand, are very safe in Norway, so urge not to acquire tattoo or piercing in countries outside the EU.
Infection of HIV from mother to child during childbirth
It is very common for HIV infection in children in developing countries, but these have not had the disease through drug abuse or insecure sex. They, on the other hand, have been infected by their HIV-infected mother during birth, or through breastfeeding where the virus infected from breast milk. HIV does not transmit from the mother to the fetus during pregnancy, thus it is possible to take measures to reduce the risk of infection during and after birth to the greatest extent possible. This can be done by starting an aggressive treatment of HIV with antiviral drugs in the early and postpartum of birth, while giving the child nutrition in the form of breast milk replacement before breastfeeding.