HIV prevention is an important part of our mission at AIDS Healthcare Foundation. One of the best ways to prevent the spread of HIV is to use condoms. AHF offers free condoms at almost all of our locations nationwide. Our free Love and Icon brand condoms are just as effective as leading name brand condoms. 

HIV prevention is an important part of your sexual health and routine. HIV is spread through semen, vaginal fluids, blood, and breast milk. The more you know about how HIV is spread, the easier it is to protect yourself and your partner(s). You can also ask your doctor about PrEP — a daily pill that helps prevent HIV.

It’s essential to know how HIV can spread during sex to protect yourself and your partner(s). HIV is usually spread during vaginal or anal sex and is passed through contact with blood or sexual fluids (like semen or vaginal fluids). The BEST way to lower your risk of getting HIV is to use condoms every single time you have sex. AHF offers free condoms at many of our locations for this reason. No need to be unprepared when we’re here.  

There have been many advancements in HIV prevention, and you can now take a daily pill called PrEP that can help prevent HIV. Ask your healthcare provider if PrEP is right for you. We recommend always using PrEP with condoms to effectively help lower your risk of getting HIV during sex.

Other STDs can cause sores or cuts in your skin, making it easier for HIV to get into your body. Knowing your status with other STDs like herpes or other infections is important, so you know not to have sex during an outbreak. Since having another STD increases your risk of getting HIV, it’s also a good idea to get tested for STDs regularly. 

While there is still no vaccine that protects against HIV, the recent development of the COVID-19 vaccines has opened doors for researchers to get closer to an HIV vaccine. 

If your partner has HIV and you do not, your partner can get HIV treatment. This treatment is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). When people with HIV stay in consistent care on ARTs, they can lower the amount of detectable virus in their bodies. This makes it impossible to transmit HIV to their partner(s). But they must stay in treatment to maintain that status. That’s why staying in care is so important for people living with HIV.

PrEP was created for those who may be at risk of contracting HIV from sex or injection drug use. You may want to consult with an AHF HIV Specialists about PrEP if you:

• Have an HIV positive partner
• Have an at-risk HIV partner 
  • This would include individuals who have had anal or vaginal sex without condoms.
  • People who have had sex partners in the past six months that do not know their HIV status
  • People who use injection drugs 
• Have a partner that has sex partners who do not use condoms regularly 
• Have a partner that has been diagnosed with another STD in the past six months (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hpv)
• Have injected drugs, shared needles, or recently undergone treatment for drug use in the past six months

PrEP is not for individuals who are HIV positive. Our healthcare providers regularly consult and recommend medications for HIV-positive individuals on a case-by-case basis. If you do not know your status or believe that you may have HIV symptoms, our AHF locations offer free and confidential HIV and STD testing. 

Don’t forget that you should always use PrEP with condoms. PrEP with condoms is the best way to help prevent the spread of HIV. You can find free condoms at most of our locations. Find free condoms in your area today.

PEP is another pill that helps protect against HIV. PEP stands for post-exposure prophylaxis. Unlike PrEP, it is designed to take after you think you may have been exposed to HIV. It is a series of pills that lowers your chances of getting HIV after a possible exposure. 

You have to start PEP within 72 hours (3 days) after you were exposed to HIV for it to work. The sooner you start it, the better. Every hour counts, so if you think you were exposed to HIV, call your nurse or doctor or go to the emergency room right away. PEP is only for emergencies — it doesn’t take the place of using condoms or PrEP. Read more about PEP here.

While HIV cannot be cured, modern therapies and treatments are available that can help people with HIV live long, healthy lives. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a combination of medicines that slows down the effects of HIV in your body and can help you stay healthy for many years. It can also lower or even stop your chances of giving HIV to anyone else.

ART lowers an individual’s “viral load.” A person’s viral load is the amount of HIV in their body. If people with HIV stay in treatment, their viral load can get so low that HIV won’t appear on standard blood tests. Doctors refer to a person’s status as “undetectable” when this happens. When someone’s viral load becomes undetectable, they can’t spread HIV to others during sex.

Even though viral loads can become undetectable, HIV is still present in the body. If you fall out of care or stop treatment, your viral load can go back up. That will make it possible to pass HIV to your partner(s). Our AHF Healthcare Center providers and staff can help you find the best treatment plan for you and help keep your viral load low. It’s very important to stay in care to keep your viral load low and undetectable.