How Effective Is Prep
If you use it correctly, PrEP can lower your chances of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%. And using condoms and PrEP together helps you stay even safer. PrEP can also lowers your chances of getting HIV from sharing needles by more than 70%.
Its really important to take PrEP every day. PrEP doesnt work as well if you skip pills. If you dont take it every day, there might not be enough medicine in your body to block HIV.
PrEP doesnt prevent other sexually transmitted infections, like gonorrhea and chlamydia. So use condoms along with PrEP to help you avoid other STDs and give you extra protection against HIV.
Where Can I Get Tested For Chlamydia
You can get tested for chlamydia and other STDs at your doctors office, a community health clinic, the health department, or your local Planned Parenthood health center. In some states, you can do an online visit and take a chlamydia test at home.
STD testing isnt always part of your regular checkup or gynecologist exam you have to ask for it. Be open and honest with your nurse or doctor so they can help you figure out which tests you may need. Dont be embarrassed: Your doctor is there to help, not to judge.
Whats The Difference Between Hiv And Aids
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. And people with HIV do not always have AIDS.
HIV is the virus thats passed from person to person. Over time, HIV destroys an important kind of the cell in your immune system that helps protect you from infections. When you dont have enough of these CD4 cells, your body cant fight off infections the way it normally can.
AIDS is the disease caused by the damage that HIV does to your immune system. You have AIDS when you get dangerous infections or have a super low number of CD4 cells. AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV, and it leads to death over time.
Without treatment, it usually takes about 10 years for someone with HIV to develop AIDS. Treatment slows down the damage the virus causes and can help people stay healthy for several decades.
Recommended Reading: What Does Hiv Screen 4th Generation Wrfx Non Reactive Mean
What Your Test Results Mean
IF YOU DO HAVE HIV,find a healthcare provider to talk to. Resources and medicines are available to help you treat HIV. Starting and staying on treatment can help you live a longer and healthier life.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE HIV,you can stay that way. Use condoms and practice safer sex to help protect yourself. Talk to your partners about their test results. Never share needles. Get retested regularly. And ask a healthcare provider about all the ways you can prevent HIV.
Reasons To Get Yourself Tested For Stds
CEO and President of Planned Parenthood of New York City
Did you know that half of all sexually active young people in the U.S. will contract a sexually transmitted disease by the time they’re 25–and that most won’t even know it?
This April, STD Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood of New York City is encouraging New Yorkers to educate themselves on sexually transmitted diseases and to get themselves tested. We’ve joined with MTV, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and other organizations for the seventh year of the award-winning Get Yourself Tested campaign. GYT is a national campaign that includes online and on-the-ground activities to promote sexual health among young people.
STDs impact young people the hardest. Half of the estimated 20 million sexually transmitted diseases in this country each year are in people under 25, although they represent only a quarter of people having sex. In New York City, females ages 15 to 19 have the highest rate of gonorrhea and Chlamydia, compared with females in all other age groups. Among males, those ages 20 to 24 have the highest rates of both gonorrhea and Chlamydia. Far more HIV diagnoses in New York City are in those ages 20 to 29 than in any other age group.
Everyone deserves a sex life that is safe and healthy. Many sexually active young people may not realize that getting tested is part of basic preventive health care and can actually help improve their sex lives.
Read Also: How Long Can Aids Go Undetected
Do Regular Sti Tests Include Herpes
No. If you dont have symptoms, STI testing includes gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and syphilis, and only involves time with a medical assistant. The Centers for Disease Control does not recommend herpes testing for people without symptoms.
If you think youve been exposed to herpes, but you arent showing symptoms, make sure to tell your health care provider prior to getting tested. At Planned Parenthood, herpes testing requires a visit with the nurse practitioner.
Does A Pap Smear Test For Stis
No. Pap smears, also known as pap tests or cervical smears, are cervical cancer screenings. Although many cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus , an STI, pap smears are not the same as an HPV test. Regular STI tests do not check for HPV either, and HPV testing often isnt needed until age 30.
Again, the only way to know for sure if you have an STI is to get tested for STIs.
You May Like: How Long Does It Take To Become Undetectable Hiv
Hiv Tests And More: What Men Stand To Lose If Planned Parenthood Is Defunded
Its not just women: from STD tests to vasectomies and screenings for male infertility, men are using Planned Parenthood services at a growing rate
Planned Parenthood is currently at the heart of a bitter political debate, with its public funding on the line.
