Whatever your favourite sex flavour, learn to do it safely

Last week, leading up to Halloween, About.com’s HIV blogger Mark Cichocki reminded us of a fun (and unusual) HIV transmission question.  Are Vampires at Risk for HIV?  For the record, Janet and I have both fallen victim to the current vampire craze, waiting impatiently for the paperback release of each new Sookie Stackhouse book (which we’ve already borrowed from library) and engaging in very serious and drawn-out critical discussions of the Twilight series.  It’s safe to say we’re vampire literature enthusiasts, and as sexual health educators we are also interested in this less-common-than-most HIV prevention question: Can you get HIV from drinking infected blood?

You probably know, at least in the most abstract terms, that HIV is transmitted by sex and in the blood … but most people have question when we get into the particulars of real people in real situations.  There are as many different kinds of sex and fantasy as there are people.  Since researchers have started asking, we’ve been learning that people are a whole lot more creative than your first childhood birds and bees talk might have led you to believe.  More and more heterosexual folks (men and women) admit to enjoying anal sex, and studies show (also here) that even young people explore all kinds of sex (sometimes thinking they are avoiding sex and STIs because they are avoiding vaginal intercourse … not so!)  As Cichocki points out, there are people who get their kicks drinking blood.  We like to celebrate sexual diversity and encourage women to be informed and confident, so that they may enjoy sex that is satisfying, safe and healthy for everybody involved.

So, what about drinking blood then?  For HIV to be transmitted, there must be some body fluid with HIV in it (blood, semen, vaginal fluid or breast milk … no, saliva won’t do it) … so if the vamp’s snack is HIV positive, then yup, the first part of the HIV transmission equation is satisfied.  What else?  There has to be an entry point for the fluid (along with the HIV) to get into the vampire’s blood stream – a cut, wound, or a porous surface like the vaginal or anal wall.  For transmission to be possible, there must also be an activity that allows the infected blood to enter the bloodstream of our vampire.  Babies can get HIV via breast milk from their mothers because baby digestive tracts are immature, allowing an entry point for HIV (more on this).  But for the rest of us, HIV won’t survive in the stomach, so the act of eating (or in this case, drinking) an HIV-infected body fluid can’t in itself lead to infection.  It is possible however, to imagine a cut or sore in the mouth that could the blood entry into our vamp’s bloodstream.

The most likely way our vampire will get HIV actually, is if she (or he) has unprotected vaginal or anal with the snack-partner.  Vaginal or anal sex without a condom is what we call a high risk activity when it comes to HIV infection.  Drinking blood is probably low risk, but as with other low risk activities (like oral sex) that does not mean there’s no risk.  And there are many other, much more common STIs that are transmitted readily by way of the mouth.  So, the verdict?  We would strongly encourage our vampire to stick to blood that has been screened and found free of HIV, and most importantly to use condoms and dental dams for all her other super sexy vampire exploits!

-Miriam

This was posted on Friday, November 5th, 2010 at 10:00 am and is filed under HIV Prevention, HIV Transmission, News, sexual health . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.

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