Review Material Patient Risk Reduction Brochure

11_PIC_W3_BeingSafe_Brochure_v7 12-5-13

LET’S TALK

Being Safe
Means Protection

Protect yourself. Protect others.

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LET’S TALK

about it.

Know the facts.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1.2 million people in the
United States are living with HIV. Each year, about 50,000
more people get HIV.

Remember: Your actions
can protect your own health
and the health of others.
Thanks to new medicines, you can live longer with HIV,
and you can have a better quality of life. But it is also
important to make choices that keep you healthy and
protect others.
You and your partners are safer when you:
• Take your HIV medicines as your medical provider
tells you
• Use condoms during any and every sexual activity
• Do not share needles or works
• Talk to your sex partners about how to keep from
getting HIV.

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Don’t put yourself at risk.
HIV infection can weaken your body’s ability to defend itself
against other infections. So if you get another infection, it
can harm your health.
Having unsafe sex—that is, having sex without a condom—
puts you at risk of getting other sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs). These STDs include syphilis, gonorrhea,
chlamydia, and hepatitis B or C.
Using unclean needles or works also puts you at risk for
getting hepatitis.

Keeping yourself safe helps to keep
you healthy.

Protect yourself. Protect others.
HIV is measured by the levels of HIV in your blood—also
called your viral load. The higher your viral load, the higher
the risk that you will pass on the virus to someone else.
HIV lives in all your body fluids and may be found in blood,
semen, fluids in your vagina or anus, and breast milk. You
can help stop the spread of HIV by not letting others come
into contact with your body fluids.
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LET’S TALK

about it.

Practice safer se
It’s important to always practice safe sex—and to
know which sexual behaviors are more or less likely to
spread HIV. The chart beow can be used as a guideline.
Little to No Risk
• Abstinence
• Masturbation
• Kissing (closed
mouth or deep/
French)*
• Play with sex toys
(not shared)
• Outercourse
• Oral sex (except
getting fellatio with
ejaculation)
• Fingering and
fisting*
• Mutual
masturbation*
• Watersports*

• Getting fellatio with • Receptive vaginal
ejaculation
sex with a condom
• Insertive vaginal
sex with a condom
• Receptive anal sex
with a condom

*Assumes intact skin with no active bleeding, open cuts, ulcers, or sores.
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ex.
Not having sex is the best way to protect yourself from
getting other STDs and spreading HIV. But if you are having
sex, it is important to use a condom.
Highest Risk
• Receptive vaginal
• Insertive anal sex
sex with no condom
with a condom
• Insertive vaginal sex
with no condom
• Receptive anal sex
with no condom

• Insertive anal sex
with no condom

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LET’S TALK

about it.

Be mindful of STDs…including
hepatitis C
If you have HIV and you also have hepatitis C or syphilis
or gonorrhea, your HIV can be more easily passed on
to someone else. And it is more difficult for you to stay
healthy.
For example, hepatitis C is a disease that harms
your liver. If you have hepatitis C and HIV at the same
time, the harm to your liver may be greater and may
have long-term serious effects. And having syphilis or
gonorrhea at the same time as HIV can increase your
HIV viral load. This can make it harder for your HIV
medicines to work and can make you more likely to
get sick.
And consider this: both syphilis and gonorrhea are
becoming resistant to many antibiotics. That means
fewer medicines work against these two STDs, which
makes them much harder to treat.
If you have HIV, you may be tested for STDs and other
infections every year, or even as often as every 3
months. You and your medical provider will decide the
best way to check for these diseases.
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Remember, if you are living with HIV,
getting an STD is dangerous to your health.
And now, syphilis and gonorrhea are harder
to treat because there are fewer drugs that
will work against them. So please take care
of yourself and your partner.
More information is available at
www.cdc.gov/std

Even people with low viral loads
can spread HIV to others.
If you have HIV, there is a risk of giving it to others through
unsafe actions. And the higher your viral load, the greater
the risk.
But HIV can live in your body fluids even when your viral
load is low. So it’s possible to still give the virus to others
who come in contact with your body fluids.
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LET’S TALK

about it.

