PREVENTION

While AIDS is a high-risk disease it can be prevented if proper precautions are taken and greater awareness meted out to those who are ignorant of the virus and its repercussions on the human body. Here we have listed a few measures which can be adopted by everyone inorder to stave off the insidious entry of HIV.• Prevention is still the best bet. Promiscuous sexual behavior can leave a person highly susceptible to contracting the virus. Where abstinence is not possible, always use latex condoms. The female condom can also help protect both partners. Use only water-based lubricants. Oil lubricants (such as Vaseline) might even tear latex condoms. Use spermicidal (birth control) foams and jellies in addition to condoms. By themselves, spermicides may not be effective in preventing HIV.
• Avoid alcohol or drugs during sex, you might lose control of your senses and engage in unsafe sex. Stick to safer sex practices at all times and avoid having multiple partners. Practice monogamy. If this is a tall order, serial relationships are a lesser evil than multiple ones.• High-risk sexual behavior should be avoided at all costs. These include: oral genital sex involving contact with semen or vaginal fluids, oral anal sex, vaginal sex without a condom, anal sex sans a condom (active or passive), fisting or manual anal intercourse, the sharing of sex toys, using saliva for lubrication and blood contact of any kind during performance. If unable to resist oral sex, use a dental dam. If a woman is infected, avoid sex during the menses as menstrual blood is infectious• For transfusions, use disposable syringes and needles. Ensure you get blood that is screened and certified as HIV-free. Better still, get blood from close family members rather than professional donors whose medical antecedents are nebulous. • The presence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) increases the risk of contracting HIV from an infected partner. STDs could cause breaks in the skin of the vagina, penis or anus permitting the virus to enter your bloodstream. If you ever contract an STD of any kind, ensure you get prompt treatment.• The CDC recommends that an HIV-positive woman should not breast-feed her baby. The infant should be given AZT for the first several weeks to substantially reduce the risk of infection.