It is crucial to have complete knowledge about how to prevent HIV. HIV prevention entails much more than following some rules. It’s about knowing the risks so you can live a full life and not transmit it to others. Consequently, it’s about understanding how HIV is transmitted and not transmitted. That way you can reduce the chances of contracting HIV. But most of all, it’s about taking that extra step to educate yourself about the various forms of HIV prevention. HIV can be passed from person to person by the exchange of bodily fluids. This happens while sharing needles and during sex. In some cases, people who have HIV don’t even know it. Hence the risk of transmitting the infection increases. To protect yourself, you should take a serious look at your personal risk factors. Focus on implementing practices that help to prevent HIV. Never forget you can get HIV from even a single encounter. So, your prevention methods need full commitment from everyone involved. Here’s everything you should know.
Know the Risks
To prevent HIV, you need to start by knowing all the risk factors. This includes understanding the different modes of transmission and identifying the activities that place you at a personal risk.
- HIV can spread through intimate contact with semen, blood, breast milk, vaginal fluid and rectal fluid.
- HIV can spread through vaginal sex, anal sex and shared needles.
- HIV can also spread from mother to child, either during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
- Occupational exposure can also lead to the spread of HIV (injury from a needlestick).
- HIV does not spread by touching, kissing, sharing utensils, toilets, sinks, spitting, touching body fluids or mosquitos.
Get a Prescription for PrEP
Short for pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP is a prevention process to reduce your risk of getting HIV. It is a daily pill that can reduce your risk of contracting the condition by about 99% if taken daily. All sexually active adults and adolescents should know about PrEP. Moreover, experts recommend it for anyone with a high risk of contracting HIV. If you’re having sex with someone who is HIV positive, performing sex without using condoms, or sharing needles with others, PrEP can be very useful for preventing the spread of HIV.
Take Antiretroviral Therapy
Undetectable equals to non-transmissible. ART, also known as Antiretroviral Therapy, reduces the amount of HIV in a person’s blood to undetectable levels. Consequently, a person with an undetectable viral load cannot pass the virus to others. Your viral load is the measurement of the amount of virus in your blood sample. Undetectable means that the amount can’t be detected by modern technology. This means having less than 200 copies of the virus per milli liter of blood. If your partner is taking ART and maintaining undetectable levels, they cannot pass the virus to you or others.
Use Condoms
There should be no slacking when it comes to using condoms. Condoms continue to be an important preventive measure against HIV. Even if your HIV-positive partner’s viral load count is undetectable, there are many other reasons to use condoms. If used consistently and correctly, it is the most reliable way to prevent unwanted pregnancy, HIV and other STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) that increase the risk of HIV. No other preventive measure can do all three. Therefore, always use a condom.
Avoid Sharing Needles
Every time you share a needle with someone or use unsterilized needles, you’re at risk of contracting HIV and other blood infections. Hence, don’t ever share needles with another person. You can get HIV by doing this even one time.
Get Tested for HIV Regularly
Getting tested regularly for HIV and STIs helps you to maintain your health and also reduce transmitting such infections to others. If you’re HIV negative, it’s important to get yourself tested to avoid any change in that status. Getting tested along with a new sexual partner ensures that you’re not transmitting HIV and STIs to each other during sexual encounters.
