Question
Can we have unprotected sex?
29 April 2010. Related: All topics, HIV transmission, Side effects.
Hi
Thanks for the work you doing!
My wife and I have been having sex without a condom for about three or four months. How much will this damage our life? My wife was probably infected a year ago when we met casually. But I know I was infected about five years ago.
Recently I have seen a rash on my hands after taking treatment for urinary tract infection. Does this indicate I am progressing to AIDS?
Thanks once again
Answer
Thank you for your question.
The rash you experienced may have been a side effect of the treatment for the urinary tract infection. With every symptom it is important to always get a doctor’s opinion. If it does not disappear once you have stopped taking the treatment then you should definitely go and see your doctor.
To know if your HIV is progressing you need to look at your CD4 count and viral load. Most guidelines (including the WHO and most European countires) recommend treatment when your CD4 count drops below 350. Some countries (where treatment access is difficult) still use 200 as a guide, and a few (like the USA) recommend starting when it is below 500.
For more information on starting HIV treatment you should read the i-Base guide, ‘Introduction to Combination Therapy’.
Even if you are both HIV positive you still need to be careful not to be re-infecting one another with new strains of the virus or any other sexually transmitted infections. With HIV reinfection this is only likely to be important if one of you develops drug resistance. This would be important for your wife, if you are not adherent with your medication, because if your treatment failures there is a potential risk of passing on that resistance.
From your question, it sounds as if you are saying it is likely your wife got HIV from your being together a year ago. That would mean it is possible that you would have the same strains of HIV. If both of you are both being monogamous, or always using condoms with any other sexual partners outside the relationship, then you should be fine to be having unprotected sex with each other.
For more information it may be useful to look at this previous question which is asking something similar.
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