Monogamous Relationships And Open Relationships
You should talk to your partner and agree whether your relationship will be monogamous or open .
There are risks in not discussing it and assuming that your partner agrees with you. Some people who think they are in a monogamous relationship find out that their partner has had sex with others.
Both monogamous and open relationships can bring benefits and challenges. For example, some couples in monogamous relationships say they enjoy feeling both physically and emotionally committed to only one person. However, they may feel frustrated if they have a higher or lower sex drive than their partner.
Some couples in open relationships say they enjoy the sense of freedom and variety it can bring, but it can also highlight any feelings of jealousy or insecurity within the relationship.
Mutual trust and honest communication are vital in both monogamous and open relationships.
If you both agree to be monogamous it’s important that you discuss what would happen if one of you broke this agreement. If either of you feels you must hide the fact that youve had sex outside the relationship, it can seriously threaten the relationship as well as both partners sexual health.
One advantage of monogamy is that sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhoea and hepatitis C cannot come into the relationship.
Are You Worried About Hiv And Aids Know The Facts To Protect Yourself And Your Partner
Sex may be ubiquitous in our popular culture, but conversations about it are still associated with stigma and shame in Indian homes. Therefore, most people who are faced with sexual health issues or who are trying to find information about sex often resort to unverified online sources or follow the unscientific advice of their friends.
To fight against widespread disinformation on sex, News18.com offers a weekly column entitled Lets Talk Sex every Friday. We hope to initiate conversations about sex through this column and approach sexual health issues with a scientific and nuanced perspective.
The column is written by sex therapist Prof Saransh Jain. In todays column, Dr. Jain shatters the myths surrounding HIV and emphasizes the need to get tested for HIV.
Youve probably heard a lot about how HIV is transmitted. However, there are only a few ways to get HIV . Unfortunately, there are many myths about the transmission of HIV which end up creating confusion.
Instead of worrying about HIV, learn how it is transmitted and what you can do to protect yourself. It is normal to worry about getting tested for HIV, but testing is the only way to be sure whether you have the virus or not. If you think you have put yourself in danger, or if you are in danger because of your situation, get tested.
Screening puts you in control of your sexual health.
If your test is positive, you can start treatment immediately and continue to live a long, healthy life.
How can you get HIV?
What Do I Do If I Find Out I Have Hiv
Millions of people have HIV youre definitely not alone. Most people get at least one STD in their lifetime, and having HIV or another STD is nothing to feel ashamed of or embarrassed about. It doesnt mean youre dirty or a bad person.
Finding out that you have HIV can be really upsetting. You might feel mad, embarrassed, scared, or ashamed at first. But youll probably feel better as time goes by having a good support system and getting counseling really helps. There are medicines you can take to help you stay healthy, and lots of ways to avoid giving HIV to anyone you have sex with. The reality is, people with HIV can be in relationships, have sex, and live normal lives by taking a few precautions.
Although theres no cure for HIV, there are medicines that help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. HIV treatment called antiretroviral therapy lowers the amount of virus in your body . This does two things:
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Slows down the effects of HIV in your body, which keeps you healthy.
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Lowers or even stops your chances of giving HIV to sexual partners.
Some people on ART have such a small amount of virus in their body, they cant transmit HIV to their sexual partners at all.
Even if youre feeling totally fine right now, see a doctor as soon as you can so you can talk about the best ways to stay healthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions hotline can help you find a doctor near you who specializes in treating HIV: 1-800-CDC-INFO .
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New Guidance On Couples Hiv Testing And Counselling
In addition to correct and consistent use of condoms, counsellors may suggest that the HIV-positive partner take antiretroviral drugs, regardless of his or her immune status. Studies show that this can both keep the positive partner healthier for longer, and reduce the risk they will pass the virus to their loved one. This finding prompted WHO to issue new guidance on couples HIV testing and counselling in April 2012 including antiretroviral therapy for treatment and prevention in serodiscordant couples.
In addition to Zambia, which has recommended early ARVs for the positive partner in a serodiscordant couple since 2010, other countriesincluding Canada, China, Kenya and many in western Europecurrently recommend or are considering the use of ARVs to reduce HIV transmission in serodiscordant couples.
Never Share Needles Syringes Or Other Drug Injection Equipment
- Use new, clean syringes and injection equipment every time you inject.
- Many communities have syringe services programs where you can get new needles and syringes and safely dispose of used ones. SSPs can also link you to substance use disorder treatment, testing, and care and treatment for infectious diseases.
