HIV and Sex: Confessing to a New Partner

Like I mentioned before my true inspiration in life is to be a doctor and go on to help individuals over come diseases and injuries. Caring for another individual is my true calling in life and I am very passionate about the ability of helping someone hurdle over an obstacle. In saying that this class has broaden my knowledge on how a virus can have so much power over mankind. I had no idea how helpless we were in fighting this virus, and only recently have we been able to make some true progress. This week I stood back and evaluated my progress in this class. At the beginning of the semester I had a vague idea about the virus and now I now tons of information about HIV, the mechanisms, the treatments, the clinical test, and etc. Furthermore, what I have failed to realize until recently is how HIV/AIDS has brought us together. In some aspect about this virus you know someone who is infected, was infected, is dying of AIDS, is doing research on AIDS, is trying to find a vaccine for the virus, and so on. Most of humankind has taken a stand on the disease. Just the other day as I was watching college football between Notre Dame and USC when an advertisement came on about how Notre Dame is researching for a vaccine. My point here is that this fight against HIV/AIDS is every where and taking this class has open my eyes to it.

Furthermore, speaking of opening eyes, this week I will discuss the important time in a relationship when someone with HIV has to confess to a new individual about their status. I wanted to research any websites that stated when and where it was necessary to do so. According to Sex and Sexuality (2009) the first thing you should do when you find out or notify someone (your partner) that you are HIV positive is select a place and when you think is the best time to tell them. You want to choose a time when you guys are both comfortable and relaxed. Next, think about how your partner will react to stressful news and if they have a history of violence in your relationship, as you should consider your safety first and plan for a situation that might go to the extreme. Also, think about having a case manager or counselor there as support for both of you. Finally, imagine several ways that you partner might react to the news that you are HIV positive, as you might want to write down what he or she might say, and then think about what you might say in response (Sex and Sexuality, 2009). I think preparations for situations such as these are crucial and should be thought about before actions take place. That is way I included that in my did you know section this week. I hope this helps someone out.

Sources

Sex and Sexuality. (2009). In HIV In Site, retrieved October 29, 2009, from http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/hiv?page=pb-daily-sex#S3.2X

HIV, SEX, and a Vaccination

This week I will continue my conversation, but take it into a different direction and hope I can get responses from individuals out there. I recently just found an article about a new vaccine that has been studied for the HIV virus. Now considering my interest is HIV and Sex, and who does not want to talk about sex, I want to tie in Sex and this new vaccine if I can.

The new recently studied AIDS vaccine showed that it is only marginally effective, however scientist are extremely excited because it is a positive start in finding a vaccine for this deadly virus. The results concluded that the vaccine has a better effect on the general public then it does on those individuals who participate in high-risk behaviors such as gay men and intravenous drug users. Moreover, “last month, researchers announced that a two-vaccine combination cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31 percent in a trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand” (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2009). Even though the vaccine is not going to be used any time soon in the future, because scientists need to develop and make it more effective, the studies conducted indicate that the vaccine is beneficial. The vaccine is not produced solely form the whole HIV virus, and therefore cannot cause HIV infection. On the study in Thailand, the vaccine combo consisting of four doses of ALVAC and two doses of AIDSVAX over six months was given to half of the test subjects who where HIV-negative Thai men and women ages 18 to 30 at average risk of becoming infected. The other half received a dummy shot. The study showed new infections in 51 of the 8,197 subjects given the vaccine, while 74 subjects obtained the infection of 8,198 who received the dummy shot. Therefore, as mentioned above that comes out to 31 percent lower in risk for the vaccine group. In conclusion, this study shows improved scientific and medical advances to fight this killer virus, which can be extremely helpful in the future (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2009).

Furthermore, I believe in the near future, from evidence in this article, that a vaccine for HIV will be available. In saying that I believe people will start caring less about HIV/AIDS and continue to participate in high risk behaviors such as unprotected sex. Eventually, I think, people will begin to think that they are safe from danger and not care. Am I right in thinking this way? Is a vaccine the answer to this virus, or just an insurance option. I would like to think it would be an insurance option, but I think many individuals would take it as a answer and not care about unprotected sex and the dangers. What do you think?

