Is it possible to avoid HIV transmission after unprotected sex with an HIV-positive partner?

The headline says it all 🙂

Of course.
We’re looking at a 5% to 15% chance of infection here.
Basically, it’s about 5-10% for guys and 10-15% for women.
And even if you do catch it, it doesn't mean you'll start feeling sick right away...

Yeah.

By the way, if my memory serves me right—and I could be wrong here—🤔 I feel like I read somewhere that there’s actually a higher probability of a woman catching something from a man than the other way around... which, honestly, seems pretty logical when you think about it.

I heard about this woman who was married for years and had two kids, only to find out she’d been living with HIV since before they even met. Her husband and children were all negative.

btw, is that the ad you see on Instagram?

Edward Green said:I heard about this woman who was married for years—had two kids, too—only to find out she’d been infected before the marriage even started. Her husband and both children were HIV negative.

Yeah, I remember reading about that family in the news... though if I recall correctly, one of the sons actually tested positive while the other didn't.🤔

Aha... a friend told me about it. I wasn't really paying attention, and I had no clue it was even written in English. 🙂

Exactly. The real issue lies in the micro-tears, mucosal damage, and bleeding... which is precisely why women face a higher risk—there's a much greater chance of injury during intercourse, which opens the door to infection.

And honestly, going without protection is nothing short of Russian roulette.
That’s exactly what condoms are designed for. Not those cheap, textured nonsense ones you find at some corner drugstore... 😁

Regardless of the circumstances, if there was unprotected sex, you really ought to get tested... obviously not immediately, since nothing would show up on a test right away...

Mark Lee65 said:Sure.
The infection probability sits somewhere between 5 and 15%.
For men, we're looking at 5-10%, while for women, it's closer to 10-15%.
And even if you do catch it, there’s no guarantee the illness will manifest immediately...

I actually read somewhere that the numbers might be even lower—maybe as low as 5%.
If I can track down those specific stats in that book I was reading, I'll let you know.
Are these figures just your best guess, or are you pulling them from a specific source?

Aha, it’s all just statistics at the end of the day. I’ve heard stories about kids falling from the seventh floor and walking away fine. You could basically dash across a busy highway in downtown Chicago and see if luck is on your side.

To me, those questions are pointless. Some things are simply off-limits—unprotected sex with an infected person falls squarely into that category.

young.but.dead said:I mean, did you even bother reading the post right above yours? 😁

Teeeeeeeeeeerrrrrriiiiiiiibbbllllllllyyyyyy awwwwwwwwwwfuuuuuuuullllllll.🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

stormylynx14 said:Sure, you can throw around statistics all day. I’ve heard stories about kids falling from seven stories up and walking away fine. You could just close your eyes and sprint across a busy interstate in downtown Chicago to see if luck is on your side.

To me, those arguments are totally pointless. Some things are just non-negotiable social boundaries—like having unprotected sex with someone who is infected. That falls squarely into the "absolutely not" category.

Look, I get it, but we aren't talking about the same thing here.
Let’s say a condom breaks while you're with an infected partner (or maybe you didn't realize they were positive and skipped protection entirely)—in that scenario, at least you have a baseline level of likely knowing you're probably okay.
Nobody in this thread is actually suggesting you play Russian roulette with your health.😉

Less than a 1% chance of catching it—not even worth worrying about, right?

crimsonmason42 said:The risk of infection is less than 1%.

Finally, a realistic take. You could round it up to 1%, though at the end of the day, we're all just dancing around numbers.

Depends on whether there's anal involved... as far as I know, it happens with straight people all the time too, but the probability is ten times higher there.

Look, the thing is, the virus needs access to the bloodstream. During sex, those tiny micro-tears can happen on both sides, which opens the door for transmission. I guess it just makes sense that with anal, there’s a higher chance of those kinds of abrasions occurring.