HIV and drugs: how you can get HIV from drugs

According to a 2014 WHO report, there are approximately 36.9 million people living with HIV. One of your risk factors for getting HIV is the consumption of narcotics and illegal drugs, aka drugs.

How can drug consumption cause someone to get HIV?

The consumption of illegal drugs plays a more important role in HIV transmission than the use of drugs by injection. The reason is that someone who is under the influence of certain drugs is more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as having unprotected sex with an infected person and sharing drugs or injection equipment with a person who has HIV.

In fact, HIV-infected blood can also get into medicinal solutions in a number of ways. Among them:

Using a syringe that is contaminated with blood to prepare medicine
Reuse water to dissolve medicine
Reuse bottle caps, spoons, or other containers to dissolve medication in water and to heat medicinal solutions
Reusing a small piece of cotton or cigarette filters to filter out particles that can clog needles

Drug dealers can repack used syringes and sell them as sterile syringes. For this reason, people who need to inject drugs should get a syringe from a trusted source, such as a pharmacy or an authorized needle exchange program.

It is important to know that sharing needles or syringes for any purpose, such as skin popping or injecting steroids, hormones or silicones, can put you at risk for HIV and blood-borne infections.

In addition, drug abuse and addiction can worsen HIV symptoms, such as causing nerve injury and cognitive impairment. In addition, consuming alcohol or other drugs can affect the immune system and accelerate disease progression.

Treatments for drug abuse can be effective at preventing the spread of disease, due to the strong link between drug abuse and the spread of HIV. Treatment for drug abuse includes reducing the risk of HIV, such as stopping or reducing drug use and risky behaviors.

Substances and drugs that are often abused

Alcohol

If you drink a lot of alcohol at once, such as at a binge drinking, there are several health and social consequences such as unprotected casual sex. Because alcohol can greatly obscure the cognitive function of the brain in making decisions, sex under the influence of alcohol is more likely to be less condom use, and to have a different number of sexual partners. This is why alcohol consumption can be an important risk factor for HIV infection.

Cocaine

Cocaine can deplete your energy quickly and so it drives you to take 1001 ways to get back on the drug. Cocaine abuse increases the risk of HIV infection with risky behavior, such as different sexual partners, minimal use of condoms, increased sex drive, and use of more than one substance.

Methamphetamine

Similar to the two substances above, abuse of methamphetamine (or meth) also increases the risk of unprotected casual sex. In addition, these substances can be addictive and are used by injection. A person who uses meth tends to have dryness of the skin of the penis and mucous tissue in the anus and vagina. Dry genital organs can make it easier for sores and abrasions to occur during sex where the HIV virus can enter the body. Some gay and bisexual men combine meth with strong drugs linked to unprotected anal sex.

Inhalant (solvent)

Nitrite inhalants are associated with risky sexual behavior, drug use, and sexually transmitted infections in homosexual and bisexual men. Inhalants are also frequently used by teenagers, such as to increase sexual satisfaction, aid anal sex by increasing sensitivity and relaxing the anal muscles, which leads to more unprotected sexual intercourse.

Other drugs have also been linked to an increased risk of HIV infection, such as:

Using "rape drugs" such as ecstasy, ketamine, and GHB can cloud your logic and decisions about sex and drug use. You're more likely to have unprotected or unprotected sex, or use other drugs, such as injectable drugs or meth. This behavior can increase the risk of HIV exposure. If you have HIV, this can also increase your risk of spreading HIV.
Use of amyl nitrite (inhalants also known as "poppers") has been linked to HIV risk. Poppers, which are sometimes used for anal sex because they relax the anal muscles, have been linked to risky sexual behavior, illegal drug use, and sexually transmitted diseases among gay and bisexual men. Use of the drug has also recently been linked to increased use in adolescents.

Many people with HIV get infected because of their weakened immune system. The best way to prevent the transmission and spread of HIV is to seek medical care and use HIV drugs as directed.