Dr Dulcy on how to avoid getting HIV
SEVERAL METHODS: BIG REDUCTION IN GLOBAL TRANSMISSION
There are now effective drugs for both pre- and postexposure. HIV prevention
Many years later HIV/Aids still remain a major global public health concern. Although HIV is not treatable, there are several methods for preventing HIV transmission that have led to a marked reduction in the global incidence of HIV infection in the past few years.
The only way HIV/Aisd will ultimately be controlled on a global scale is by effective prevention and, therefore, patient education is vital.
The person-to-person spread of HIV is called HIV transmission. It happens when certain body fluids are received from a person who has HIV. HIV transmission is only possible if these fluids come in contact with a mucous membrane or damaged tissue or are directly injected into the bloodstream (from a needle or syringe).
Mucous membranes are found inside the rectum, the vagina, the opening of the penis and the mouth.
These body fluids are:
▶ Blood
▶ Semen
▶ Preseminal fluids
▶ Rectal fluids
▶ Vaginal fluids
▶ Breast milk
Therefore HIV is spread mainly by:
▶ Having anal or vaginal sex with someone who has HIV without using barrier protection or taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV.
▶ Sharing injection equipment, such as needles, with someone who has HIV.
▶ HIV can also spread from a woman with HIV to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. This is called mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
▶ In rare cases some people can be infected with HIV after receiving a blood transfusion or organ or tissue transplant from a donor with HIV. This risk is very low because these are rigorously tested before the procedures happen.
There is no way of getting HIV from casual contact with a person who has HIV, such as a handshake, a hug, or a closed-mouth kiss. And you cannot get HIV from contact with objects such as toilet seats, doorknobs, or dishes used by a person who has HIV.
Based on this information there are things you can do to protect yourself from contracting HIV. The following are some of the steps you can take to make sure you are protected:
Do an HIV test and make sure your partner also tests. Talk to your partner about HIV testing and get tested before you have sex. It can be a romantic way to grow your relationship to do it together.
There are many testing sites in South Africa, including local clinics, and even your trusted doctor.
There are also non-governmental organisations that offer pop-up testing stations in the communities.
▶ Choose less risky sexual behaviours. HIV is mainly spread by having anal or vaginal sex without a condom or without taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV. There are now medications you can take to prevent HIV transmission. Ask your doctor.
▶ Use condoms: Use a condom correctly every time you have sex. Ask the nurse at your local clinic to demonstrate if you are not sure.
▶ Limit number of sexual partners: The more partners you have, the more likely you are to have a partner with poorly controlled HIV or to have a partner with a sexually transmitted infection (STD).
Both of these factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission.
▶ Get tested and treated for STDs. Insist your partners get tested and treated, too.
Having an STD can increase your risk of becoming infected with HIV or spreading it to others.
▶ Talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who don’t have HIV but who are at high risk of becoming infected with it.
This is usually because their partner is HIV-positive. PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day for the period advised by a doctor.
▶ Don’t inject drugs: But if you do, use only sterile injection equipment and water and never share your equipment with others.
If you are HIV-positive and your partner is HIV-negative you want to ensure you play your part in protecting your partner from being infected.
Make sure you take your HIV medicines daily to enable you to live longer and productively with many opportunistic infections prevented.
Although this does not cure the HIV infection, it can reduce the amount of HIV in the body (called the viral load) to an undetectable level. This means 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 their HIV-negative partner through sex.
Here are situations where HIV medicines are used to prevent HIV infection:
▶ Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP): PEP involves taking HIV medicines soon after a possible exposure to HIV to prevent becoming infected.
PEP may be used, for example, after a person has sex without a condom with a person who has HIV or after a health care worker is accidentally exposed to HIV in the workplace.
To be effective, PEP must be started within 72 hours (three days) after the possible exposure to HIV. PEP involves taking HIV medicines each day for 28 days.
▶ Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Women with HIV take HIV medicines during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce the risk of passing HIV to their babies and to protect their own health.
Their newborns also receive HIV medicine for four to six weeks after birth.
The HIV medicine reduces the risk of infection from any HIV that may have entered a baby’s body during childbirth.