Question
Will the unprotected sex affect our individual CD4 counts and viral load?
14 December 2008. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, HIV transmission.
My partner and I have recently been diagnosed with HIV and have had unprotected sex since, and I suppose before we knew. So, I guess if we were infected with different strains, which I doubt, as I believe I infected him, then it would be of no benefit to have protected sex (other than to prevent STDs etc). Clarification on the above would be great.
Secondly, my CD4 count is 623 – his is 799, so pretty good, I guess. My question is if we continue to have unprotected sex, does this affect our individual CD4 counts and viral loads?
Answer
If you were infected with different strains, then it would have made sense to have protected sex, but as you have had unprotected sex many times now and as long as you are sure that neither of you is exposed to HIV ‘from outside’ and will not bring it ‘home’, then you can go on with the unprotected sex.
The answer to the second question is no. Every person has an individual response in terms of CD4 and viral load to the infection and this is not related.