AIDS Prevention and Condom Use
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS is what occurs when a virus invades the body and begins to destroy its immune system. Normal function of an immune system protects the body against illness and keeps the body healthy. When that immune system becomes compromised, the chance of a life threatening illness infecting the body is significantly increased. The deadly virus that attacks in the case of AIDS is HIV or human immunodeficiency virus. This virus attacks the cells that prevent infections from occurring. These cells are killed one by one until there are none remaining to protect the body. Under virus attack, the body begins to shut down and eventually death occurs.
In an ideal world, everyone would know the HIV status of a partner before engaging in sexual activity. In reality however, this is far from the case. Therefore, it is up to the individual to practice aids prevention by making the choice to use a condom each and every time. There are only two exceptions to this aids prevention rule. Either abstain from sexual activity altogether or commit to a long term monogamous relationship with a partner whose HIV status can be certified by an aids test. Even in this situation, aids prevention is not 100% guaranteed. A monogamous partner could have had an infected partner in the past that he or she is not aware of or willing to talk about. There are a few basic rules to adhere to in terms of aids prevention and condom use. The first and most important one is to use a new condom in each and every sexual activity. Sexual activity includes oral sex, anal sex and sexual intercourse. Most condoms are manufactured from latex. If there is a latex allergy with one or both partners, simply use a polyurethane condom. The only condom material that should be avoided in regards to hiv prevention is lambskin. When it comes to aids prevention, lambskin is not effective in the prevention of passing HIV from one partner to another.
Tags: AIDS Prevention, Condom Use, HIV Prevention