The Danger of Unsafe Sex - Essay Example

The Danger of Unsafe Sex Unsafe sex is a term that gained prominence from the early 1980s owing to the onset on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The danger of unsafe sex is rife in vaginal, oral and anal forms of intercourse and transmission can occur, although with relative degree of risk, in all of them. It is important to note that STIs are very common nowadays and their spread is as a result of people engaging in unsafe sexual practices. Most of them are relatively easy to overcome through available drugs while others are deadly. HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and gonorrhoea are the most feared and hard-to-treat STIs (Staras, Cook and Clark, 2009). Failure to use protections or taken precautions to protect oneself against sexually transmitted infections amounts to unsafe sexual practice. The use of condoms form the basic and most widespread way of protecting oneself against such infections. It is also important to highlight that unsafe sex increases the risk of pregnancies but this is after a vaginal intercourse involving a man and a woman. If the pregnant woman contracts an STI in additional to the pregnancy then the baby is exposed to various risks of contracting the same infections at various stages of development. This paper primarily delves on the dangers of unsafe sex and primarily HIV/AIDS awareness and implications. When one engages in unprotected sex the Human Immunodeficiency Virus passes from one partner’s body to the other through bodily fluids which include semen, mucus and blood. An infection may or may not occur during unsafe sex since every circumstance and prevailing factors come into play. However, it is clear from researches that the more the number of sexual partners the higher the chances of getting infected with the HIV. The worst part in the transmission of this virus is that one stands to pass it during the early stages of the infection than any other time, and at this point it is highly unlikely for one to have realised they have the virus (Edgar, Fitpatrick and Freimuth, 2012). The reason for this is that one has relatively high concentration of HIV within a few months after the infection and no signs and symptoms are visible at this point. Unsafe sexual practices that result in the transmission of HIV mostly have two angles. The first is where a HIV negative individual engages in unsafe sex with a HIV positive individual. This is the most common and as indicated earlier it can lead to pregnancies as well. In many countries, it is now mandatory for pregnant women to get tested for HIV so as to take necessary precautions aimed at avoiding mother to baby transmission especially during delivery. Mother to baby transmission can also occur during breastfeeding and as a result this is highly discouraged. However, in case the mother contracts the virus while already breastfeeding and does not know about it then there is a high chance that the baby gets the virus (Sobo, 2011). The other angle of infection is where HIV positive individuals engage in unsafe sex. This is a dangerous engagement as it leads to one getting super infected. One risks acquiring alien strains of the virus which may prove difficult to treat. When HIV is lodged in one’s body its main threat is the tendency to hugely suppress the immune system where CD4 cells’ count goes down. A perfectly healthy person normally encounters various parasites, bacteria and viruses, but owing to their effective immune system, their body is able to naturally get rid of them. This is, with an HIV infected individual, not the case as such parasites and organisms will take a toll on them as the body is unable to effectively fight them. This is what leads to opportunistic infections that take root as a result of one’s weak immunity. A HIV positive individual is, therefore, more likely to get various diseases that a HIV negative person will not have; common ones being tuberculosis, pneumonia and candidiasis (Susser, 2011). It is these opportunistic infections that lead to high mortality rates as a result of HIV turning into AIDS. Nowadays, thanks to innovation in pharmaceutical technology, drugs are increasingly effective towards the suppression of the virus thereby increasing the CD4 cells and thus boosting immunity. For a long time HIV/AIDS was regarded as a death sentence (Clark, Maupin, Hayes and Hammer 2012). This owed to the fact that the epidemic caught the medical fraternity and researchers with surprise. As a result, deaths from AIDS soared quickly in the late 1980s and in the 1990s. Fortunately, with increased funding and awareness of the virus and AIDS researchers have been able to develop drugs and treatment modes that have drastically reduced the progressing of HIV condition to full-blown AIDS according to Ashton (2012). Through increased awareness of the disease throughout the world the rate of spread has also reduced drastically. For example, there are now laws enacted solely to prosecute those who are proven to maliciously spread the virus. This happens when a person knowingly fails to inform their partner of their HIV positive status and proceed to engage in unsafe sex. Unsafe sex usually triggers, in most people, the notion of risking contracting HIV/AIDS. To some extent this is true because one of the most serious sexually transmitted infections is HIV. Unsafe sex means that the parties have not used condoms, either male of female condoms, or any other barrier and thus risk acquiring these infections. HIV/AIDS can be from one sexual partner to another where one with HIV transmits to the other through bodily fluids. It can also be from the mother to child especially during birth; however, this happens when due care is not taken and such cases are not common nowadays. Suffering from HIV/AIDS renders one susceptible to opportunistic infections like tuberculosis and pneumonia due to one’s weakened immune system. It is at this point that one turns from simply HIV positive to having AIDS. Nowadays, there is increased awareness of HIV/AIDS and new cases of transmission have reduced the world over with some countries having laws that punish those that knowingly spread the virus. There are also better treatment regimens which prolong the life of those suffering from AIDS. However, AIDS remains one of the most dangerous diseases in the modern world owing to the fact that it still has no cure more than three decades since the detection of the first case. References Ashton, A.Q. (2012) Advances in risk and prevention research and treatment: 2012 edition, Scholarly Editions. Clark, R.A., Maupin, R.T. Jr., Hayes, J. & Hammer, J.H. (2012) A womans guide to living with HIV infection, JHU Press. Edgar, T., Fitpatrick, M.A. & Freimuth, V.S. (2012) Aids: a communication perspective, Routledge. Sobo, E.J. (2011) Choosing unsafe sex: AIDS-risk denial among disadvantaged women, University of Pennsylvania Press, Staras, A., Cook, L. & Clark, B. (Apr 2009) "Sexual Partner Characteristics and Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Adolescents and Young Adults", Sexually Transmitted Diseases, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 232–238. Susser, I. (2011) AIDS, sex, and culture: global politics and survival in Southern Africa, John Wiley & Sons. Read More