How Can You Prevent Getting Or Transmitting Hiv Through Sex
There are several ways to prevent getting or transmitting HIV through anal or vaginal sex.
If you are HIV-negative, you can use HIV prevention medicine known as pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure prophylaxis to protect yourself. You can also use other HIV prevention methods, below.
If you have HIV, the most important thing you can do to prevent transmission and stay healthy is to take your HIV medicine , every day, exactly as prescribed. People living with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. Read more about Treatment as Prevention. There also are other options to choose from, below.
What Are Hiv And Aids
- HIV is a virus that attacks and weakens a person’s immune system. The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body and fight off germs and diseases.
- If the immune system of an HIV-positive person gets so weak that it can no longer fight off a range of health problems it would normally be able to cope with, the person is considered to have AIDS.
- HIV can be passed from person to person through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, breast milk and other body fluids. It can happen:
- When a person has sex with someone who has the HIV virus and they do not use a condom
- When people exchange infected needles or syringes
- During pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding, when an HIV-positive mom can pass the virus to her baby .
Prevention And Control Measures For Hiv Infection And Aids
Even though HIV is preventable through effective public health measures, the HIV epidemic persists largely unchanged in the countries of the European Union and European Economic Area with around 30 000 newly reported diagnoses every year.
ECDC estimates that around 810 000 people are currently living with HIV in the EU/EEA of which 122 000 are not aware of their infection.
If diagnosed and treated early enough, people can live long and healthy lives with HIV. To reach the estimated 15% who are not aware of their infection, Europe needs to increase efforts to promote and facilitate more testing for HIV. And link those diagnosed to care.
Response should be strengthened and tailored to each countrys specific needs in order to control the HIV epidemic in Europe. This includes implementation of targeted, evidence-based HIV prevention programmes for key populations who are most at risk but might not be reached by current interventions like men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and migrants from countries with generalised epidemics.
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Dont Inject Drugs But If You Do Dont Share Equipment
Anytime you share a needle with someone, whether youre injecting steroids, hormones, or drugs, youre at risk of HIV and other blood infections. And its not just the needle and syringe that can transmit the virus you can also get HIV by sharing the water thats used to clean the equipment or reusing filters and other containers. Thats because the equipment or water could contain blood and, therefore, the virus itself.
The best thing you can do if you use drugs is to seek treatment. For example, if you use heroin, joining a methadone program could help you manage your addiction without the use of needles, lowering your risk of HIV.
How Much Risk Are You Comfortable With
Different people are comfortable with different levels of risk for HIV, STIs and other infections. You have the right to set your own boundaries for what you are comfortable with and decide what prevention method you use based on your boundaries. The people you have sex or use drugs with also have this right.
Think about your chance of getting HIV and other infections and how much risk you are comfortable with. If you are currently using a prevention strategy, think about how much it protects you against HIV and other infections. Consider whether you are comfortable with this level of protection. If you would like more protection, you might decide to make a change.
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Effective Ways To Prevent Hiv/aids
The human immunodeficiency virus destroys immune cells which fight infection. This makes it difficult for your body to fight off infections and certain kinds of cancer. Without proper treatment, an HIV infection can progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS, a stage where your immune system is seriously damaged and you get a number of severe illnesses known as opportunistic infections.1
HIV spreads through contact with body fluids like blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, or breast milk from an infected person. In the United States, this virus is mostly spread by having sex with or sharing syringes or other injection equipment with someone who is infected. It can also be transmitted from a mother to her child during the course of the pregnancy, while breastfeeding, or during childbirth.2 Although the number of people being infected with HIV has been declining, it still remains a cause of concern with thousands of new cases being diagnosed every year.3 But take heart, there are things you can do to protect yourself from this dangerous infection.
Here are some ways to keep yourself safe.
How Do I Avoid Getting Hiv During Sex
HIV is spread through contact with blood or sexual fluids , usually during vaginal and anal sex. So the only 100% certain way to avoid HIV is to not have vaginal or anal sex.
But most people do have sex at some point in their lives, so learning about HIV prevention and knowing how to have safer sex is important. Using condoms REALLY lowers your risk of getting HIV. If youre going to have sex, using condoms every single time is the best way to protect yourself from HIV. Theres also a daily pill you can take called PrEP that can help prevent HIV. Your doctor or nurse can tell you if PrEP is right for you.
