HOPE at St. Luke's Hospital

If Your Partner Has HIV, Encourage Your Partner to Get and Stay in Treatment This is the most important thing your partner can do to stay healthy. If your partner takes HIV medicine and gets and keeps an undetectable viral load, there is effectively no risk of you getting HIV from sex with your partner. Learn more about the benefits of HIV treatment as prevention.

Use Condoms the Right Way Every Time You Have Sex Condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), like gonorrhea and chlamydia. Use water-based or silicone-based lubricants to help prevent condoms from breaking or slipping during sex. Learn the right way to use a male condom and a female condom.

I don't believe I am at high risk. Why should I get tested? CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care, and more often if you do things that might increase your risk for getting HIV. Even if you are in a monogamous relationship (both you and your partner are having sex only with each other), you should find out for sure whether you or your partner has HIV. https://youtu.be/EdNehgZ_2CQ

Getting Tested Should I get tested for HIV? CDC recommends everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once. People at higher risk should get tested more often. If you were HIV-negative the last time you were tested, the test was more than one year ago, and you can answer yes to any of the following questions, then you should get an HIV test as soon as possible:... Are you a man who has had sex with another man? Have you had sexanal or vaginalwith a partner who has HIV? Have you had more than one sex partner since your last HIV test? Have you injected drugs and shared needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment (for example, cookers) with others? Have you exchanged sex for drugs or money? Have you been diagnosed with or treated for another sexually transmitted disease? Have you been diagnosed with or treated for hepatitis or tuberculosis (TB)? Have you had sex with someone who could answer yes to any of the above questions or someone whose sexual history you don’t know? You should be tested at least once a year if you keep doing any of these things. Sexually active gay and bisexual men may benefit from more frequent testing (for example, every 3 to 6 months). If you’re pregnant, talk to your health care provider about getting tested for HIV and other ways to protect you and your child from getting HIV. Before having sex for the first time with a new partner, you and your partner should talk about your sexual and drug-use history, disclose your HIV status, and consider getting tested for HIV and learning the results.

Quick Facts on COVID-19 and Sex, see below:

Stigma, fear, and discrimination can be barriers to seeking HIV testing or treatment for some Latinx individuals. When we stop HIV stigma, we can help reduce HIV in Latinx communities. http://bit.ly/38mJph8 #NLAAD #StopHIVStigma

Did you know that some of the geographical areas hardest hit by HIV include large Latinx communities? Learn more about the efforts to end HIV in these priority areas: bit.ly/3ks8hKQ. #NLAAD #StopHIVTogether #EndHIVEpidemic