Evaluating the Situation Talking About Sex Enjoying Your First Time Community Q&A Sex can be a wonderful thing, if you are ready to become sexually active.If you are not ready, then it can have some severe consequences including emotional problems, sexually transmitted infections, and even unintended pregnancy.Due to their nonspecific character, these symptoms are not often recognized as signs of HIV infection.Even cases that do get seen by a family doctor or a hospital are often misdiagnosed as one of the many common infectious diseases with overlapping symptoms.As of 2014, most HIV transmission in the United States occurred among men who had sex with men (83% of new HIV diagnoses among males aged 13 and older and 67% of total new diagnoses).

If you decide that you are ready for sex, you will need to discuss concerns and expectations with your partner and make a plan for protecting yourselves.Sexual assault is also believed to carry an increased risk of HIV transmission as condoms are rarely worn, physical trauma to the vagina or rectum is likely, and there may be a greater risk of concurrent sexually transmitted infections.Blood-borne transmission can be through needle-sharing during intravenous drug use, needle stick injury, transfusion of contaminated blood or blood product, or medical injections with unsterilized equipment.The lower infectivity of HIV-2 as compared with HIV-1 implies that fewer people exposed to HIV-2 will be infected per exposure.Because of its relatively poor capacity for transmission, HIV-2 is largely confined to West Africa.