Some sexual activities are safer than others when it comes to getting HIV. These activities are no risk theyve never caused a reported case of HIV:
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masturbating
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having oral sex with a condom or dental dam
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using clean sex toys
These activities are lower risk theyve only caused a few reported cases of HIV :
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“French or deep kissing
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vaginal sex with a condom and/or PrEP
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anal sex with a condom and/or PrEP
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oral sex without a condom or dental dam
These activities are high risk millions of people get HIV this way:
Theres no vaccine that protects against HIV, but lots of people are working on making one. And there are medicines that can help prevent HIV.
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Harm Reduction And Social Strategies
Harm reduction is defined as “policies, programmes and practices that aim to minimise negative health, social and legal impacts associated with drug use, drug policies and drug laws”. The World Health Organization recognizes that harm reduction is central to the prevention of HIV amongst people who inject drugs and their sexual and drug using partners. Social strategies do not require any drug or object to be effective, but rather require persons to change their behaviors to gain protection from HIV. Some social strategies include:
Each of these strategies has widely differing levels of efficacy, social acceptance, and acceptance in the medical and scientific communities.
Populations who access HIV testing are less likely to engage in behaviors with high risk of contracting HIV, so HIV testing is almost always a part of any strategy to encourage people to change their behaviors to become less likely to contract HIV. Over 60 countries impose some form of travel restriction, either for short or long-term stays, for people infected with HIV.
Tattooing Body Piercings Acupuncture And Other Procedures
If you’re getting a tattoo, body piercing, electrolysis or acupuncture, you can avoid contracting or transmitting HIV by asking if:
- procedures are carried out by professionals who follow proper infection control practices , like those used in hospitals
- all needles used, as required by law, are:
- used only once
- disposed of safely after use
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Promising Routes To Hiv Prevention
The report, released here at the XVI International AIDS Conference, surveyed the state of research on six promising approaches for the prevention of HIV: male circumcision cervical barriers such as diaphragms HIV “prevention pills” suppression of herpes, which raises the risk of contracting HIV threefold topical microbicides and HIV vaccines.
1. Male Circumcision
A trial of over 3,000 young men showed that those who are circumcised are about 60% less likely to be infected with HIV, compared with those who are not circumcised, says Gita Ramjee, PhD, of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the South Africa Medical Research Unit.
And another study predicted that widespread implementation of male circumcision could avert 2 million new infections in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
But circumcisions must be safely performed by trained health providers — something that is lacking in many developing countries, the report notes.
2. Microbicides
Gels and creams applied to the vagina or rectum to reduce HIV transmission, microbicides are a hot area of research, Ramjee says.
They can combat HIV on a variety of fronts: disabling the virus, interfering with the process by which the virus enters and takes hold in cells, and even strengthening the body’s defenses against infection.
As of mid-2006, there were over 25 products in various stages of development, with five in late-stage studies of effectiveness. Results could be available by late 2007, Ramjee says.
Why Is Hiv Prevention Important
There is no way to prevent HIV. The effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions has been proven to reduce transmission of HIV. HIV testing and diagnosis can lead to significant behavior changes that can improve a persons health and reduce the risk of HIV spreading to their sex partners or drug users.
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For Daily Prevention: Pre
People who are at high risk of getting HIV but do not have HIV can take pre-exposure prophylaxis daily medicines that can significantly lower the chances of getting HIV. PrEP can help keep the virus from establishing a permanent infection when someone is exposed to HIV. PrEP is less effective if it is not taken consistently but, even if some doses are missed, PrEP will still offer significant protection from contracting HIV. People who use PrEP must commit to taking the drug every day and seeing their healthcare provider for follow-up every three months. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if PrEP is right for you. PrEP should be used with other strategies to protect your health, including condoms.
Aids Prevention: The Importance Of Precautionary Measures
The human immunodeficiency virus is still present today. Take the time to get information and to speak to your teens about it.
Since it was discovered, the human immunodeficiency virus has wreaked a lot of havoc in the world. AIDS, the disease that results from it, still causes a lot of deaths and many concerns for people who suffer from it. Find out how to protect yourself against this serious infection.
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What Are Some Behaviors That Can Raise A Woman’s Risk For Hiv
Behaviors that raise a womans risk for HIV include:
- Having sex with a male partner who has had sex with another man or who has used intravenous drugs. Sex with a man is the most common way women are infected with HIV.
- Using injection drugs and sharing needles. This is the second most common way that HIV is spread.