Take your medicines: every
pill, every day.
It’s very important for you to take your HIV medicines
exactly as directed. If you don’t, they may not be able
to bring down your viral load. If that happens, it will be
harder for you to stay healthy.
Also, if you don’t take your medicines as directed, your
HIV virus may become resistant to them. That means
the medicines won’t help you anymore.
If your medicines are making you feel sick, tell your
medical provider. Don’t just stop taking them. He or
she may be able to help you deal with side effects and
feel better.

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Try these tips.
Not having sex is the best way to protect yourself from getting
other STDs or spreading HIV. But if you are having sex, here are
some ways to keep you and your partner safe.

o Use condoms during every sexual activity. (Includes anal, oral,
and vaginal sex)

o Make condom use a shared responsibility. (Example: say “Let’s
use a condom” instead of “Put on a condom”)

o Keep condoms handy (and in more than one place) so you are

ready “in the moment.” (Examples: night stand, car, purse, and
medicine cabinet)

o If you use lubricants, make sure they are water-based. (Oilbased lubricants can break down the latex in a condom)

o Do not share needles or works—or even razors and tooth-

brushes. (Anything that may have blood on it can transmit HIV
and some STDs)

o Take your HIV medicines exactly as directed (every pill, every

day). (If you don’t, the virus can be transmitted more easily or
become resistant)

o Ask your medical provider about PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). PEP and PrEP are
HIV prevention options for your HIV-negative partners.

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LET’S TALK

about it.

Glossary
AIDS: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is a
disease that causes a weak immune system. AIDS increases
the risk of getting certain infections and cancers.
CD4 count: A blood test that measures the T-lymphocyte,
or CD4, count. These cells are part of your immune system. As
your CD4 count goes down, your risk of developing infections
goes up. The goal of HIV medicines is to help protect your CD4
cells and keep your CD4 count up.
Chlamydia: A sexually transmitted disease caused by
bacteria. If not treated with the appropriate medicines,
chlamydia can lead to infertility (not being able to have a
baby). It can be passed from mother to baby during birth.
Genital herpes: A sexually transmitted disease caused by a
virus. The sores associated with herpes are highly contagious.
The virus can also be spread when no sores can be seen.
Gonorrhea: A sexually transmitted disease that affects the
genital area and urinary tract. You can have gonorrhea without
any symptoms.
Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C: Viruses that affect the liver.
They spread through blood and other body fluids through
unsafe sex or sharing needles and drug works. An infected
mother can pass these viruses to her baby during birth.
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HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is the virus that can lead
to AIDS. Having HIV doesn’t mean a person has AIDS.
Immune system: The body’s defense against infection and
disease.
PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis): Medicine taken by HIV
negative persons within 72 hours of exposure to HIV to reduce the
chance of infection. The medicine is taken for 4 weeks.
PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis): Medicine taken by HIV
negative persons who are at high risk of both exposure to and
infection with HIV. The medicine is taken every day for as long as
the risk for HIV infection is present.
Syphilis: A sexually transmitted disease. If left untreated, syphilis
can cause heart and brain damage, paralysis, blindness, and
possibly death.
Viral load: Refers to the amount of HIV in your blood. Having a
low viral load protects your immune system and keeps you healthy.
The goal of HIV medicines is to help lower your viral load.
Works: Drug equipment such as needles, syringes, spoons, filters,
cottons, water, swabs, and tourniquets.

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LET’S TALK

about it.

For more information on
protecting yourself and others:
Contact CDC-INFO online at http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/
or call 800-CDC-INFO (232-4636) (TTY: 888-232-6348)
Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm ET
Your call is free and private.

You can also find lots more information about
HIV at

www.cdc.gov/actagainstaids
and

www.cdc.HIV

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Protect Yourself. Protect Others.