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Why do so many people have HIV?

After reading these forums and everything related to hiv. It seems like it isnt that easy to catch. 1/2000 with an infected person with a condom. can't get it from oral. 1/100 anally. It just seems like so many people have it but when i read this forum it seems like everyone says it so hard to get. Everyone has all the symptoms but most test negative. Anyone have an answer for this. And why does it seem to run so rampant in africa? just curious....
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Avatar universal
Yes, your worries have all to do with anxiety. If it bothers you so much don't have sex.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm gay but I always have had protected sex. Still, I worry after "low risk" / "no risk" incidents. It causes me a lot of anxiety and I lose a lot of sleep. At this point I am convinced *again* that I've caught HIV from sex with a condom or unprotected oral. It's hard for me to even think that people have unprotected sex, especially gay people. I read yesterday that cases of HIV are on the rise among young gay men, which made me very worried. The logical side of me sys that this is probably because they are having a lot of unprotected anal sex wile using drugs but at the same time I am worried that my "safe" behavior is putting me at risk.

I think it has much more to do with anxiety than reason or fact.
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Avatar universal
You can abstain from sex all you want but you were never at risk.
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170597 tn?1204052755
Agreed. I do worry a lot after protected sex with fear of what if condom slipped. What if there were holes in condoms. On the other hand, one of my friend, he got genital warts due to unprotected sex. He didn't even bother testing at all and moved on. One of my other friend never used condoms and he had been with ten different girls and he never got tested.

While, I had protected sex and I was losing my sleep over it. Every time I had either protected sex, oral or fingering incident, I start losing my sleep. Now, I am even worried about kissing. Best way atleast for me is to stay abstain. Or wait until I find trust worthy female partner. These one night stands ain't for me.
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Avatar universal
I totally agree with you. There are basically 2 kinds of people First who have protected sex and still get worried about hiv; like me. and others who have sex many times protected or unprotected, but still sleeps peacefully without any worries.  
Helpful - 0
170597 tn?1204052755
That's right. Also, to my knowledge I know that many people who don't use rubbers on purpose because they don't feel anything! There are very few people to my knowledge who are actually concerned about hiv, the others don't even care about testing at all. Which is scary.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected in the US.
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Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected in the US.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected in the US.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected in the US.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected in the US.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That info was just for 2005 that's why I said that it was BS to say that not that many people are infected. You seen for yourself the number of infected heterosexuals just for one year. Yes, gays are the majority of those infected.
Helpful - 0
170597 tn?1204052755
Ok, let me know if my calculation is wrong here:

Total US population: 301,139,947
Total People infected with hiv: 1,185,000

US population/infected people = 1 in 254

That is with reported cases. There are many people who don't even know they got it. That's a lot. Which leaves me to wonder why doctor says that not that many people are infected.

This is what I found from cdc website.

Category of Transmission:
Male-to-male sexual contact: 18,296
Injection Drug Use: 5292
Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use: 1324
High-risk heterosexual contact: 11,989 (So much with no tranasmission of Heteosexual contact)

Link: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm
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170597 tn?1204052755
So what exactly is the fact? Would you please insight me? I would appreicate that for future concerns.
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Avatar universal
That's nothing but a bunch of BS.
Helpful - 0
170597 tn?1204052755
One thing I don't understand is that Dr.HHH saying that major population of gaymen are infected. Not straight men and women. Why gaymen are at higher risk? Does condoms have risk of breaking with gay anal sex? I don't get it.

Also, according to Dr.HHH, US don't have that many people infected. What exactly is the number here? I mean, 1 out of how many are infected? What is their habits? straight or gay?

Thanks
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
HIV is such a successful virus (in terms of propagation) because it has such a long propogation time in the body before symptoms begin to appear (AIDS) which allows the host the opportunity to spread it unknowingly sexually. The case with Africa is due to poverty and lack of education. The cheapest way to avoid HIV is to use protection during any  sexual encounters, but if you can imagine, a condom that costs maybe 75 cents here is almost impossible for a poor farmer in Africa to buy. You also have AIDS dissidents like the president of South Africa, who claims HIV is not the cause of AIDS.
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Avatar universal
Hiv is on the rise because people have dropped there guard down some. I think that there is a misconception that it's not so bad anymore, just a few pills and your good when that's far from the truth of it all. Nobody talks about hiv  until it's too late, people act like hiv does not exsist until they are confronted with it, some of the posts i've read on this forum, the body and aidsmeds , ect.. ..senseless exposures that they are going to have to live down for the rest of their lives man..i never understand why people are willing to risk so much for so little. I don't get it..
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Avatar universal
where did u here 1 in 300?
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Avatar universal
That's not true at all. Even if a person has an undetectable VL they can still infect others. Your blood VL has nothing to do with your semen VL
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i dont know much abt a HIV
but i belive virus has to enter in blood but how does i.e 1 time any kind of sex or more u do
no 1 can predict
also it depend up on concentration of virus in exposed liquid
Helpful - 0
340962 tn?1201172036
I was told at the clinic in Miami that Miami-Dade county is 1 in 40 people (ughh). Way above the national average. If my tests come out negative, perhaps I'll move, or stay inside my apartment and play video games day after day after day.
Helpful - 0
277836 tn?1359666174
heres one for you in the us 1 in 300 have hiv
Helpful - 0
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