killerchickadee:heathenvampires: blackqueerblog: FACTS! Additions: if your viral load is suppressed
killerchickadee:heathenvampires: blackqueerblog: FACTS! Additions: if your viral load is suppressed by medication to the point it’s undetectable, it’s considered untransmittable, even without condoms. Children with HIV+ carriers are usually given medication when they’re born, to make sure any of the virus doesn’t take hold (which we also do to adults who fear they’ve been exposed, it’s called PEP ((Post Exposure Prophylaxis)), which is a month of medication and must be started within 72 hours of exposure). (There’s also PreP - Pre Exposure Prophylaxis, which is taking medication if you feel you are at risk of being exposed to HIV, whether through sexual partners or sharing injection needles) This is why we need universal free healthcare - so people can go on and have happy, healthy lives despite the HIV diagnosis. Nobody should die or live in fear when the treatment is so damn simple and effective. Can I just say as a person who grew up during the AIDS crisis how INCREDIBLE it is to me that this is even possible? A lot of you weren’t around for any of these developments, but back in the day HIV was a death sentence. The fact that this is possible is mind-blowing and fantastic. -- source link