- Abusing drugs and alcohol. This can lead to risky behavior, including having sex without a condom, not knowing a partners HIV status, or injecting drugs.
Women who drink alcohol or use drugs may also be at higher risk of sexual assault or rape, which may put you at risk for HIV. If you are assaulted or raped, you need to see a doctor right away. Your doctor may decide that you should get post-exposure prophylaxis . These drugs may lower your chances of getting HIV after you have been exposed to the virus. But these drugs work only if you see a doctor within three days of exposure.
How Can I Avoid Becoming Infected With Hiv
Becoming educated about HIV and understanding how it is transmitted is the first and perhaps most important way to prevent the spread of HIV. It is essential for people to make informed decisions about the level of risk they are willing to take, based on what is realistic for them.
Abstaining from sex and not sharing needles are the most effective ways for people to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections . However, abstinence is not a realistic option for everyone.
Safer SexWhen abstinence is not an option, the proper use of barrier protection, such as latex or polyurethane condom with a water based lubricant, can be the next best thing for preventing HIV transmission during vaginal or anal sex. Barrier methods can also provide protection from some other STIs. For more information on barrier methods, see the section below, How Do I Use External and Internal Condoms?
PrEP: Taking HIV Drugs to Prevent InfectionPre-exposure prophylaxisoften called PrEP for shortrefers to any form of treatment that can be taken before exposure to a disease-causing germ in order to prevent infection. For persons who want to avoid being infected with HIV, PrEP involves taking antiretroviral drugs consistently.
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How Do You Get Prep
If you think PrEP may be right for you, visit your doctor or health care provider. PrEP is only available by prescription. Any health care provider licensed to write prescriptions can prescribe PrEP specialization in infectious diseases or HIV medicine is not required.
If you dont have a doctor, you can use the HIV Services Locator to find a PrEP provider and other HIV services near you. You can visit many community health centers for a PrEP consultation. More than 190 health centers in the 57 jurisdictions prioritized in the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative are providing PrEP services. Many health centers in other jurisdictions also provide PrEP services.
Because PrEP is for people who are HIV-negative, youll have to get an HIV test before starting PrEP and you may need to get other tests to make sure its safe for you to use PrEP.
If you take PrEP, youll need to see your health care provider every 3 months for repeat HIV tests, prescription refills, and follow-up.
How Can A Person Who Is Hiv Positive Prevent Passing Hiv To Others
Take HIV medicines daily. Treatment with HIV medicines helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART cannot cure HIV, but it can reduce the amount of HIV in the body . One of the main goals of ART is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test. People with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.
Here are some other steps you can take to prevent HIV transmission:
- Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.
- Talk to your partner about taking PrEP.
- If you inject drugs, do not share your needles, syringes, or other drug equipment with your partner.
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What Unique Challenges Do Women Face In Preventing Hiv
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some prevention challenges are unique to women:2
- Women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy and birth and through breastfeeding.
- A woman’s anatomy makes it easier to get HIV through sex compared with a man’s anatomy.
- Having a sexually transmitted infection raises a woman’s risk for HIV more than a man’s.
- Women are more likely to lack control in relationships and fear violence, stigma, or abandonment when trying to prevent HIV exposure.
- Women are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse. People with a history of sexual abuse are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors like exchanging sex for drugs, having multiple partners, or having sex with a partner who is physically abusive when asked to use a condom.
Hiv And Aids Prevention Essay
Summary of Teaching
The proposed teaching plan targets to get the students acquainted with the Disease Prevention and Health Promotion activity. In order to ensure that the teaching is of a practical character, it is proposed to narrow the scope of the material to the HIV/AIDS prevention problem.
The proposed teaching plan targeted a series of objectives. At the knowledge level, the students are expected to get a clear idea of the disease spread, prevention, and the key participants of the change. At the comprehension level, they are supposed to acquire a profound understanding of the key mechanisms of the prevention measures and the change communication. At the application level, the teaching targets to help the learners to apply the new knowledge to the generation of the new ideas. HIV and AIDS Prevention Essay Paper
The constructivism learning theory is applied as the framework of the proposed teaching. Hence, it is assumed that the teaching process will be more effective, in case the learners are not provided with the ready-made material but employ their knowledge to generate their own concepts.
A particular focus is put on the learners readiness to perceive the proposed information. Hence, it is assumed critical that the emotional barriers are eliminated therefore, the teaching process will be carried out in a friendly and tense-free manner, putting a particular emphasis on such forms of work as common discussions and group activities.
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