When your partner has HIV and you don’t

7 years ago

When your partner has HIV and you don’t

Living with HIV-positive partner can be a test of faith for the uninformed. This is mainly because of the fear and the ignorance that surround this virus.

Here’s what to know if your partner is HIV-positive and you are HIV-negative.

To start with, a relationship such as yours is known as “mixed status.” A “mixed-status” relationship is a sexual relationship in which one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative. This can involve a couple in a long-term relationship or a single encounter between two partners.

Other terms that are also used to describe such relationships include: serodiscordant, discordant, serodivergent, magnetic and HIV-positive/negative.

Beyond the nomenclature, though, you need to know how to protect yourself so that you also don’t become HIV-positive during your relationship. Remember, the global goal is to achieve zero-HIV infection and zero AIDS-related death.

To start with, you must realise that as far as mixed-status couples are concerned, the possibility of HIV infection is a constant reality. There is always a risk of transmitting HIV, but you can minimise it. How do you achieve this? Here…

• Encourage your HIV-positive partner to enrol in the hospital, where s/he can regularly receive HIV medications, otherwise called antiretroviral therapy (ART).

• Encourage your partner to take all of his/her HIV medications at the right time. This ‘medication adherence’ will lower your partner’s viral load, keep your partner healthy, and reduce your own risk of getting infected with HIV.

• Use condoms consistently and correctly. When used correctly and consistently, condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV infection, as well as other sexually transmitted diseases.

• Both male and female condoms are available. Ask your neighbourhood pharmacist.

• Choose less risky sexual behaviours. For instance, if your partner is HIV-positive, don’t practice oral or anal sex with him/her.

• Anal sex is the highest-risk sexual activity for HIV transmission.

• HIV can be sexually transmitted via blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluid, and vaginal fluid.

• Talk to your doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This is a way for people who don’t have HIV to prevent HIV infection by taking a pill every day.

• The pill contains two medicines that are also used to treat HIV. Along with other prevention methods like condoms, PrEP can offer good protection against HIV if taken every day.

• Doctors recommend PrEP for people who are HIV-negative but at substantial risk for HIV infection. This includes HIV-negative individuals who are in an ongoing relationship with an HIV-positive partner, as well at others at high risk.

• Get tested for HIV at least once a year so that you are sure about your HIV status and can take action to keep healthy.

• Get tested and treated for other Sexually Transmitted Diseases and encourage your partner to do the same. STDs can have long-term health consequences. They can also increase your chance of getting HIV.

• If either of you are sexually active outside the partnership, you should get tested at least once a year and talk to your provider about whether more frequent testing is of benefit