When deciding whether to have sex without a condom, you’ll want to consider your sexual health. Having sex without a condom can put you at risk for getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) if your partner has one. You can also pass on an STI to your partner if you have one. Getting tested with your partner can be an empowering way to care for your health and the health of your partner.
If you are having sex without a condom that could result in pregnancy, you’ll want to consider pregnancy prevention. Our pages on sexual health have more information about STIs and contraception.
To eliminate a disease or a condition in an individual, or to fully restore health. A cure for HIV infection is one of the ultimate long-term goals of research today. It refers to a strategy or strategies that would eliminate HIV from a person’s body, or permanently control the virus and render it unable to cause disease. A ‘sterilising’ cure would completely eliminate the virus. A ‘functional’ cure would suppress HIV viral load, keeping it below the level of detection without the use of ART. The virus would not be eliminated from the body but would be effectively controlled and prevented from causing any illness.
Human immunodeficiency virus, the virus which causes AIDS. There are two variants: HIV-1, and HIV-2. HIV-1 is by far the most common worldwide. See ‘subtype’ for more information.
Abbreviation of a Latin term meaning every night.
A level of viral load that is too low to be picked up by the particular viral load test being used or below an agreed threshold (such as 50 copies/ml or 200 copies/ml). An undetectable viral load is the first goal of antiretroviral therapy.
Measurement of the amount of virus in a blood sample, reported as number of HIV RNA copies per milliliter of blood plasma. Viral load is an important indicator of HIV progression and of how well treatment is working.
You may have heard about something called HIV reinfection or superinfection. Even though you are both living with HIV, you and your partner may have different strains or subtypes of HIV. There have been a few cases of a person living with HIV getting a different strain of HIV that is resistant to certain medications through sex.
HIV reinfection doesn’t happen frequently. When it does, the person getting another strain of HIV has usually been diagnosed with HIV within the last four years and isn’t taking HIV treatment. Reinfection does not cause serious health problems for most people living with HIV.
Also, once you and your partner have both had an undetectable viral load for six months, HIV is unable to be passed on through sex. If you both continue to take your HIV treatment and remain undetectable, you can have sex without a condom without any worries about passing your strain of HIV to your partner, or your partner passing their strain of HIV to you.
If you or your partner’s viral load is not undetectable, condoms are an option if you are concerned about HIV reinfection.
