Why are women more likely to be infected with HIV than men?

A report from the World Health Organization shows that the trend of HIV infection in China is gradually shifting from high-risk groups (drug addicts, prostitutes, and gay men) to the general population, especially women and children. A survey shows that among people aged 15 to 24, the number of females infected with HIV is twice that of males. Looking at the ratio of male to female AIDS patients in recent years, the proportion of female HIV-infected people has been increasing year by year, and in some areas it has even approached or exceeded that of men. Therefore, women should build a line of defense to prevent AIDS.

How and why do women get infected with HIV?

There are three ways of HIV transmission: 1. Transmission through sexual contact; 2. Transmission through blood; 3. Transmission from mother to child. From a physiological point of view, women have a larger mucous membrane area exposed during sexual contact, making them more susceptible to HIV. Secondly, women are more susceptible to HIV infection due to childbirth and abortion, which increases the chance of transmission through menstrual blood. From the perspective of women's social status, the preference for boys over girls, cultural concepts, and lack of sexual health knowledge have to a large extent made women more susceptible to HIV. Therefore, the efforts of women to take AIDS prevention measures must be strengthened, and marriage, pregnancy, and prenatal medical consultations, safe sex, and requiring sexual partners to use condoms must be encouraged, while at the same time, women's independence must be improved.

Seven suggestions from doctors for preventing AIDS:

1. Avoid unsafe sex. When having sex, be sure to use condoms. Although the chance of HIV transmission through sexual intercourse is only 0.03-0.05%, if it happens to you, it is 100% dangerous.

2. Do not take drugs and avoid sharing syringes, etc.

3. Avoid having multiple sexual partners; keep yourself clean.

4. Avoid unnecessary exposure to blood; operations such as beauty treatments, tattoos, ear piercing, pedicure, etc. all involve blood exposure and should be avoided as much as possible. If you must perform the above operations, do not go to a cheap operating room or an institution without a hygiene certificate to perform such high-risk operations; if these instruments are not strictly disinfected, it is easy to cause HIV infection.

5. Avoid sharing items such as toothbrushes.

6. Women should pay attention to hygiene during menstruation. Do not throw sanitary napkins around to avoid blood contamination.

7. If there is bleeding caused by trauma at work or sports trauma, you must take care to protect yourself. When rescuing the wounded, avoid contact of broken skin with the wounded's blood.

Since there is no AIDS vaccine yet, health education is the best vaccine to prevent AIDS at this stage; AIDS is not scary, what is scary is the ignorance and fear of AIDS, so popularizing AIDS knowledge and changing bad behaviors are important measures to prevent and control AIDS. When seeking medical treatment, you should choose regular medical institutions for scientific treatment and avoid going to illegal clinics, which will not only delay the treatment but may also cause nosocomial infections and endanger your health.