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Highest Risks for the Spread of HIV

from: YOUNG EAGLES’ CHALLENGE: A Peer Education Training Manual for First Nations Youth on HIV/AIDS and Related Issues

Direct blood to blood contact is one of the highest risks for catching HIV. Blood that has been out in the open air, is NOT as high a risk, because air kills HIV very fast. If there is a deep puddle of blood from a fight or if someone was in an accident or cut themselves, plus the room is very warm, HIV could stay alive for awhile. Whenever there is blood around, latex gloves should ALWAYS be worn for clean up.

Some games can be a concern, like bloody knuckles, which is where the knuckles are hit by the other persons knuckles and eventually, the skin gets broken. If one of the people playing the game has HIV, there could be risks. When you get blood from a person who has either HIV or AIDS inside you, there is HIGH RISK to catch HIV. There could be some risks with fighting too, but because blood is open to air and both people may only have minor contact that lasts a few seconds at a time, then there can be risks but not as much as some other activities.

Some ways you may come in contact with blood are:

• sharing injection drug equipment, which have not been cleaned with a bleach and water mixture is one of the highest ways;
• fighting, where there is a lot of blood and possibly deep cuts;
• sharing drug use equipment, like a straw or rolled up paper tsnort drugs like cocaine or speed up the nose;
• sharing any type of medical equipment that involves blood or other body fluids;
• bloody knuckles, or similar games where there is blood;
• someone cuts themselves, especially a deep cut; and
• anal, oral, or vaginal sex can also be ways of having contact with
• blood, even in small amounts.

WOMEN'S ISSUES:
For First Nations women, HIV is becoming a growing concern and many Aboriginal women are becoming HIV-positive. There are many negative side affects for women when they have to live with this disease. The risk factors are slightly different for Aboriginal women than non-Aboriginal women which will be talked about more in a later section. However, evidence shows that injection drug use is a key factor for many. Unprotected sex is another, which raises the issues of whether First Nations women feel safe or strong enough to make their sexual partners wear condoms. Sexual assaults are one clear example of where this control would not be available for a woman. Substance use can also be a factor for some. Partners who cheat on them is another.

Women can be at HIGHER RISK for HIV when they are near or on their period. This is because the vagina has small blood vessels which are opened where the virus can enter the body more easily. Broken skin or open vessels mean when cum with HIV goes inside the women, there is high risk. Women who are pregnant and HIV positive can give it to their babies during childbirth. Pregnant women once they know they have HIV, can take HIV medications to reduce risk to the baby when born. Also, the type of birth (caesarian) can reduce risks. Also important is the issue of sexual assault, including date rape. There are people who prey on women at night clubs or parties by dropping pills into their drinks which cause them to pass out and be unaware of what is happening to them. The person then takes them to some place and forces sex on them, and the woman is unable to defend herself. This type of vicious attack can also happen at parties where a woman has too much to drink and passes out. There are situations where a group of guys have sex or gang bang the woman. These acts of aggression are against the law and simply wrong behavior that needs to be addressed and corrected. Obviously, all of these sexual attacks can put the woman at risk if any of the guys has HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease.

OTHER DISEASES:

There are other diseases, which can be very serious that can be spread whenever blood is involved. Some are known as Hepatitis A, B or C. They affect the liver and some can cause major health problems. STI's or sexually transmitted infections, which used to be called sexually transmitted diseases, can also be spread when there is unprotected sex. Some common ones are: chlamydia; syphilis; gonorrhea; genital warts; herpes; and crabs. Having a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) puts people at higher risk for contracting HIV because it weakens the immune system and open sores are ways for the HIV to enter the body.

UNPROTECTED SEX:

Sex involves the physical acts. Unprotected sex means sex without a
condom or other things, like a dental damn or plastic food wrap, that are
used to block contact with the body fluids.

Sex can include:

• oral sex (blow job on a guy or going down on a girl);
• anal sex (entering the butt);
• vaginal sex (entering a woman);
• masturbation (jerking off, pleasuring yourself).

All of these sexual acts have different levels of risk. Remember, one
person must have HIV to give it to another person. Also remember, that
you cannot tell by simply looking at someone whether they have HIV, and
it may not be enough if someone says they do not have it. Trust in an
intimate relationship takes time to build. Semen (cum) can have a lot of
HIV in it, including pre-ejaculate or pre-cum. The following three
examples are all sexual acts without using a condom or other barrier like
a dental dam.

• Oral sex (mouth to penis or vagina) is still sex and can be a lower risk, unless there are problems inside the mouth or throat, like bleeding gums, throat infections or recent dental work;
• Anal sex (penis inside anus) is high risk because the anus (butt) can tear when something goes inside it, causing an opening in the skin where HIV can make its way in. Not only gay men have anal sex, others do too;
• Vaginal sex (penis inside vagina) is high risk because the body fluid (cum) is going inside the woman. Young women up to around the age of sixteen, are still physically developing, so if they have sex before that age, there can be more ways that HIV gets inside the body because the body is not fully developed;
• Oral/Anal sex (mouth to anus) carries risks for other things, like hepatitis A and B or parasites which can make a person very sick and can be spread to others.

For a guy, the penis (dick) can have small tears or scratches which can have some risk if it comes in contact with HIV. The opening (urethra) where the urine (piss) comes out has tiny blood vessels which can be one area where HIV can make its way inside the blood stream. For guys that are not circumcised and have a foreskin, it is extremely important to clean underneath the foreskin because this is one area of the penis where HIV can enter the body because it is a warm, moist fold of skin that allows the virus to live longer when the penis has had unprotected contact with body fluids that have HIV.