by Trish Austin

Created on: April 17, 2010

Women can become infected with the HIV virus many ways.It's imperative that people are educated about how the virus is spread. Especially the younger people where fallacies seem to prevail over fact. And as researchers have studied  they have found  that women are more vulnerable to the infection more now than ever.

First, a woman  can become infected with HIV by having unprotected sex with a partner who has the HIV virus. If the woman has a sore or a tiny lesion in her vagina or near her vagina or cervix her partner's infected semen will get into her blood stream and infect her body. Or if her partner has a sore on his penis his infected blood will infect her. But, the virus will be in higher concentration in the semen than the blood .

Another way a woman can acquire HIV is through unprotected oral sex. Once again if she has a small sore in her mouth or in the back of her mouth. Once the sore has contact with the infected semen and the semen contacts her blood she will become infected with the virus.

Also, a woman can become infected by having unprotected anal sex with an infected partner. By nature, anal tissue is very fragile. If it tears, and then infected semen has contact with the tear, the woman will become infected. Where this sex act is concerned and HIV. One is safest to abstain all together. Even with condoms it is a dangerous act.

Of course, drug users sharing needles can become infected with HIV. So, they need to use new needles every time . Or keep up with "their" needles and not let any one use them. In the past there was a threat of contracting HIV from blood transfusions. But, that risk has been eradicated.

However, the frighting discovery researchers have found is the HIV virus  can permeate the healthy vaginal tissue wall of women. It doesn't necessarily need a sore or a lesion. Scientists have  thought that the healthy tissue of a woman served as some  sort of barrier. Not a perfect one. But a barrier nonetheless. Now, the new thought is that during intercourse the HIV virus can enter a woman's healthy vaginal wall.

So, condom use is more important than ever. Actually, one could argue that in case the man's condom falls off or leaks that the woman should use the female condom.

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