Sources

Web: By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. AIDS Vaccine Seen as Modest Help in The New York Times (2009, Oct. 20). Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/20/health/AP-US-MED-AIDS-Vaccine.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=HIV%20vaccination&st=cse

HIV and Sex: The Law

This week I learned a lot from the panel discussion on wednesday. The questions and answers were all great and very knowledgeable. It really showed me how HIV/AIDS can really affect an individual and how serious it is. From the panel discussion I took away that the medications used to help treat HIV/AIDS have serious side affects, and that these side affects can affect a person for years. Also, I learned that some people do not really experience any side affects, while others do, and still while others experience serious side affects. Also, I learned that HIV/AIDS does not only affect your body, your family, but also were you live and your job. In one situation an individual felt that it was necessary to move from one town to a new town because her hometown was small and living in a town such as that could make life hard with HIV/AIDS. Also, certain jobs had to be left because what there occupation was, put other people in risk, or that HIV/AIDS required them to take up another occupation. Attending the panel was great, moreover, it has influence my topic this week due to my experience at the panel and what I learned.

Therefore, todays topic is HIV and Sex: The Law. Is someone living with HIV/AIDS required to tell there about to be sex partner that they are infected and that having unprotected sex with them puts them in great risk? Is the law involved in a situation such as this? Well to answer this question there are about 24 to 27 states now in the United States that will criminalize certain behaviors when people with HIV engage in them (Sex, Privacy and the Law when You;re HIV-Positive, 2007). Furthermore, every state has a law that has "been in existence since the early 1930s, that will make it a crime if someone with a communicable or infectious disease exposes another person to that disease" (Sex, Privacy and the Law when You;re HIV-Positive, 2007). So in half of the states of the United States an individual who has HIV/AIDS can be prosecuted if they have unprotected sex with another individual, but do not disclose them to there status. According to THE BODY (2000), "at the point when you decide to have sex the disclosure question is no longer solely up to you and your conscience. At that point, your decisions may have legal ramifications. Failing to disclose your HIV status to your partner may make you vulnerable to criminal prosecution or to being sued by your sexual partner."

Furthermore, in Sweden it is a law that a person with HIV/AIDS must tell their sex partner that they are in affected. Also, it is required by law that an individual with HIV/AIDS must seek medical attention, and if another individual witnesses someone with an infectious disease not participating in medical attention, then by law that individual must notify authorities (Problematizations and Path Dependency: HIV/AIDS Policies in Denmark and Sweden, 2007).

Sources

THE BODY. (2000). Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art32643.html

Problematizations and Path Dependency: HIV/AIDS Policies in Denmark and Sweden. (2007). Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/pmc/articles/PMC1712379/

Sex, Privacy and the Law When You're HIV-Positive. (2007). Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art53797.html

HIV and Oral Sex

So this week I viewed Silverlake Life and Common Threads. Both these films expanded my knowledge on HIV/AIDS and in a strange why put a human face on the disease. Watching Tom and Mark love each other, but struggle with the disease together was hard to watch at times. Seeing how the KS took over both their bodies and the wasting that occurred to Tom was extremely hard to watch. However, from this film I learned how hard it is to actually battle this disease. In one part of the film Tom has trouble going into the store and buying an item. Instead, he has to go back to his car and rest until he gets enough energy to continue on with his day. Common Threads was also very interesting in that it showed how anyone can get HIV/AIDS. It showed how a gay individual, a black individual, and a little child were all at the hands of this terrible disease. This film really touched me in that how this disease does not care at all who you are. Watching David Mandell and "How full of life he was" and all of that taken away at such an early age really hit home to me. In all I enjoyed and was very educated from both of these films.

This week I will be writing about HIV and Oral Sex. Can someone get the HIV virus from giving or getting oral sex? Well I always wondered this and if you have too, then keep on reading because I have the answer. Yes! Someone can get HIV from either giving oral sex or getting oral sex. The CDC states "If the person performing oral sex has HIV, blood from their mouth may enter the body of the person receiving oral sex through the lining of the urethra (the opening at the tip of the penis), the lining of the vagina or cervix, the lining of the anus, or directly into the body through small cuts or open sores" (Can I get HIV from oral sex?, 2006). On the other side or the getting end, "if the person receiving oral sex has HIV, their blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), or vaginal fluid may contain the virus" and through this the "cells lining the mouth of the person performing oral sex may allow HIV to enter their body" (Can I get HIV from oral sex?, 2006). The risk of HIV transmission increases if the individual giving oral sex has cuts or sores surrounding or in their mouth or throat, if the individual on the receiving end ejaculates in the mouth of the individual performing oral sex, or if the individual on the receiving end has a sexually transmitted disease (STD) (Can I get HIV from oral sex?, 2006). So what if I want to give or receive oral sex and abstaining from it is not an option? Well one can use condoms to significantly decrease their chances of getting HIV from oral sex. I hope you enjoyed this HIV knowledge on a topic about sex, I know I did!

Source:

Can I get HIV from oral sex?. (2006). In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa19.htm