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AIDS, hepatitis, and syphilis are all deadly to everybody. Don't delude yourself
into thinking that your special vampiric qualities will protect you from blood-born
diseases. They won't. I know there has never been a survey done by the CDC on
the percentage of infected vampires, because we aren't exactly visible as far
as minority groups go, but just because vampires are not listed on the lists
of infected subcultures doesn't mean we can't be infected (and haven't been).
If you do not know your donor really well (and I mean REALLY well. Friends for
a month or two doesn't cut the mustard) you ought to assume that your partner
is, in fact, infected with something that you don't want. It is unlikely that
you will be infected by drinking bodily fluids of any sort unless you have cuts
or sores in your moth or esophagus (as Vyrdolak pointed out earlier); what do
you do to prevent this? Don't brush and floss your teeth before you feed, although
you may want to use mouthwash; certainly don't feed after you have just been
to the dentist! (Why do you think dentists use those nifty little contraptions
called "dental dams," anyway?) If you have a raw, sore throat don't feed on
bodily fluids either. So don't scream your brains out at a rock concert, or
feed when you have a cold or flu or throat infection...Also, don't eat extremely
spicy food because this burns the esophagus. It will also give you very bad
breath, but that's less of a problem. (At least for you. Your partner, on the
other hand, probably has a different perspective.) You may want to avoid feeding
if you have heartburn. If you are prone to heartburn, find out what is causing
it and change your diet.
Hepatitis B (and other forms of hepatitis) are a lot sturdier than AIDS, and
more contagious. And therefore easier to get. Do yourself a favor and get a
series of hepatitis shots. It's a good investment, and it beats worrying.
HIV is a fragile virus. According to studies done by Harvard's medical school
and the CDC, HIV can only be passed via blood-to-blood contact or contact between
blood and a bodily fluid that carries the virus. This usually happens via injection
(penetrating the flesh with a needle that has been used on a contaminated person
and has come into contact with the virus), blood transfusion, or sexual contact
(when the sexual contact involves transfer of contaminated fluids). HIV does
not care whether you are a drug abuser or a DARE advocate, a tart or a prim-and-proper
monogamist, a pervert or a missionary-position vanilla; HIV only cares about
one thing: staying alive in a host. Anal sex is risky only because the anus
is very thin (it has the consistency of wet paper towels) and easily torn; vaginal
sex likewise is risky when the vagina has fissures in it for whatever reason
(herpes sores, tearing from too much friction, the penis has a cut or sore on
it, etc.). Oral sex is actually pretty safe unless the mouth has sores or cuts.
Saliva and stomach acid are both hostile to HIV and tend to kill the virus.
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SphynxCat's note: There is very
large portion of the Hemophiliac community who've contracted AIDS from using
processed blood products. Not so much these days, but back in the "early
days", 1980's and thereabouts. I tend to be leery of the medical establishment's
claims that it's "fragile" because if it WAS fragile the hemophiliac community
would NOT have been as widely affected as it has. I've watched someone die
from AIDS. It's *NOT* pretty!
Blood drinking is no more risky than oral sex.
The problem, of course, is that many people do have cuts or sores in their mouth.
Gingivitis is common, as is herpes (most people get cold sores from time to
time). Gums bleed after flossing or after a vigorous brushing. As if that isn't
enough, we also tend to have problems with sore throats, burns (after eating
food that is too hot or spicy), cuts or sores from accidentally biting our tongues
while eating...This is why oral sex can be such a risky thing, and why blood
drinking is likewise an act of total trust and total surrender. Quite simply,
you are putting your life in your donor's hands. Donors tend to be lovers because
lovers are often more willing to engage in such a bizarre and intimate act as
"feeding" blood to their partner, and because most vampires and blood fetishists
are not crazy enough to trust just *anybody* with their lives.
There are ways to minimize risk. Don't brush your teeth or floss before drinking
blood; wash your mouth out with an antibacterial mouthwash to kill any germs
that might cause an infection on contact with the donor, but don't brush until
well after you have fed and no longer have traces of blood in your mouth. Don't
drink from a donor who you either don't know well enough to trust his/her cleanliness,
or who hasn't presented you with negative results for various blood tests. Don't
drink when you have cuts or sores on your tongue, mouth area, lips, or throat
unless you are with a donor who is known to be clean of disease and who preferably
is your exclusive partner and does not partake of the bodily fluids of other
people. (Monogamy is a nice idea, but it isn't really realistic. "Serial monogamy"
happens to be the cultural norm, and it's a contradiction in terms - if someone
has had sex or shared fluids with eight other people before you, then you are
effectively drinking from all nine of the people involved, plus the sexual partners
of any of your donor's previous lovers...Responsible polyamoury is just as safe
as serial monogamy, and it is a good idea to use latex condoms and other latex
protection with anyone other than your primary partner when dating, and to only
share fluids with one person at a time; if that person has not tested clean
of HIV, herpes, etc., then do not share fluids at all. Both partners, or all
partners if this is a triad or whatever, should follow this basic etiquette.
Fluids should never be shared outside of the nuclear family unit, even if that
unit is not a committed, married one)
It would be wise to remember that HIV does not show up on either an ELISA test
or a Western Blot until after the incubation period, when it is most contagious;
a clean bill of health is not fail-safe. Furthermore, HIV is not the only dangerous
and incurable virus out there. Herpes cannot be cured, it can only be treated.
Hepatitis can be vaccinated against, but the vaccine for Hepatitis B is only
75% effective, and the vaccine for Hepatitis C takes six months to get, in a
series of three shots, which are rather expensive and are not always covered
by a medical plan (if you live in the USA). Some strains of syphilis are resistant
to antibiotics. Believe me, you don't want syphilis!
Ultimately, the choice of who to drink from depends on one's comfort zones.
How much trust do you have for your partner? how reckless do you feel? Drinking
from a strange person is not advisable unless you have no cuts or lesions in
your mouth/throat area, at any rate; other than that, it probably shouldn't
make anyone panic to have intimate activity of that sort with a stranger who
you never see again, it's less risky than unprotected sex, but it's not a habit
you want to get into. Blood carries disease. We can't get away from that; all
we can do is minimize risk. The ideal way to feed is with a steady partner who
only shares fluids with you. If that isn't possible, then don't feed unless
you know you do not have openings in your mouth or throat that the blood can
enter.
Drinking animal blood is even riskier, thanks to factory farming. Most blood
from large producers is infected with salmonella, often with e coli and botulism
as well. The human body can actually tolerate small amounts of these bacteria,
and continued exposure will build up an even greater resistance to such toxins,
but it's best not to push your luck. Eating rare steak might be safe if you
have a cast-iron stomach. Drinking the animal blood is not safe unless you get
the blood from a butcher who got the meat from a small, free-range supplier,
and even then it's a risk. If you hunt the meat yourself (do you have a permit
to hunt deer?) and slaughter it yourself, you at least know where the blood
came from - you know it hasn't been slaughtered in an abattoir and processed
in an environment that gets animal shit and so on in places where it isn't supposed
to go. (Things haven't changed that much since Upton Sinclair wrote _The Jungle_.
Really.) BSE is more of a risk in America than in the EU, because Americans
still feed their ranch animals food that is made from reconstituted animal parts.
Don't forget about antibiotics, either. (Another good reason to avoid factory-farmed
meat and dairy products) Finally, don't drink raw pig blood - it's risky. Trichinosis
is probably easier to get from raw flesh than from raw blood, but I wouldn't
want to take my chances. On the other hand, black pudding is very nutritious
and filling, it satisfies the blood craving, and the blood is cooked, so it's
safe to eat.
Do not drink more than a shot glass or so of raw blood - it will make you puke
your guts out. Blood is very rich and large quantities curdle in the stomach.
(You shouldn't need that much, anyway; and taking more than a shot glass or
so from a willing donor is bad for the donor) Eating bread with your blood,
or mixing it with milk and warming that mixture up, will help somewhat, but
blood is so rich that you really do not need to drink much before you fill up.
~Sarah Dorrance (C) 1999
This article is presented as part of an ongoing effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online vampire community. Those of us who consider ourselves vampiric don't always look at things from the same viewpoint due to our life experiences. As such, the views and opinions contained in this article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - you are responsible for using your own reasoning and judgement, so judge wisely.
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