Cecile Richards, the organizations president, testified in a congressional hearing on Tuesday and argued that defunding Planned Parenthood would leave many women especially poor women living in rural areas without access to essential healthcare services such as gynaecological exams. Abortion services represent just 3% of the services Planned Parenthood provides.
But its not just women who stand to lose from the shuttering of Planned Parenthood clinics around the country. Men do, too. Between 2003 and 2013, the organization saw a 99% increase in male clients.
Here are some of the other services Planned Parenthood provides for men:
How Do You Get Hiv
HIV is carried in semen , vaginal fluids, anal mucus, blood, and breast milk. The virus gets in your body through cuts or sores in your skin, and through mucous membranes . You can get HIV from:
-
having vaginal or anal sex
-
sharing needles or syringes for shooting drugs, piercings, tattoos, etc.
-
getting stuck with a needle that has HIV-infected blood on it
-
getting HIV-infected blood, semen , or vaginal fluids into open cuts or sores on your body
HIV is usually spread through having unprotected sex. Using condoms and/or dental dams every time you have sex and not sharing needles can help protect you and your partners from HIV. If you do have HIV, treatment can lower or even stop the chances of spreading the virus to other people during sex. If you dont have HIV, theres also a daily medicine called PrEP that can protect you from HIV.
HIV can also be passed to babies during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. A pregnant woman with HIV can take medicine to greatly reduce the chance that her baby will get HIV.
HIV isnt spread through saliva , so you CANT get HIV from kissing, sharing food or drinks, or using the same fork or spoon. HIV is also not spread through hugging, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing. And you cant get HIV from a toilet seat.
Also Check: Does Youngboy Really Have Herpes
How Long Do Sti Test Results Take
STI test results can take between five and 10 days. If you have testing done at Planned Parenthood, well contact you ONLY if your results are positive. If this is the case, well give you a call to ask you to come back for follow up. Planned Parenthood does not contact patients if the results are negative. Patients can view negative results in the Patient Portal. If you want to confirm a negative result or want a copy for your records, please call the health center or stop by for a copy.
If the result is positive or inconclusive, we will call you to notify you of the results and ask you to make a follow up appointment to receive treatment or further services. The call also gives you a chance to ask questions.
Does Planned Parenthood Do Std Testing For Free
Does planned parenthood do free std tests?
Some Planned Parenthood health centers can provide STD testing for free, and can help you get health care that you can afford. And many Planned Parenthood health centers provide services on a sliding scale. This means that you may get free or low-cost STD testing, depending on your income.
Whether or not a health center provides services for free or at low-cost depends on a lot of different factors, including the amount of funding the health center gets from the state. Recently, the Trump administration forced Planned Parenthood out of the federal Title X program, which provided funds for patients to get free or low-cost services. Were fighting rules like this to help everyone access the care they need.
Give your local Planned Parenthood a call to see if they do free STD testing, or if they have any programs that you can apply to for discounted care.
STD testing is really important, so high five for taking responsibility for your sexual health!
-Kendall at Planned Parenthood
Tags:Planned Parenthood, STDs, STD testing
Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. is a registered 501 nonprofit under EIN 13-1644147. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable under the law.
You May Like: How Long Can Hiv Be Dormant
How Do I Get Prep
You can get PrEP from some health clinics or Planned Parenthood health centers, local health departments, and doctors offices.
Your nurse or doctor will talk with you about the sex you have, the protection you use, and your medical history to see if PrEP is right for you. Theyll also give you tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other STDs. And they’ll test your kidneys to make sure theyre working well.
Some nurses and doctors dont know about PrEP, or they dont want to prescribe it because they dont have all the facts about PrEP. If you dont have a doctor, or your regular doctor or nurse doesnt prescribe PrEP, you still have options. The doctors and nurses at your local Planned Parenthood health center can provide up-to-date, accurate, non-judgmental information about PrEP, and help you get a prescription if PrEP is right for you.
There are also other organizations that can help you get and pay for PrEP. Greater than AIDS has a tool that can help you find PrEP near you.
Indiana Shut Down Its Rural Planned Parenthood Clinics And Got An Hiv Outbreak
Scott County, Indiana, the center of an exploding HIV outbreak, has been without an HIV testing center since early 2013, when the sole provider — a Planned Parenthood clinic — was forced to close its doors. The clinic did not offer abortion services.
The Scott County clinic and four other Planned Parenthood facilities in the state, all of which provided HIV testing and information, have shuttered since 2011, in large part due to funding cuts to the state’s public health infrastructure. Those cuts came amid a national and local political campaign to demonize the health care provider. Now, the state is scrambling to erect pop-up clinics to combat an unprecedented HIV epidemic caused by intravenous drug use.
