- What is HIV?
- Reducing the Risk of HIV
- Questions for Your Healthcare Team
- Tips to Work with Your Healthcare Team
Reducing the Risk of HIV Infection: Safer Sex
[ Condoms and Other Barriers ] [ Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases ] [ For More Information ][ Sources ]
If you are sexually active, it is important to know that there are ways to reduce your HIV risk as well as the risk of getting or passing on other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). For your health and the health of others, it is especially important that you talk with your sexual partner(s)*, understand the risks of certain sexual activities and make decisions to protect your health—including the decision to practice safer sex.
Whether or not you are HIV+, deciding to be sexually active is a personal choice that comes with responsibilities to yourself and your partner(s). Talking with a sexual partner(s) about your HIV status, their HIV status, HIV risks, and whether or not you have another STD allows you and your partner(s) to make healthier choices about safer sex and reduce the risk of infections.*
If you or your partner(s) aren’t sure about your sexual health status, you can reduce your HIV risk of becoming infected by choosing to:
- Get tested for HIV and tested or examined for other STDs before becoming involved sexually
- Use condoms and other latex barriers to reduce the risk of HIV and other STDs and practice safer sex every time you have sex
- Discuss the kinds of sexual activity you want to do together and what risks you are willing to take
- Have one sexual partner (be monogamous with each other)
- Delay sex or decide not to have sex and discover other ways to be close and enjoy each other
*You should know that it is important to tell your sexual partner or partners before having sex so you, and they, can make healthy decisions about safer sex. You should also know that many states in the US have passed laws making it a crime that carries both a fine and prison sentence if you don’t tell a sexual partner(s) you are HIV-positive before having sex.
[ Back to Top ]
HIV is found in semen, vaginal fluids and blood. Condoms and other latex or polyurethane barriers can reduce HIV risk by preventing HIV from passing from one person to another if used correctly and used every time there is the possibility of intimate contact with semen, vaginal fluids or blood. This means using a condom or other barrier—a “dental dam” or latex glove—for anal, vaginal and oral sex.
Using condoms correctly includes:
- Checking the expiration date on the condom package
- Storing condoms at room temperature (heat and cold can damage condoms and cause them to break)
- Using a water- or silicone-based lubricant (“tube”) to further reduce the risk of the condom’s breaking. Petroleum-based products (lotion, Vaseline®, etc.) will cause condoms to break down quickly. (Please note that several studies have concluded that nonoxynol-9, a spermicide that helps prevent pregnancy, can cause irritation and breaks in the skin that may increase HIV risk.)
- Putting condoms on correctly (which includes leaving room at the tip of the condom) before there is intimate contact with semen or pre-ejaculate
- Not reusing condoms
Using condoms and other safer sex practices depends on both sexual partners agreeing to use them. Know that you have the personal right to ask your partner to practice safer sex and you have the right to refuse to have sex if your partner will not wear a condom or practice other kinds of safer sex.
If you need help negotiating safer sex, if you have experienced verbal or physical abuse, or your partner has refused to practice safer sex and insisted on having sex, please contact your local AIDS Service Organization or call a local helpline to seek the support you need to protect yourself.
[ Back to Top ]
Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases
It is important to know about other STDs when making choices about sexual activity and your health. If you are HIV-positive, getting another STD can seriously affect your health. Because your immune system is weakened by HIV, an STD may be harder to treat and symptoms may be more severe and last longer.
Condoms may not prevent other STDs as well as they prevent HIV because condoms may not completely cover an infected area. Although correct and consistent condom use can reduce the risk of passing other STDs, unlike HIV, herpes, genital warts and syphilis need only skin-to-skin contact to be transmitted. Also, a sexual activity that is low-risk for HIV infection may be a higher risk for another STD. For example, genital or anal warts and herpes can be transmitted by mutual touching—so using latex gloves is recommended if you don’t know whether your partner is infected with genital/anal warts or herpes. It is also generally advised that partners not share sex toys, because of the risk of passing some STDs this way.
[ Back to Top ]
Find out more information about HIV risk and STDs by talking with your healthcare provider, an HIV prevention specialist or a sexual health educator at a local AIDS Service Organization (ASO) or health department. Safer sex education may be available in your area to help you make decisions about your sexual health—including how to talk with your partner(s) about your HIV status, getting tested, using condoms and other topics that are sometimes difficult to discuss.
You can also call hotlines that may answer your questions anonymously and refer you to local resources, including HIV testing sites.
National AIDS Hotline
1-800-342-2437 (in English)
1-800-344-7432 (in Spanish)
1-800-243-7889 (TTY for the deaf- and hearing-impaired)
National STD Hotline
1-800-227-8922
[ Back to Top ]
The information provided here is based on information found at the following Web sites that have comprehensive information about safer sex:
The Body: An AIDS and HIV Information Resource
AEGIS: AIDS Education Global Information System
GMHC AIDS Service Organization
[ Back to Top ]
Vaseline® is a registered trademark of Chesebrough-Pond’s, Inc.
This information does not include everything you may need to know about HIV and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider.
