Dr. Bob,

Hi. I was wondering what *exposure* means when you say, "risk is 10 per 10,000 exposures.." etc.?

Does it mean one stroke inside the vagina/rectum? or is it one full act of sex for an average of say 15 minutes? or is it some thing else?

I'm sure many on this forum are wondering about this.

By the way, don't forget to take your medicine before going to bed. Stay well, the world needs you.

Best wishes Ricky

Hey Ricky,

First off, remember these statistics are mere "estimates" of per-act risk for acquiring HIV. Their main purpose is to allow folks to better understand the relative risk of various sexual acts. For instance, anal receptive sex is riskier than vaginal insertive sex, which in turn is riskier than oral sex. A single plunge into the love canal of your choice can indeed be considered an exposure and therefore carry risk. However, for the purposes of the epidemiological studies used to compile the estimated risk statisics, the exposures would be more of the complete "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am (or mister)" variety. If that's "15 minutes on average" for you, Ricky Boy, that's fine, however we Italians would hardly even consider that foreplay!

Yes, I'll pop my fistful of antivirals before nitey-nite.

Ciao Ricky.

Dr. Bob