Unlike flu and cold viruses, HIV is not spread through casual, everyday contact. It isn't passed through the air or through touching. No one is known to have gotten it from another person's saliva, tears, or sweat.
How HIV Is NOT Spread
If you know how HIV can get into your body and what happens once it's there, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself against the virus. A person with HIV can look and feel perfectly healthy. But that person can give HIV to others as soon as he or she is infected with the virus
In the workplace and at school, there is no evidence that HIV is
spread by:
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Sharing telephones, computer, pencils, and other office equipment |
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Shaking hands, hugging, or social kissing |
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Being near someone who is coughing or sneezing |
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Touching toilet seats or doorknobs |
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Sharing gym equipment, towels, drinking fountains, or classroom supplies |
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Being in a classroom with a child who has HIV or AIDS |
At home and in the community, you don't have to worry about getting HIV
from:
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A food server or cook |
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Food or eating utensils in a restaurant or someone's home, or from sharing food |
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Public drinking fountains, restrooms, or swimming pools |
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A person sitting next to you on a bus, plane, or train, or at a movie or a party |
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Pets or insect bites |
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Giving Blood (blood banks and
hospitals don't reuse needles or other equipment) |
HIV is carried in semen, vaginal fluid, blood, and breast milk. During sex, HIV can enter the body through the fragile tissue that lines the vagina, penis, anus, and mouth. During drug use, tattooing, or body piercing, the virus can enter the blood stream through a shared needle. A mother who has HIV can infect her child through breastfeeding.
How HIV Infection Progresses
After HIV enters the body, it attacks the immune system in stages. A person with HIV can infect others once the virus enters the bloodstream.
| HIV with No Symptoms HIV can be inactive and the person may have no symptoms for years. A positive blood test for HIV antibodies six weeks to six months after HIV enters the body may be the only sign of infection. |
| HIV with Symptoms When the virus becomes active, symptoms begin to develop. These may include swollen lymph glands, fever, night sweats, diarrhea, skin rashes, and sores. Symptoms may be mild at first, and then slowly get worse and last for longer and longer periods. |
| AIDS AIDS is the last stage of HIV infection. Pneumocystis carinii, a rare lung infection, Kaposi's sarcoma and other cancers, pneumonia, and other infections can occur at this stage. |
PROTECTING YOURSELF
It may take time to get used to the idea that it's your own actions--having unsafe sex or sharing needles--that put you at risk for getting HIV. But you can choose to protect yourself by playing it safer. That means taking steps to lower your risk of being exposed to the virus.
