Top 5 Myths on how you can get infected with HIV

Mosquitoes

Truth: Sounds scary by fortunately is a complete myth. First of all we know that the HIV virus dies really quickly once it is out of the human body unless it is specially stored in a sealed syringe or blood bag. This certainly does not apply when it is in the belly of the mosquito. Furthermore, the amount of blood that is actually transmitted by a mosquito sting is too little and therefore carries too few HIV viruses to infect a person. Honestly, there are a whole lot more things to worry about from mosquito stings like Dengue and Malaria than HIV.

Chopsticks

Truth: Another complete myth. You cannot get infected with HIV by sharing chopsticks, spoons, forks or any other piece of silverware. The saliva contains very little HIV virus to begin with. The few that actually get into your mouth are quickly killed by antibodies in your own saliva. Also, the saliva is much less concentrated that the HIV virus (scientific jargon: hypotonic) and this makes the HIV virus literally swell up and die. There is also a chemical called Mucin in the saliva that kills the HIV virus. Just like mosquitoes, there are other worse things to worry about from shared chopsticks like Helicobacter Pylori. Yes it is as nasty as it sounds and a whole lot more common than HIV.

Toilet Seats

Truth: A very common worry especially amongst ladies but a completely unfounded one. Remember the HIV virus dies really quickly when out of the human body? By the time you sit on it, most if not all of the HIV virus is probably already dead. Furthermore, another fact is HIV cannot infect you through your skin. Some people may worry that they have small cuts or abrasions on their thighs they did not know about. This is still not a problem because most of the natural defences of the skin are still present even if there was a cut of abrasion. The skin defends itself in a lot more ways that just being a mechanical barrier. It has immune cells, antibodies and all sorts of other mechanisms to kill any virus or bacteria that seek to invade it. More paranoid people may worry about the blood splashing onto their privates and infecting them from there. Again that is not a worry as the amount of blood would be too small to overcome the natural defences of the mucosal membranes that cover your more sensitive areas.

Splashes

Truth: Well if this was true the number of people infected with HIV in this world would be a whole lot more than 35 million. This is obviously another myth. Although the saliva does contain HIV virus, it is too little to cause an infection. Furthermore, the amount of saliva that actually gets into the eye in these situations is probably less than a drop. Even in the very unlikely scenario that some HIV virus got onto the eye, the natural defences of the eye will easily kill it. There have never been any cases of anyone getting infected with HIV in this way.

Cuts

Truth: You watched Lord of the Rings? Remember the scene at Helms Deep when the orcs blew a huge hole in the castle wall? What happened in the end? The orcs still got beaten back right? Your skin is like that. The skin defences are more than just a mechanical barrier. It has antibodies and immune cells and all sorts of defence mechanisms waiting to kill whatever virus comes its way. In fact, this is not even a good analogy. Because for a cut to breach the entire skin barrier, it would be so deep that it is gushing blood and need stitches. Trust me, you would be heading straight to the nearest clinic or hospital if you had a cut like that. Furthermore, the blood on the railing most likely cannot even infect you in the first place! Remember HIV dies quickly outside the body? That does not mean you should be walking around with an open wound. Although you cannot get infected with HIV you can get infected with Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and all sorts of other nasty bacteria.

So how can you get infected with HIV?

You can get HIV by having unprotected sex with someone with HIV, by having multiple casual sexual partners and by sharing needles for injection drug abuse with someone infected with HIV. The surest way to protect yourself from HIV is to stay faithful to your partner who stays faithful to you. If not, always use a good quality latex condom.