The good news is there are options to keep you healthy. If you haven’t taken a moment to breathe, do so. It’s going to be okay. Let’s talk about what happens next.
The good news is there are options to keep you healthy. If you haven’t taken a moment to breathe, do so. It’s going to be okay. Let’s talk about what happens next.
Sometimes, unprotected sex happens. For emergencies like this, there are special treatments. If you think you’ve been exposed to STIs or HIV, the first and most important step is to get tested right away and talk to a health care provider. If you catch it within the first 72 hours of exposure, your health care provider can prescribe PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV) or Doxy-PEP (doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, a newer prevention method that can prevent syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia infections). These are post-exposure treatments are highly effective in preventing infection, if taken within 72 hours of potential exposure.
If you have a positive STI test result, your health care provider will prescribe treatment — usually a 5-10-day course of antibiotics. It is important to take all the medication as prescribed, even if you start to feel better and your symptoms go away.
It’s important to share your STI status with your recent sexual partner(s). They should get tested right away, and they may also need treatment.
It’s also important to have a strong support system. This often means talking to family or friends who care. Not sure how to start the conversation? Here are some ways to share your status and your feelings: Talk.
If you have a positive test result, a health care provider will typically retest you. While rare (as in 4 out of every 1,000 tests), false positives can occur.
There is no cure for HIV. But HIV can be treated so you can live a healthy life. Your health care provider will assess the intensity and stage of the virus in your body before prescribing and recommending Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. It gets HIV under control, usually within six months. This daily treatment regime consists of a combination of HIV medications. ART is highly effective at suppressing the amount of HIV in your body (viral load). In fact, treatment can reduce your viral load to a level so low that it can’t be detected. When HIV is undetectable, it is untransmittable (U=U) — meaning you can’t give it to someone else. Making sure you take your daily treatment and checking in regularly with your health care provider are the best ways to keep living a healthy life.
It’s important to share your HIV status with every sexual partner. Unless you’ve taken a test and HIV is undetectable, you and/or your partner should wear a condom to prevent the spread of HIV. If this conversation sounds awkward, you’re not alone. Learn more about how to have the conversation by visiting our Talk page.
It’s also important to have a strong support system. This often means talking to family or friends who care. Not sure how to start the conversation? Here are some ways to share your status and your feelings: Talk.