Question
If I have unprotected sex with other HIV positive people will I get resistance?
15 January 2017. Related: All topics, HIV reinfection (superinfection), HIV transmission, Resistance.
Hi,
I’m a HIV positive gay male aged 27, infected and diagnosed three years ago. I am currently healthy with a CD4 count of 560 and a viral load of 35,000 and not yet on any medication.
I’ve been scared to sleep with other positive men through fear of catching treatment resistant strains or worse. I am a passive partner and I’m afraid my question does relate to unprotected sex. I am aware of the risks associated therein, afterall it got me in this situation!
I would like to know if I were to sleep with a HIV positive guy, is it better for me if he is on meds and undetectable or would that put me more at risk of developing resistance?
Now I can ‘sero-sort’ I’d like to know what’s likely to be the safest way to prevent my situation getting any worse, be it developing drug resistance, superinfection or other hard to treat infections?
I am also immunised against hepatitis B. Am I truly safe against this if I were to unknowingly come into contact with it?
Many thanks
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Having an undetectable viral load on treatment will be better both for you and your partner.
This is because the meds also stop HIV from being transmitted. Even if your partner has drug resistance, and undetectable viral load means HIV won’t be transmitted.
Even though your CD4 count is still strong above 500, treatment guidelines still recommend treatment (ART) for your own health too.
This article explains why U=U (undetectable viral load = untransmittable HIV).
https://i-base.info/htb/32308
The HBV vaccine is also very effective. Your doctor will check you have a good immune response after your vaccination. This protectional usually lasts for at least five years but your doctor can also check this in can you need a booster in the future.
For any further information or if you need any support then please do not hesitate to contact us on the treatment information helpline (Mon-Wed 12-4pm)
The information in this answer was updated in January 2017 from a post in May 2010. Please see: Question 9 at this link for more information.
I slept with a girl who is positive and im scared that I might be infected aalthough I circumcised and I washed my penis with soap aftre we slept am I. infected plz help me
As Angelina says on the question here, it’s common for someone to be negative even when they’ve not been using condoms with a positive partner.
It’s good that your boyfriend is on HIV treatment. Effective treatment can reduce his viral load to undetectable, and this can reduce your risk to just about zero.
You can find out more about this from Angelina’s answer here:
http://i-base.info/qa/7308
Hi I’m Mingle I’m 20 years old and my boyfriend takes HIV treatment, and we’ve never used a condom since we started dating. When I go to check result I find that I’m negative, I’m confused.
Hi, Many HIV positive women safely have children with HIV negative partners.
Your question has already been answered more fully here:
http://i-base.info/qa/6056
I’m dating a person who has HIV so she need a baby from me, and I’m not affected what do I do
Hi Nompumelelo, your CD4 count is still good which means your health will continue to be good. Having a detectable viral load on treatment though is a risk for developing more drug resistance. If your adherence is good, then in the UK your viral load would be checked again. The next step will depend on your current treatment and whether alternatives are available. These results are unlikely to be related to not using condoms, unless this lead to reinfection with a drug resistance form of HIV. Please talk to your doctor bout this.
hi i am on arvs bt my viral load they say is very high it was 6000 last month because of nt using condoms at sumtyms bt nw its working on me my cd 4 count is 335 so am very worried please what can i do for my meds to work n i swear i will not b dat careless anymore
most peole have few problems – and routine monitoring will check the ARVs are working okay.
ohk thanks if I am hiv positive and I’m on the stage where I can use ARV’s , why arv’s take you to serious ill if you start using them?
If you are HIV negative, your doctor needs to talk about other things that cold casue weight loss.