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Why is injecting
drugs a risk for HIV?
At the start of every intravenous
injection, blood is introduced into needles and syringes. HIV
can be found in the blood of a person infected with the virus.
The reuse of a blood-contaminated needle or syringe by another
drug injector (sometimes called "direct syringe sharing")
carries a high risk of HIV transmission because infected blood
can be injected directly into the bloodstream.
In addition, sharing drug
equipment (or "works") can be a risk for spreading
HIV. Infected blood can be introduced into drug solutions by
- using blood-contaminated
syringes to prepare drugs;
- reusing water;
- reusing bottle caps, spoons,
or other containers ("spoons" and "cookers")
used to dissolve drugs in water and to heat drug solutions; or
- reusing small pieces of
cotton or cigarette filters ("cottons") used to filter
out particles that could block the needle.
"Street sellers"
of syringes may repackage used syringes and sell them as sterile
syringes. For this reason, people who continue to inject drugs
should obtain syringes from reliable sources of sterile syringes,
such as pharmacies. It is important to know that sharing a needle
or syringe for any use, including skin popping and injecting
steroids, can put one at risk for HIV and other blood-borne infections. |
