Man with HIV debunks common myth around sharing vapes
A man with HIV has been knocking down some of the more common myths about it, including a more recent claim about getting it through sharing vapes.
Speaking to LADbible recently, Kyle debunked some of the myths, mistakes and misconceptions that people might have picked up about HIV over the years.
One of the main questions put to him was whether you could get HIV from someone by sharing a vape with them.
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While we're not going to say that vaping is in any way healthy (it isn't), it's made no more dangerous by sharing an e-cigarette with someone who has HIV.
That was just one of the many myths which Kyle addressed on LADbible's Honesty Box, as he tackled 13 questions people might want to know the answer to, with the idea of contracting HIV from sharing a vape one of them.
"What a topical question," he mused, joking 'that's so 2023' before going ahead and providing an answer.
"If we share food, drink, vape, would I get HIV? No. Contrary to what the media used to say, no.
"It can't be transmitted that way, you are not at risk. If you know anyone who's HIV positive you can just be completely normal with them. You can't get it from any of those things.
"You cannot pass it from a kiss, you can pass it from penetrative sex, unprotected sex and you can pass it from sharing needles."
Among the other questions Kyle answered included the difference between HIV and AIDS, whether it was mostly gay men who had HIV, what the main symptoms were and how he felt about the person who gave it to him.
Kyle also answered a question on his life expectancy following his HIV diagnosis to debunk another myth.
He said: "Now, back in the day people used to get told 'oh you've got X amount of months, X amount of years to live'.
"People would be put into hospice. It was a darker time. But thanks to the miracle of medicine today it's not really the case any more.
"Our life expectancy is the same as an average person and in fact in some cases doctors have theorised that it might be even longer because we're being checked more regularly.
"Every six months I get 11 blood samples taken which nearly makes me faint every time but it's worth it because they come back to me, they tell me 'your viral load is undetectable' therefore I can't pass it on."
You can watch the full video LADbible did with Kyle here.
Joe Harker