April 15, 2022 BY imani leave a comment
Living with HIV does not mean that you have to press the pause button on all the things that matter to you! You may worry about relationships or that you will not be loved. This is absolutely not true. It is very possible to live with HIV, fall in love, have safe sex, have happy relationships, marry and have healthy children (without passing on the virus).
Navigating a relationship with someone that does not have HIV can be exciting and sometimes scary (also called a mixed-status relationship).
When should you tell them that you have HIV? Will they react well? How can you have sex without passing it on?
The good news is there are a lot of reliable ways you can protect your partner from HIV. A major step to taking care of yourself and your partner would be taking your treatment to become undetectable, using condoms, and your partner taking PrEP, these are all ways of staying healthy. The virus cannot be transmitted through saliva or sweat and can only be found in body fluids, such as blood, semen, and vaginal fluids.
Activities like hugging, shaking hands, sharing toilets, sharing dishes, and kissing do not transmit HIV and common misconceptions about the transmission of HIV need to be debunked and individuals need to be properly educated. It is transmitted through penetrative sex, blood transfusion, the sharing of contaminated needles in healthcare settings, and drug use.
It is important to remember that whatever challenges you face, you are not alone. There are a lot of other people who have been and still are in similar situations. Many people find it helpful to speak to a counselor or join a support group.