Never share needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment.

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Choose sexual activities with little to no chance of transmitting HIV

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• There is little to no chance of getting HIV through oral sex.

• You can't get HIV from sexual activities that don't involve contact with semen, vaginal fluid, or blood.

 

Use condoms the right way every time you have sex

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Most condoms are very effective in preventing HIV and other STIs, like gonorrhea and chlamydia.

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Using PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis)

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Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is medicine taken to prevent getting HIV.  PrEP is for adults and adolescents without HIV who may be exposed to HIV through sex or injection drug use.

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PrEP may be an option to help protect pregnant people and their babies from getting HIV while trying to get pregnant, during pregnancy, or while breastfeeding.

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PrEP can help protect you if you don’t have HIV and any of the following apply to you:

You have had anal or vaginal sex in the past 6 months and you have a sexual partner with HIV (especially if the partner has an unknown or detectable viral load), have not consistently used a condom, or have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease in the past 6 months.

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You inject drugs and you have an injection partner with HIV, or share needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment.

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You have been prescribed PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and you report continued risk behavior, or have used multiple courses of PEP.

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Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

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PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is medicine that prevents HIV after a possible exposure. PEP must be started within 72 hours (3 days) after a recent possible exposure to HIV.

 

Talk right away to your doctor about PEP if you think you've recently been exposed to HIV:

During sex (for example, if the condom broke), Through sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to inject drugs, or if you've been sexually assaulted

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Don't Have Sex

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Not having sex is a 100% effective way to make sure you won't get HIV through sex.

 

You can be abstinent at different times in your life for different reasons.

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Not having sex also prevents other STIs and pregnancy

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Get tested and treated for other STIs

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If you have another STI, you are more likely to get HIV.

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Many people with an STI may not know they have HIV because they may not have symptoms.

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If you inject drugs, never share needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment, use new, clean syringes and injection equipment every time you inject.

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Ask about PEP if you think you may have recently been exposed to HIV

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PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is medicine people take to prevent HIV after a possible exposure.

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If you think you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, talk to your doctor right away about PEP.

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If you or your partner has HIV, get and stay in treatment

• This is the most important thing people with HIV can do to stay healthy.

• People with HIV who take HIV medicine and get and keep an undetectable viral load will not transmit HIV to their sex partners.

 

If you are pregnant, get tested for HIV as soon as possible to prevent transmitting HIV to your baby

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If your test result is negative and you or your partner engage in behaviors that increase your chances of getting or transmitting HIV, get tested again in your third trimester.

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If your test result is positive, you can reduce the chances of transmitting HIV to your baby by taking HIV medicine as prescribed throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery, getting and keeping a suppressed viral load, and giving HIV preventive medicine to your baby after giving birth.

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If you have a partner with HIV and are considering getting pregnant, talk to your doctor about PrEP.

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