Knowledge improves understanding. Why know your status? see below

You can protect yourself. HIV does NOT kill. Choosing not to know about it kills.

Many people who are negative have positive spouses. Some of these people do not know yet.

Knowing your HIV status;

1)means the positive spouse can take medicines freely without hiding or worrying .There is nothing more difficult than maintaining a secret life. It is costly to all. There is a sense of relief in the truth and honesty.

2)Means that if your negative you can actively remain negative without giving up the fun parts of your relationship.

3)You can plan for your children. We all desire to have strong healthy, successful children and grand children .Success begins with good health. Good health begins with knowledge. Knowledge provides a chance to make better choices.

4)You can look after each other even better and grow closer as a couple.

5)It fosters loyalty. Most relationships break down because of betrayal. Its NOT the HIV status that ruins marriages but the feeling of betrayal that one did not protect their partner or alert a partner in time for them to take treatment. It leads to a spiral of preventable death in a family, poverty and orphans yet you can choose to accept and save very many lives.

You are HIV negative and your partner is positive

This is a very common scenario and its absolutely normal.

Important points WITH EVIDENCE;

1)If your spouse or partner takes their medication daily and has an undetectable low viral load the chance of you acquiring HIV is ZERO.

Evidence; PARTNER STUDY (there are other studies that have been done on this besides this one)

How do we know this? Nearly 1000 couples of different HIV status(where one was positive and another negative) had condomless intercourse 58000 times over 5 years and were tested and there were NO cases (zero)of new HIV in the negative partner/spouse AS LONG AS the positive spouse took their medicines and had a very low viral count in their blood.

Were these couples ‘straight’/heterosexual or gay?

Majority were ‘straight’/heterosexual and some were gay. The average age was about 40 years and they were from 14 different countries.

Summary ;There is no excuse not to protect yourself and your loved one, irrespective of your sexual orientation.

2)This means that you can both conceive(have a baby) without worrying about HIV as long as you stick to the medication and ensure it is working.

Note; the one heterosexual person and 11 gay people who turned positive in the study ALL had casual intercourse with other people who were NOT their partners/spouse and got infected by other people who were not in their relationship. This was verified in the lab by testing the strain/type of HIV .

You are HIV positive and your partner is negative

1) When you start ARVs it can take up to 6 months for your virus level to be undetectable. If you must have intercourse without protection, it is best for your partner/spouse to use PreP. (see the section on prevention)

Confirm that your viral load has come down through a blood test to be 100 percent sure after 6 months.

Interrupting your treatment, not taking it as required or mixing it with alcohol can affect how it works to protect you and your spouse.

2)It is not easy, but find a way to notify your partner/spouse if you have discovered your positive. One way is to get tested again together. A counselor can help you get through it. It is a common issue.

3)If you have had unprotected intercourse or shared needles with someone, it is best to inform them early so they can take PEP(medication to prevent getting HIV ).They have 72 hours after being exposed to do so. Make a positive impact in someone’s life.

You are both positive

It is still very important to protect each other.

1) Support and love each other.

2)Opt to take your pills so you can be alive and be there for your spouse /partner/friends and family

3)There are multiple forms of HIV treatments available. If you are not tolerating one form or if you are struggling with the number of pills discuss with your doctor and they can switch you to a better combination. There maybe other options for you.

4)Not all ARV pills(HIV treatment pills) are ideal when you are getting pregnant. Inform your doctor so they can select a combination that is safe for you and your baby.

Be Different

Discrimination and stigma is a reflection of our weakness, lack of knowledge and fear of the unknown.

Make a conscious decision to do something good instead of something negative.

HIV affects us all whether we accept it or not.

Your own child CAN BE in this position.

Show compassion to your fellow human being.

Your decisions, words and actions can break or build someone.

CONSCIOUSLY choose to build. It costs NOTHING to do good.