Injecting Risks for HIV

People who use injected drugs are at risk from HIV infection. As the kinds of drugs people inject are often illegal to possess, injecting equipment - works - are sometimes shared. Even a small amount of blood injected directly into the body can lead to HIV infection.

No matter whether a person is injecting heroin, speed, coke or steroids, sharing needles is a very high risk activity for both HIV and Hepatitis.

If blood from an infected person is present in the needle or syringe, HIV can be passed directly into the blood stream of someone sharing the equipment. This equipment is not just limited to needles and syringes - shared cookers, spoons, mixing bowls, water and filters also pose a risk.

There is also a potential hepatitis transmission risk (and a theoretical HIV transmission risk) through the sharing of smoking pipes and snorting straws. Some pipes get very hot and cause open sores on the lips. If the pipe is then shared by someone with similar open cuts or sores around the mouth hepatitis or HIV can be transmitted.

Similarly, toots, straws and notes used for snorting can transport infected bodily fluid from one user to the next causing a potential vehicle by which viruses and other infections could be transmitted.

If you engage in drug use and share your equipment with others, you may be at risk from HIV and hepatitis.

Risk Prevention for Injecting

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