Can Condoms Provide 100% Protection Against AIDS?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS during sexual intercourse. Participants explore the probabilities associated with condom use, the efficiency of condoms, and the risks involved in sexual encounters with potentially infected partners.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that while condoms significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission, they are not 100% effective, with an efficiency rate of approximately 97%.
  • Others emphasize that the probability of contracting HIV while using a condom is very small, but not zero, suggesting that there is still a chance of infection.
  • One participant notes that the odds of a random woman having HIV and the odds of condom failure are both low, which together contribute to a very small risk of contracting HIV during protected intercourse.
  • Another participant introduces a mathematical perspective, discussing how repeated condom use over multiple sexual encounters affects the probability of infection, highlighting that the risk accumulates with each encounter.
  • There is a mention of a "virtually foolproof solution," though the context is not elaborated upon, leaving it ambiguous.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that condoms reduce the risk of HIV transmission but disagree on the interpretation of their effectiveness and the implications of the remaining risk. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the extent of risk and the best approaches to mitigate it.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include assumptions about the prevalence of HIV among partners and the effectiveness of condoms in real-world scenarios, which may vary based on individual circumstances and environments.

Saint
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If you(guy) have sex with a woman who has AIDS, you used condom while having sex, it is 0.03 mm thick,
do you have chance to get AIDS ?
 
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this is a common misunderstanding...condoms help prevent the spread of HIV...
 
You could get AIDS even when you wear a condom but The probability of getting infected is very small. Condoms are not 100% efficient they are 97% efficient, the mischance of getting infected is less than 3%.

As Kerrie said, it helps in preventing the spread of HIV.
 
In other words, it's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than nothing.
 
There is, of course, a virtually foolproof solution...
 
There is, of course, a virtually foolproof solution...

Ouch!
 
The odds of a random woman having HIV is quite slim.

The odds of contracting HIV through vaginal intercourse from an HIV infected woman is quite slim.

The odds of condom failure is quite slim.

Put all three together and you've got a vanishingly small chance of contracting HIV from protected vaginal intercourse in a random encounter. Not that it is a good idea anyways.
 


Originally posted by iansmith
You could get AIDS even when you wear a condom but The probability of getting infected is very small. Condoms are not 100% efficient they are 97% efficient, the mischance of getting infected is less than 3%.

As Kerrie said, it helps in preventing the spread of HIV.

Note if you have sex once, using a condom, the probability of picking up what she has is (say) .97. If you have sex n times using a fresh condom every time, your probability of not picking up something one of your partners has is (.97)^n. Play around with that on your calculator. How many times for a probability less than 1/2? How many for a probability less than 1/100 - i.e. it's a virtual certainty you have been exposed?

Of course this is tacitly assuming that most of your partners will be carriers. Depending on the environment you move in, that might be accurate or not.
 

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