HIV Prevention
We have never had more options for preventing the spread of HIV. Trade can help you decide on the best combination of prevention methods for you. Which will you choose?
What is HIV?
HIV stands for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This means that it is a virus which weakens the body’s immune system.
There is still no cure for HIV. However, modern HIV medication is now so effective that it can reduce the amount of HIV in a person’s body to a scientifically undetectable level. We refer to this as having an ‘undetectable viral load’. This helps keep the person living with HIV healthy. And, crucially, a person with an undetectable viral load cannot pass HIV on to others through sex. This message is important: undetectable = untransmissible. A simple way to remember this is U=U.
How is HIV transmitted?
If someone with HIV is not on treatment and has a detectable viral load, they can pass on HIV through the following bodily fluids:
- Blood
- Semen (including pre-cum)
- Vaginal fluid
- Anal mucus
- Breast milk
Other body fluids, like saliva, sweat or urine, do not contain enough of the HIV virus to pass it on to someone else.
The main ways that HIV can be transmitted are:
- Vaginal/frontal or anal sex without a condom
- Sharing drug injecting equipment
- Sharing sex toys
- Mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy
- Coming into contact with contaminated blood (e.g. through a transfusion).
It is important to understand that HIV cannot be passed on through a range of everyday social contact such as touching, kissing, hugging, sharing a toilet, or sharing household items.
HIV can’t survive for very long outside the body. Coming into contact with blood or semen that has been outside the body doesn’t usually pose a risk of HIV transmission.
If you think you may have been exposed to HIV within the last 72 hours, you may be able to get PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis); a four week course of anti-HIV treatment which may prevent HIV infection after the virus has entered your body. You can access PEP through your local sexual health clinic or a hospital Accident & Emergency department.
HIV prevention
When HIV was first identified in the 1980s, condoms were the only effective way to stop HIV passing between people during sex. We now have more options to prevent HIV transmission – and Trade recommends thinking about the best combination for you:
- Regular HIV testing (see below)
- Condoms for anal and/or vaginal/frontal sex
- Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) (see below)
- U=U (treatment as prevention)
Testing for HIV
It is easy to get an HIV test; and anyone who is sexually active should test regularly for HIV.
HIV testing is free and confidential. You can get a test at your local sexual health clinic or order a home testing kit delivered to your door, or you can come to Trade during office hours, and we will give you a rapid HIV test with results available in 20 minutes.
Knowing you HIV status puts you in control of your health and means you can access the medical treatment you need to stay healthy, if you have HIV. Most of the time, HIV is transmitted by someone who doesn’t know they have it. Testing and knowing your HIV status helps you stay healthy and protects your partners.
The earlier you receive an HIV diagnosis, the earlier you can start treatment, which helps you stay well and prevents you from passing HIV on to others. That’s why we say effective treatment for people living with HIV is also a form of HIV prevention. Remember, U=U. The only way you can know your HIV status is by testing for HIV.
If you do receive a positive HIV test result, Trade is here to provide you with the advice and support you need. We can talk to you about your diagnosis and help you think through what living with HIV might mean for you and your sexual partner/s.
PrEP – Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. It is a way of prevention HIV transmission by taking medicine before sex. PrEP is taken by people who don’t have HIV, to prevent them from getting HIV.
PrEP is normally taken as one pill a day. The pill contains doses of two common HIV medications. If you are exposed to HIV, the PrEP drugs prevent HIV from entering your body’s cells and reproducing. This stops HIV from establishing itself in your body and stops the HIV infection from taking place. For PrEP to work, there must be enough of the PrEP medication in your blood to protect against HIV. That’s why it’s important to take PrEP properly.
Most people take PrEP every day. However, clinical trials have shown that oral PrEP can also be effective if taken less often, before and after sex. This way of taking PrEP is often called ‘event-based’ PrEP.
The more people that take PrEP, the more we protect each other. But don’t assume your sexual partners are on PrEP and taking it correctly. If you want peace of mind, take PrEP yourself.
In England, PrEP is available for free through NHS sexual health clinics. You can also obtain PrEP through the Clinic xtra and TNT xtra/PrEP clinics at Trade each week. Before you start taking PrEP you need to have an HIV test to confirm that you don’t have HIV. This is often done as part of the initial PrEP consultation.
Useful resources
National AIDS Trust provide trusted information about HIV:
About HIV – National AIDS Trust
HIV Prevention England’s It Starts With Me campaign answers your questions about HIV:
It Starts With Me
Prepster provide all the information you need about taking PrEP:
PrEPster