(Red) ikal Noise

I'd feel somewhat remiss if I left off without saying anything, if only brief, concerning some of the themes in the last entry. The story is partially about solitude. Both hers and the protagonist's. His is very self imposed -- hers is undoubtedly tied to her situation, but, in a way, equally self imposed. His solitude is a product of boredom and also his feeling that he's swept up in a life in which he doesn't really belong. Hers is a product of shame. She's HIV positive. She feels marked, dirty, cursed, and a danger to those around her.

Realistically, however, most people in her situation would NOT necessarily feel or act this way. Practically speaking, the odds of a HIV positive person passing on HIV are extremely low. Unprotected, we're talking one in three hundred. Protected, one in three thousand. The odds get a little worse depending on your preferences (lol buttsex), but never much worse than one in a hundred. Even "very" risky behavior such as needle jousting only yields a one in fifty chance to pass on the bug. HIV is just not very good at infecting humans. Once it manages to take hold, yeah, you're (sorta) fucked. But it's a fragile bug -- the virus dies immediately on being exposed to air; spilled blood from an infected person is very unlikely to be dangerous.

The point is that many and probably most infected people remain sexually active and simply make sure they always use protection. Some inform their partners, some don't. Becoming infected might change your sex life, but it doesn't necessarily mark it's end. Realistically, when it comes to diseases you might get off some random at a club, HIV ranks lower than most in overall risk.

On the topic of HIV's effect on reproduction, the risk of passing the virus to children is actually quite low if the mother has access to top medical care. Mother to child transmission, even ignored, is one in ten, but practically should never happen if the mother is getting top medical attention. It's still a reasonably big deal as the treatment given to the child is pretty hard on the infant's body and can require lots of additional medical attention. (Liver failure from the PEP etc)

I think the latest story perhaps gives the impression that, if you sleep with a HIV positive person, you're fucked. Not really. In the event that you do end up being exposed to the virus, you should immediately seek medical care, and if you do so within days of the exposure, a PEP can almost entirely eradicate any chance of infection.

I don't like talking about serious shit very often, but the amount of misinformation on HIV out there is gigantic, and I don't want to feel like I added to it. ^^

If you're ugly, fat, or particularly boring, this isn't directed at you.

"When God gives you aids, make lemonaids"