8 Simple Steps To Prevent HIV

HIV prevention is not just about following the usual medical guide. It’s about knowing your body well & when to safeguard yourself from infection. It requires a comprehensive approach which allows you to try and error, but to understand the dynamics of infection and ways to prevent it from happening.

Here are 8 proven tips for building an effective HIV prevention which can be applied to anyone.

Identify High & Low-Risk Sexual Activity

When it comes to HIV prevention, the common question is always: “Can I get HIV from sex?” There are still a lot of misconceptions about HIV transmission, often underestimating or overestimating the potential risk. Informed prevention begins by getting the right facts, understanding the modes of HIV transmission, and identifying which activities put you, as an individual, at personal risk.

 Reduce The Risk of Getting HIV By Taking PrEP

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective prevention whereby daily use of a single antiretroviral pill can reduce greatly a person’s risk from getting HIV. This evidence-based approach is considered both an important part of an overall prevention strategy and also to reduce infection rates in at-risk populations.

Start TasP to Avoid Passing the Virus to Others

Treatment as Prevention (TasP) is an evidence-based approach by which HIV-infected persons with an undetectable HIV virus are less likely to transmit the virus to others. Numerous studies have shown that an HIV-infected person on successful antiretroviral therapy is up to 96% less likely to infect a partner in a mixed-status relationship.

Practice The Right Way To Use Condom

Up to date, condoms are still the best & effective method for HIV prevention short of complete abstinence. The only main reason that condoms fail often due to incorrect or inconsistent usage. Ultimately, safer sex means using a condom consistently each and every time you engage in sexual activities. Here are some great tips that can help.

Learn The Safe Way To Conceive a Child

Nearly half of all HIV-affected couples are serodiscordant, meaning that one partner is HIV-positive while the other is HIV-negative. With major advances in antiretroviral therapy, serodiscordant couples have far greater opportunities to conceive than ever. Enabling pregnancy while minimizing the risk of transmission to the uninfected partner.

Avoid Passing the Virus to Your Baby During Pregnancy

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (pMTCT) covers all stages of pregnancy, from antenatal to postnatal care. Key for this strategy to succeed is early intervention. With proper perinatal care, including the provision of antiretroviral therapy for both mother and child, the risk of transmission is now less than 2%.

Do Not Share Needles If You’re Drug User

Based on a number of well-established reports, the rate of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) is high. With an estimate of 20% to 40% have acquired infection as a result of shared needle use. Normally, it’s only users who are at risk but they’re sexual partners who are sometimes wholly unaware of their drug used.

Don’t Delay For Treatment

If you suspect yourself may have been exposed to HIV. There are medications that can greatly reduce the risk of infection called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Research has shown that PEP can reduce the risk of HIV by up to 81% if started as soon as possible after exposure.

As HIV not only bring suffer and death to the infected patient, it also brings suffering to the people surrounding. Hence it is important and our responsibility to learn the right steps HIV prevention in any cases.