Question
If we are both positive, do we need condoms?
5 February 2012. Related: All topics, HIV reinfection (superinfection), HIV transmission, Living with HIV long-term.
i am HIV positive and on treatment (ARVs). My wife is also positive but not on treatment. We often use condoms, but once in two months we go ‘unprotected’ when we are without condoms. What are risks associated with our ‘unprotected’ sex? It now appears to be a practice to go without condoms at least once in two months.
Answer
Hello,
Thank you for your question.
The main benefit of condoms is to protect against pregnancy and some other STI’s.
So the quick answer is if these are not a concern, it is fine to not use condoms. This is based on what you both prefer.
Actually, many couples say this is one of the few advantages of both being positive.
This is if your viral load in undetectable. If your viral load is detectable though, there is a small risk that your wife could become reinfected with drug resistant HIV.
Does your wife plan to start ART soon? In 2018, ART is recommended for everyone, and if you were both on treatment with undetectable viral load, they would be no risk to either of you.
Drug resistance can happen if you often miss doses of your medication.
There is more information about the risks of reinfection in this guide to HIV testing and risks of sexual transmission.
Note: This answer was updated in February 2018 from a question first posted online in June 2012.
I and my partner we both positive and we are having unprotected sex is the anything wrong with that
Hi Grace
Everything that is healthy for an HIV negative person is also good for someone who is positive.
This i-Base guide to quality of life includes sections on:
• Lifestyle factors and your health
• Diet: a balanced diet and your health
• Exercise and staying active
http://i-base.info/guides/side
Iam HIV positive how to live healthy life?
Unfortunately, we no longer answer questions about transmission and testing. This information service is about HIV treatment for people who are HIV positive.
Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
When I go for HIV test results are negative but my body is not uptodate. Filing funny things and persistence cough. Have taken medication, no change.
As Robin says below on this question, generally the risk to two positive people on effective ART is very low, it’s close to zero.
However, there might be some risk if you are drug resistant in a different way from each other. But you can talk to your doctor about this and ask if they offer resistance testing.
The results from the PARTNER study might be just as appropriate though. This study reported no transmissions after sero-different couples had sex more than 58,000 times without condoms. The results set a new challenge about whether transmission is anything other than a theoretical risk when someone is taking effective ART.
My partner and I are both positive and both are using ARVs, are there any risks involved in us having unprotected sex as we are both getting treatment.
Hi Thandy – if both people are on treatment then the main reason to use condoms is for protection agains STIs or preganancy. How do you feels about this? If you prefer not to use condoms this should be your choice.
If we both taking hiv drugs can we have sex without condom? Is there any risk for that?
Hi,
Generally the risk of two positive people having sex is very low. The only risk is of ‘reinfection’. This can mean that you get resistance you partner has or the other way round. This could mean your meds don’t work properly. This will not happen if you both have no, or the same resistances. You can ask your doctor if they offer resistance testing.