getting tested. This is because it can take up to six but rather to empower you. No one should have to be frightened into months for antibodies to show up in a test, although most people (95
taking control of his sexual health. Rather, with this information, I percent) test positive within three months of exposure, using the hope being safe and careful becomes a matter of self-respect.
antibodies testing methods.
Without protection, there just isn’t an excuse good enough to Point #7 : A test called a PCR (Polymerise Chain Reaction) tests participate in a sexual relationship with someone whose health for the actual virus in your blood. Estimate that someone who is you’re not 100 percent sure about. You don’t drive without car going to seroconvert (go from HIV— to HIV+) can start to have the insurance. You don’t go through life without health or home virus in his or her system within five to seven days of exposure; on insurance. The same applies to sexual safety. It’s absolutely your average it takes two weeks for seroconversion. This is an expensive responsibility to be honest about your health status and communicate test. It is not an accepted screening test but is occasionally used by this to your partner, no matter how casual or close your relationship.
groups at very high risk, such as pornography actors.
It’s also your responsibility to make sure you are not unwittingly Point #8 : Four years ago there was hope that with the powerful passing a disease on to a lover.
antiviral medications that had HIV+ people walking around with little to no detectable viral load, they would be able to stop therapy at Choosing a Condom
some point. That no longer appears to be the case, as there seem to There are many different condoms to choose from, but not all of be reservoirs of HIV in the body. Still, there is a small amount of them are made with quality. The chart below can give you the wide hope that even more treatments might clear the virus completely in range of styles, sizes, textures, and other features of condoms.
some people in the future. Right now, these treatments are just However, before purchasing, you may want to consider the following experimental. The better we get at detecting the virus in the information.
laboratory, the better we are at successfully treating those who are infected.
¾ Condoms break. Any condom can break during intercourse, Point #9 : Just because someone has no detectable viral load does for many different reasons. Breakage is almost invariably the not mean he or she cannot infect someone else.
result of improper handling, such as using teeth to open the Point #10 : In 1998 the CDC estimated that 80 percent of people foil or keeping condoms in wallets or car glove boxes, where who are HIV+ do not know they are infected because they have heat will eventually break down the latex in the condom, never been tested.
making it easier to burst. Any lubricant with an oil or
Point #11 : An opportunistic infection is one that would not be a petroleum base (e.g., Vaseline) will also break down and threat to a healthy, normal immune system but takes the
destroy latex condoms. Also, the compressed rectangular
“opportunity” to attack a compromised immune system. For packaging of some condom brands reduces the longevity of example, a person who is undergoing cancer treatment such as the condoms themselves.
chemotherapy is at risk for an opportunistic infection. Every ¾ During a study conducted by Dr. Bruce Voeller, founder of infection, however, isn’t an opportunistic one.
the Mariposa Foundation, men who were chronic condom
“busters” were discovered to have been using everyday hand While I’ve discussed the most common of the sexually
lotion as a lubricant. A lubricant must be water-based, and transmitted diseases, there are more than fifty known STDs to date.
most hand lotions contain some form of oil. Oil is a latex condom’s mortal enemy because it immediately
Mungo Park, Anthony Sattin