- Some pharmacies sell needles without a prescription.
How can I protect my baby?
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When Both Partners Are Positive: What About Reinfection
Many HIV positive people have sexual partners who are also positive.
If both partners are positive this removes the anxiety of worrying about HIV.
Knowing about reinfection is important. If either partner has drug resistance or a different type of resistance this can be transmitted.
How often reinfection occurs is not known. The risk is probably at least as low as catching HIV the first time. This will be higher if viral load is detectable and dramatically less for someone on effective treatment.
The implications for your health if reinfection occurs will depend on how serious the resistance is.
This means knowing about both your and your partners treatment history.
If neither of you have resistance, or if you both have the same resistance, then reinfection is not a problem.
But if one of you has drug resistance, and a detectable viral load, then reinfection would stop these drugs from working.
If You Dont Know You Or Your Partners Hiv Status
If you are negative and dont know your partners status, it is always better to assume they are HIV positive.
If you dont know your own HIV status, also assume you are HIV positive. This is so you dont put anyone at risk.
Rather than assuming your partners are negative, this will stop you taking risks that you are not happy with.
This will help you feel in control during sex. It should stop you feeling anxious or worried afterwards.
Your HIV status is only as accurate as your last test result. This needs to include any risks you took in the window period before the test. It also needs to include any risks you have taken since.
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What Do I Need To Know About Dating With Hiv
Some people feel like their love lives are over when they find out they have HIV, but its just not true. People with HIV can have fulfilling romantic and sexual relationships. People living with HIV can have relationships with partners who dont have HIV or with partners that are also living with HIV . HIV treatment helps keep you healthy and helps you avoid passing HIV to someone else. If your partner does not have HIV, they can also take a medicine called PrEP that can help protect them from getting HIV through sex.
Its important to tell your sexual partners about your HIV status. That way, you and your partners can make more informed decisions about safer sex, testing, and treatment that are right for the both of you.
Its normal to be worried about how your partners going to react. And theres no way around it: some people might get freaked out. If that happens, try to stay calm and talk about your plan to stay healthy and how they can stay HIV negative. It might help to give your partner a little time and space to process. You could also suggest they talk with your HIV doctor about ways to protect themselves from HIV.
If you tell someone you have HIV and they hurt you, shame you, or make you feel bad, its not ok. You deserve to be with someone who respects and cares about you, and there are plenty of people out there who will.
Telling Your Sex Partners
Sex and Sexuality
This may be one of the hardest things you have to do. But you need to tell your sex partner that you are living with HIV, whether you have a primary partner such as a spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend, have more than one partner, or are single or casually dating.
What follows are tips for talking to your main partner, other partners, and former partners.
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How Do I Tell People
How, when and where you tell someone about your HIV status is completely up to you. It can be helpful to think a few things through:
- What are you going to say?
- What questions might the person ask you? How would you answer these?
- Is there anything you are expecting from that person after you tell them?
- Do you feel able to cope with a bad reaction from this person?
Its also worth planning the practicalities of where and when would be best to do it. Think about a time and place where you can both be relaxed and feel safe. Youll want to have plenty of time together, so you can talk about it uninterrupted.
It can help to have some information on hand to share with them. They may not know about how HIV is passed on, or about HIV treatment. They may assume that you dont have long to live, or that you wont be able to have relationships or have a family. If you can help them to understand the facts about HIV, they are less likely to react negatively.
Its important to remember that having HIV is nothing to be ashamed of. Hopefully whoever you decide to share your status with will see that and support you, though you may need to give some people time to process the information.
How Do You Know If You Have Hiv
While there are symptoms and early warning signs of an HIV infection, the only way to know for sure whether you have the virus is by getting tested. This needn’t be a scary process, and it’s vital you seek treatment as soon as possible to avoid further complications or infecting others.
21-Nov-21·5 mins read
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What Role Do Condoms Play In Hiv Prevention
Condoms are very effective at preventing HIV transmission when used properly, but they generally arent necessary in a monogamous relationship if your partners HIV treatment is effective and youve both been screened for other STDs, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.
If your relationship isnt monogamous, I would recommend condoms to protect your partner, especially if they dont know youre nonmonogamous, because of the STD risk , says Gandhi. Yeah, theyre treatable, but they can have harmful effects, including significant discomfort, she notes. And, of course, using condoms helps protect you from getting HIV from other sexual partners.
Does U=u Apply To The Non
This page is about HIV transmission during sex.
