Hands Up for #HIVPrevention

This post was written by Jessica Bryan, a health educator and outreach coordinator with the STD & HIV/AIDS Program at the Allegheny County Health Department.

HIV is NOT…

With an overload of information and misinformation on the web, it can be hard to keep things straight. Here are a few facts about what HIV is NOT...HIV is NOT transmitted by water, air, saliva, sweat, tears, toilet seats, or insects. HIV is NOT AIDS. HIV is a viral infection that can lead to AIDS if the body’s immune system becomes too weak to fight off infections. HIV is NOT a death sentence. Treatment matters! HIV positive individuals can reach an undetectable viral load status (no active virus) and live a relatively normal life expectancy while on medication. HIV is NOT a “gay disease”. It can affect anyone regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or sexual orientation.

So Who’s At Risk?

HIV is a transmitted via sexual contact (through blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, or vaginal fluids), sharing needles for injection drug use, and from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. Most infections occur in US through sexual contact and sharing drug equipment.

The high risk populations for HIV transmission include gay and bisexual men, Black MSM, White MSM, and Hispanic/Latino MSM. “MSM” is an acronym for “Men who have Sex with Men”. This term is used by the CDC to indicate a behavior that transmits HIV, not individuals’ sexuality.  Other high risk groups include injection drug users, commercial sex workers, youths aged 15-18, young adults aged 19-29, and individuals with new or multiple sex partners.

Protect Yourself!

How do you reduce your risk of contracting HIV and other STIs? Condoms are highly effective when used consistently and correctly in preventing spread of HIV and other STIs. Make sure to use a water-based lubricant. Oil-based lubricants like baby oil and petroleum jelly can cause the condom to break. STIs contracted from skin to skin contact like genital herpes, HPV, and syphilis may be in areas not covered by condoms, so new partner testing is important.

If you fall into a high risk population or have a partner who is HIV positive, you may want to consider taking PrEP, a daily medication that reduces the risk of HIV by more than 90%. If you think you may have already been exposed to HIV (within the past 72 hours), you can be started on PEP to prevent transmission.

Do You Know Your Status?

Take charge and take the test! The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13-64 get tested at least once as part of routine health care. People who fall into high risk populations or exhibit certain risk factors should be tested at least once a year. Sexually active gay and bisexual men and MSM should be tested every 3-6 months. 1 in 8 people living with HIV don’t know they have it...You don’t know until you know, so begin your search for free testing sites across the county and country at  www.aids.gov today!

Hands Up!

As as a health educator and outreach coordinator for the STD & HIV/AIDS Program at the Allegheny County Health Department, I am aware of the gaps in care and barriers to care associated with STIs and HIV/AIDS. Disparities are present across the board in health care, but strikingly visible in sexual health. Screening and testing should be a routine part of healthcare for everyone, everywhere. Let’s be the generation to put our hands up for HIV prevention.

Sources: www.cdc.gov, www.aids.gov, www.aidsinfo.nih.gov