The fact that Scott County was “without a testing facility until a few weeks ago is a glaring example of the kind of public health crisis that results when prevention and testing are left unfunded,” said Patti Stauffer, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky’s vice president for public policy.
Indiana’s GOP-led state legislature was one of the first to declare war against Planned Parenthood in 2011, when it passed a bill that defunded the family planning provider because some of its clinics offer abortion services. A federal judge later blocked that law from going into effect, but the state has continued to slash various sources of funding to Planned Parenthood at a time when the cost of operating a medical facility continues to rise.
Read Also: Does Nba Youngboy Has Herpes
Planned Parenthood Is An Organisation That Has Meant A Lot To Me
Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile
Jonathan Van Ness has spoken about the significant impact Planned Parenthood has had on his life with his HIV diagnosis.
On Saturday, the resident grooming expert on Netflix makeover show Queer Eye revealed in an interview with The New York Times that he is living with HIV.
In extracts taken from his soon-to-be-released memoir Over the Top, Van Ness recalled how when he was 25, he was diagnosed with the condition at Planned Parenthood after fainting one day at a hairdressing salon.
The 32-year-old has further detailed in an interview with Refinery29 how grateful he feels towards the non-profit organisation for providing him with medication following his diagnosis seven years ago.
The huge difference that Planned Parenthood made in my life and my health meant I wanted to do everything I could to shed light on what Planned Parenthood does, the unfair attacks that are being constantly levied on them, and the public health crisis that that could create, he said.
Healthwatch 1: Hiv And Aids
“We know that HIV and Aids are still very highly stigmatized. We also know that rates of transmission have increased over the last few years,” said Melissa Reed, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Keystone, which covers 37 Pennsylvania counties.
Wilkes-Barre and Allentown are physical locations in or near our viewing area.
Reed says Planned Parenthood’s mission is to provide nonjudgmental, compassionate health care to everyone, including sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, birth control, HIV testing, and now, two medications known as PrEP and PEP.
“PrEP and PEP are HIV prophylaxis medications, and they lower the risk of someone getting HIV,” Reed said.
PrEP is used pre-exposure to help prevent HIV. PEP is used post-exposure. Reed says there’s a small window to use it if you believe you’ve already been exposed.
Planned Parenthood Keystone started offering the medications last summer but wanted to get the word out they’re available.
Experts say as we all focus on eradicating COVID-19, we shouldn’t stop talking about doing the same with HIV.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has really been the focus of health care for the last year. But we also know that other types of health care cannot wait, and the pandemic is a reminder that no one is safe until everyone is safe.”
You May Like: Hiv Screen 4th Generation Wrfx Nonreactive
How Do I Know If I Have Hiv
The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. You cant tell if you have HIV just by the way you feel, because most people who get HIV dont have any symptoms for years.
Testing is a good idea if youve had unprotected sex or if your partner tests positive for HIV. You should also get tested if youve shared needles with anybody . If youre pregnant, get tested for HIV at your first prenatal visit.
Luckily, HIV testing is pretty easy and painless. The best part about getting tested for HIV? Once you get it over with, it can really put your mind at ease. And if you DO have HIV, its best to find out right away so you can take medicines to help you stay healthy and lower your chances of spreading HIV to others.
How Long Do You Have To Wait After Unprotected Sex To Take An Hiv Test
By | Oct. 14, 2010, 11:04 a.m.
Category:
how long does it take after u have unprotected sex for u to get tested for hiv? can u get tested right away and know the results? or do u have to wait a certain amount of time.
HIV tests detect antibodies the immune systems response to infection. For the majority of people, HIV testing will be accurate at four to six weeks after possible infection. However, for some people it may take longer up to three months for detectable antibodies to develop. This is called the window period. During the window period, HIV tests can come back negative even though the person has the virus. HIV can be passed to other people during the window period. To make an appointment for HIV testing, contact your local Planned Parenthood health center. Tests are also available from most health care providers, hospitals, and health centers. Local, state, and federal health departments may offer free testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists HIV testing locations and offers information about home testing. The site can also be accessed in Spanish.
Also Check: How Long Can Hiv Be Dormant In Your System
Other Hiv Health Services
Planned Parenthood provides other HIV related health services besides testing like education, counseling, and prevention. And for those who find out they are positive, Theres no cure for HIV, but we can connect you to treatment options that can help you live a long healthy life.
Find way more info about HIV, testing, treatment, and prevention on the Planned Parenthood Sexual Health Learning page.
Tags: