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HIV prevention entails more than simply following the rules. It is important to understand the risks and how HIV is transmitted and not transmitted. It's about going the extra mile to learn about both new and traditional HIV prevention methods. Most importantly, it is about knowing yourself.
In the end, everyone is unique. Some individuals are more susceptible to infection than others. Others may have specific goals, such as starting a family or becoming pregnant, which necessitate special considerations and involve different risks.
To protect yourself, you must take an honest look at your personal risk factors and devise an individual risk-mitigation strategy.
This article examines the various tools and techniques that you can use to develop your own HIV prevention strategy.
1. Understand the Dangers
HIV prevention begins with getting the facts straight—understanding the various modes of transmission and determining which activities put you at risk as an individual.
Start with the basics:
- HIV is transmitted through close contact with sperm, premenstrual fluid ("pre-cum"), blood, vaginal fluid, rectal fluid, and breast milk.
- HIV is primarily transmitted through anal sex, vaginal sex, and the use of shared needles.
- HIV can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as well as through occupational exposure (such as a needlestick injury).
- Touching, kissing, mosquitos, shared utensils, toilet sinks, drinking fountains, spitting, or touching body fluids do not transmit HIV.
2. Make use of condoms
There is no reason to be careless with condoms. Internal and external condoms are still the most reliable method of preventing pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases, short of abstinence (STDs). There is no other preventive strategy that can do all three. 5
STD prevention is critical because they can increase the risk of HIV by compromising delicate vaginal or anal tissues. This is true not only for STDs that cause open sores, such as syphilis, but also for any STD that causes genital inflammation.
3. Use PrEP
HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a prevention strategy in which a daily dose of HIV medications known as antiretrovirals can lower your risk of contracting HIV by up to 99 percent
Apretude is a newer PrEP option that does not require the administration of a daily pill. It is given as an injection to the uninfected partner every two months and has been shown to significantly reduce infection risk.
PrEP is advised for people who are at high risk of infection, such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and couples in a serodiscordant relationship (one partner has HIV and the other does not).
Anyone at risk of HIV who wants to reduce their chances of infection can use PrEP.
4. Become and Remain Undetectable
Undetectable = Untransmissible (U=U) is an evidence-based strategy in which people with undetectable viral loads are unable to spread the virus to others.
A viral load is a measure of the amount of virus in a blood sample. The term "undetectable" refers to the absence of a virus in a blood sample.
According to evidence from the PARTNER1 and PARTNER2 studies, which were conducted between 2010 and 2018, you cannot spread the virus to others if you achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load.
5. Safely Conceive
Nearly half of all HIV-positive couples have one partner who is HIV-positive and the other who is HIV-negative.
With advances in HIV therapy, serodiscordant couples now have a better chance than ever to conceive, allowing pregnancy while reducing the risk of HIV transmission to a partner who does not have the virus.
In fact, the combination of PrEP and a low viral load should almost guarantee protection against transmission in serodiscordant relationships.
6. Don't Share Needles
HIV infection is common among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). According to studies, anywhere from 20% to 40% of PWIDs are infected as a result of the shared use of needles or syringes.
And it's not just PWIDS who are in danger. Their sexual partners may be at risk as well, especially if they are unaware of their partner's drug use.
Many states have government-sponsored free needle exchange programs in place to help prevent the spread of HIV and other bloodborne infections (like hepatitis C). By lowering the risk of needle-sharing, clean needle programs have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of HIV among PWIDs.
7. Mother-to-Child Transmission Should Be Avoided
All stages of pregnancy are involved in the prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child. Mother-to-child transmission is uncommon in the United States due to routine HIV testing during pregnancy. Even so, it does happen.
The risk of transmission is greatly reduced by starting antiretroviral therapy early in the pregnancy. Even if treatment is initiated later in the pregnancy, the overall risk remains less than 2%.
Nursing should also be avoided because HIV can be found in breastmilk.
8. Preventing HIV After Exposure
If you believe you have been exposed to HIV, whether through condomless sex or other high-risk activities, you can take a 28-day course of HIV medications to potentially avoid infection.
The strategy, known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), works best if implemented soon after being exposed to the virus. PEP can reduce the risk of HIV by up to 81 percent if started within 72 hours, according to research. The sooner you begin treatment, the better.
WHAT EXACTLY IS PrEP AND HOW DOES IT PREVENT HIV?
PrEP is an abbreviation for pre-exposure prophylaxis. It's a once-daily pill that can help you avoid contracting HIV. Your doctor or nurse can advise you on whether PrEP is right for you.
WHAT EXACTLY IS PEP AND HOW DOES IT PREVENT HIV?
PEP is an abbreviation for post-exposure prophylaxis. It is a series of pills that you begin taking after being exposed to HIV to reduce your chances of contracting the virus. For PEP to work, you must begin it within 72 hours (3 days) of being exposed to HIV. The earlier you begin, the better. Every hour counts, so if you suspect you have been exposed to HIV, call your nurse or doctor right away or go to the emergency room. PEP is only for emergencies; it does not replace the use of condoms or PrEP.
WHAT IS ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) AND HOW DOES IT HELP PREVENT HIV?
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a combination of medications that can help you stay healthy for many years by slowing the effects of HIV in your body. It can also reduce or even eliminate your chances of transmitting HIV to others.
ART reduces the amount of HIV in your body (referred to as your viral load), sometimes to the point where HIV does not show up on standard blood tests. If your HIV viral load is so low that certain tests cannot detect it, you are said to be "undetectable." When a person's viral load is undetectable, they cannot transmit HIV to others during sex.
It's important to remember that even if your viral load is undetectable, HIV is still present in your body. If you discontinue treatment, your viral load may increase, making it possible for you to transmit HIV to others with whom you have sex. Your doctor or nurse can assist you in determining the best treatment for you in order to keep your viral load low and keep you healthy.
HOW CAN I ENSURE THAT I DON'T INFECT ANYONE WITH HIV WHILE HAVING SEX?
If you are diagnosed with HIV, try to remain calm. HIV-positive people can have normal, healthy relationships and sexual lives. However, it is critical to take precautions to ensure that your partner(s) remain HIV-free.
There are a few ways to avoid spreading HIV to others:
- When having vaginal and anal sex, always use condoms.
- Begin HIV treatment as soon as possible, and continue to take your HIV medication. When taken correctly, HIV treatment can reduce or even eliminate your chances of spreading the virus to sexual partners (and help you stay healthy).
- PrEP is a daily pill that your partner can take to reduce the risk of contracting HIV.
- Do not share needles for drug injections, piercings, or tattoos.
- Get tested for and treated for other STDs besides HIV on a regular basis. Having other STDs makes it easier to transmit HIV to others.
If you test positive for HIV, you must inform your sexual partners so that they can be tested as well. Even if you take great care not to spread HIV, be open and honest with potential partners about your status so that you can both be informed and help each other stay healthy.