But an undetectable viral load is also crucial for conception, pregnancy and birth. If you maintain an undetectable viral load during pregnancy, the risk of HIV being passed on to your baby is just 0.1%, or one in a thousand.
During breastfeeding, an undetectable viral load greatly reduces the risk of passing HIV on, although it does not completely eliminate this possibility. In the UK and other countries where clean water and sterilising equipment are available, bottle feeding with formula milk is the safest way to feed your baby.
If you use injection drugs and or other equipment, taking HIV treatment and having an undetectable viral load greatly reduces the risk of passing HIV on, but we dont know by how much.
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Get Regular Hiv Testing
This is suggested for both partners. People who are HIV positive should know how their levels of CD4 cells are doing and where their viral load stands. Preventative methods help slash the risk of HIV transmission, but they arent perfect, so the HIV-negative partner should get tested once a year to see if their status has changed, according to the CDC .
How Can You Get It
You can get HIV through vaginal or anal sex with a partner who has HIV . Sexual fluids include ejaculate, vaginal fluid, and anal fluid. You can also get HIV through non-sexual activities that put you in contact with someone elses blood that has HIV, such as sharing needles like injection drug equipment or tattooing needles. HIV can also be spread from mother to child during pregnancy, labour, birth or through breastfeeding. If the mother is being treated for HIV, the chance of passing HIV onto the child is very low
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Telling Casual Sexual Partners
When thinking about telling a casual sexual partner about your HIV status it’s worth thinking about why you want to tell them and whether the sex you had was protected.
The reasons you have for telling may depend upon the kind of relationship you want to have. For example, do you plan to see the person just once or are you hoping for a longer relationship?
It may also depend on the kind of sex you want to have. If there is no risk of passing on HIV, some people see no reason to talk about their HIV status.
Others tell partners so that its easier to make informed decisions about sex.
Some people prefer to talk about their HIV status in a more neutral environment, at a later date or wait until they have got to know the person better. Other people drop HIV into the conversation very early on, in a casual and matter-of-fact way, so that if the other person cannot accept it, no time is lost.
Ensure A Partner Is Managing Their Hiv
HIV is a chronic condition treated with antiretroviral therapy. Antiretroviral medications control the virus by lowering the amount of HIV found in the blood, which is also known as the viral load. These medications also lower the amount of the virus in other bodily fluids such as semen, anal or rectal secretions, and vaginal fluids.
Managing HIV requires close attention. Medications must be taken as directed by a healthcare provider. Additionally, managing HIV means going to a healthcare provider as often as recommended.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , someone living with HIV with an undetectable viral load wont transmit HIV to others. They define an undetectable viral load as fewer than 200 copies per milliliter of blood.
The support that someone without HIV can offer a partner living with HIV can positively affect how the HIV-positive partner manages their health. A study in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes that if same-sex couples were working together to reach a goal, the person living with HIV was more likely to stay on track with HIV care in all aspects.
This support can also strengthen other relationship dynamics.
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How Hiv Is Transmitted
HIV is not passed on easily from one person to another. The virus does not spread through the air like cold and flu viruses.
HIV lives in the blood and in some body fluids. To get HIV, 1 of these fluids from someone with HIV has to get into your blood.
The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are:
- semen
- vaginal fluids, including menstrual blood
- breast milk
- contact with animals or insects like mosquitoes
What We Know About The Types Of Hiv Tests
HIV tests are very accurate, but no HIV test can detect HIV immediately after a person gets the virus. Some kinds of tests detect HIV sooner than others. In general, nucleic acid tests can detect HIV the soonest, followed by antigen/antibody tests, and then antibody tests.
Most rapid tests and self-tests are antibody tests. Your immune system makes antibodies when youre exposed to bacteria or viruses like HIV. Antibody tests look for these antibodies in your blood or oral fluid. In general, antibody tests that use blood from a vein can detect HIV slightly sooner after infection than tests done with blood from a finger prick or with oral fluid.
More Information With a rapid antibody screening test, results are ready in 30 minutes or less.
More Information
A self-test is an antibody test you can buy at a pharmacy or online. There is currently one available FDA-approved self-test, the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test.
The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test gives fast results at home. You have to swab your mouth to get an oral fluid sample and use a kit to test it. Results are ready in 20 minutes. If the test says you have HIV, you should go to a health care provider to get follow-up testing. The manufacturer provides confidential counseling and refers you to follow-up testing sites.
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