BREAKING BARRIERS AND BUILDING COMMUNITIES.
"Stop the stagma"
Do You Know Your status?
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
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HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
There is currently no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life. But proper medical care can control the virus.
People with HIV who get on and stay on effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners.
Symptoms
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Most people have flu-like symptoms within 2 to 4 weeks after infection. Symptoms may last for a few days or several weeks.
Having these symptoms alone doesn't mean you have HIV. Other illnesses can cause similar symptoms.
Some people have no symptoms at all. The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.
How is HIV Spread
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Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment.
Only certain body fluids can transmit HIV. These fluids include:
- blood,
- semen (cum)
- pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum)
- rectal fluids,
- vaginal fluid
- Breast Milk
Oral Sex
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Oral sex involves putting the mouth on the penis (fellatio), vagina or vulva (cunnilingus), or anus (rimming). Ejaculation in the mouth with oral ulcers, bleeding gums, or genital sores or the presence of other STIs) can increase the chances of HIV transmission. You can get other STIs from oral sex.The chance of getting HIV if you have sex with someone who has HIV and is not on HIV treatment.
Anal Sex
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- Either partner can get HIV during anal sex.
- Being the bottom or having your partner's penis inside your rectum (butthole) makes you more likely to get HIV than being the top or putting your penis inside your partner's rectum.
- HIV can enter the body through the lining of the rectum (butthole), the opening at the tip of the penis (urethra), the foreskin, or cuts or sores on the penis.
Vaginal Sex
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- Either partner can get HIV during vaginal sex.
- HIV can enter a person's body through the tissue that lines the vagina and cervix.
- Vaginal fluid and blood can pass through the opening at the tip of the penis (urethra), the foreskin, or cuts or sores.
Injection Drug Use
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- Used needles, syringes, and other injection equipment may have someone else's blood in them.
- People who inject drugs may be more likely to engage in sexual behaviors that increase their chances of getting HIV.
Rimming
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The oral stimulation of a partner's anus
anus / vagina using the tongue or mouth. It is a form of sexual foreplay practiced by people of all sexual orientations to provide pleasure. Because it involves oral-anal contact, it carries risks of bacterial infections or HIV.
Perinatal transmission
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- HIV can pass to a baby during pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing (breastfeeding). This is called perinatal transmission.
- This is the most common way that children get HIV.
HIV treatment reduces the chances of transmission to others through sex or syringe sharing, and during pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing (breastfeeding).
You can't get or transmit HIV from activities that don't involve contact with body fluids (e.g., touching). HIV does not survive long outside the human body (for example, on
surfaces) and cannot reproduce outside a human host.
Prevention
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Today, more tools than ever are available to prevent HIV.
Prevention strategies include:
- Using condoms the right way every time you have sex.
- Never sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment.
- Using PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis).
If you have HIV, there are many ways to prevent transmitting HIV to others, including taking HIV treatment to get and keep an undetectable viral load.
Testing
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The only way to know your HIV status is to get tested. Knowing your status gives you powerful information to keep you and your partner(s) healthy.
There are many options for quick, free, and painless HIV testing. If your test result is positive, you can take medicine to treat HIV to help you live a long, healthy life and protect others. If your test result is negative, you can take actions to prevent HIV.
Get tested for HIV
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If you are sexually active or have multiple sex partners you should get tested. Also, persons between the ages of 13 and 64 should get tested for HIV at least once. People with certain risk factors should get tested more often.
Treatment
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HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. You should start HIV treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis.
HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load). HIV treatment can make the viral load so low that a test can't detect it (undetectable viral load). If you have an undetectable viral load, you will not transmit HIV to others through sex. Having an undetectable viral load also reduces the risk of HIV transmission through sharing drug injection equipment, and during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
Become Undetectable
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A person living with HIV who is on treatment and maintains an undetectable viral load has zero risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. Sustained antiretroviral treatment (ART) reduces the amount of HIV in the body to undetectable levels in
viral load tests.
Hence, taking your medication as prescribed and keeping an undetectable viral load are the best things you can do to stay healthy, and doing so also prevents you from sexually transmitting HIV to your HIV-negative partner.
U=U
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"(U=U)" stands for "Undetectable = Untransmittable," a scientifically proven principle that people living with HIV on effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) with an undetectable viral load (no virus detected in blood for 
≥is greater than or equal to≥ 6 months) cannot transmit the virus through sex. This approach reduces stigma and prevents new infections.
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HIV Progresses
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When people with HIV don't get treatment, they typically progress through three stages. But HIV treatment can slow or prevent progression of the disease. With advances in HIV treatment, progression to Stage 3 (AIDS) is less common today.
Stage 1: Acute HIV Infection
- People have a large amount of HIV in their blood and are very contagious.
- Many people have flu-like symptoms.
- If you have flu-like symptoms and think you may have been exposed to HIV, get tested.
Stage 2: Chronic HIV Infection
- This stage is also called asymptomatic HIV infection or clinical latency.
- HIV is still active and continues to reproduce in the body.
- People may not have any symptoms or get sick during this phase but can transmit HIV.
- People who take HIV treatment as prescribed may never move into Stage 3 (AIDS).
- Without HIV treatment, this stage may last a decade or longer, or may progress faster.
- At the end of this stage, the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load) goes up and the person may move into Stage 3 (AIDS).
Stage 3: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- The most severe stage of HIV infection.
- People receive an AIDS diagnosis when their CD4 cell count drops below 200 cells per milliliter of blood, or they develop certain illnesses (sometimes called opportunistic infections).
- People with AIDS can have a high viral load and may easily transmit HIV to others.
- People with AIDS have damaged immune systems.
- They can get an increasing number of other serious illnesses.
- Without HIV treatment, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.
" HIV Home Self Test Kit"
About this self-test...:
Rapid: Provides results in 20 minutes, enabling patients to learn their status in a single visit and allows HIV-positive patients to be connected to care immediately.
Flexible:
Approved for oral fluid, plasma, finger stick, or venipuncture whole blood specimens. Ideal for both clinical and non-clinical settings.
Accurate:
Greater than 99% agreement with confirmatory Western blot.
Reliable:
Offers patients accurate HIV testing without the need for blood or needles. Pain-free testing with oral fluid means more people get screened, more HIV positive patients are connected to care, and fewer people are exposed.
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If you are under 18 years of age or uncomfortable administering an HIV self-test, please refrain from taking the test. In the event of a positive result, kindly inform us so we can assist you in accessing the necessary care. Rest assured, even without insurance, you will still be connected to the care you need.
"We can STOP HIV"
Living with HIV and undergoing effective treatment significantly reduces the viral load in the blood. Achieving an undetectable viral load, typically below 200 copies/ml, indicates successful suppression of the virus, also termed as being virally suppressed. This state ensures that HIV transmission through sexual contact is no longer possible.
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