HIV/AIDS: What Raises Your Risk
What Increases Your Risk
Most people get HIV by having unprotected sex with someone who has HIV. Another common way of getting the virus is by sharing needles with someone who is infected with HIV when injecting drugs.
You have an increased risk of becoming infected with HIV through sexual contact if you:
Regina King's Fight Against HIV/AIDS
The November day in 1991 when basketball great Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced he was HIV-positive was a sobering reality check. All of a sudden, the disease many dismissed as affecting only gay men and intravenous drug users had hit a major celebrity. But the news struck Regina King especially hard. Then 20 years old and already making a living as an actor in Los Angeles, King had just broken up with her first love and first sexual partner -- a man she knew had cheated on her with at least one...
Read the Regina King's Fight Against HIV/AIDS article > >
- Have unprotected sex (do not use condoms).
- Have multiple sex partners.
- Are a man who has sex with other men.
- Have high-risk partner(s) (partner has multiple sex partners, is a man who has sex with other men, or injects drugs).
- Have or have recently had a sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis.
People who inject drugs or steroids, especially if they share needles, syringes, cookers, or other equipment used to inject drugs, are at risk of being infected with HIV.
Babies who are born to mothers who are infected with HIV are also at risk of infection.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
HIV & AIDS GuideToday in HIV & AIDS
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
©2005-2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.