Thursday, September 1, 2011

HIV is not transmitted through casual contactA

HIV is not transmitted through casual contact, working together with infected individuals, sneezing, coughing, sitting besides an HIV infected person, playing with HIV infected children, sharing meals as well as insect or bug bites. It is only transmitted through exposure to body fluids like blood, semen, vaginal discharge, breast milk and other body fluids that contain the virus.

A person infected with HIV needs to avoid risky behavior as he can spread the disease to many unsuspecting individuals. If one is infected with HIV, he/she should be honest with their sexual partner. Use of condoms during intercourse will help avoid spread of infection to healthy partner. You should speak to your doctor regarding the different ways with which you can prevent transmission of virus to healthy partner. Make sure you know all about how is HIV transmitted to avoid ruining another person's life.

After a person is infected with HIV, the first stage of the infection is called 'window period'. This is highly risky stage as the virus is not detectable during HIV test. Therefore, it is advisable that any person who is tested negative for HIV the first time after a risky behavior, should undergo the test again after 2 to 4 months. There may be a high viral load that can be very infectious. During the window period, one should avoid all types of risky behavior. Once the window period is crossed, the patient may begin to show the fist symptoms of HIV. These symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, sore throat, skin rash as well as diarrhea. These symptoms are often mistaken for flu and the doctor may treat the condition like a common illness. However, in a few cases these are the early symptoms of HIV. Unfortunately, these symptoms progress to the acute stage of the infection.

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