What can African Americans do to protect themselves?

Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/aa/protection.htm

 

Your risk of getting HIV or passing it to someone else depends on several things.  Do you know what they are? You might want to talk to someone who knows about HIV. You can also do the following:

• Abstain from sex (do not have sex of any kind) until you are in a relationship with only one person, are having sex with only each other, and you know your own and each other’s HIV status. 
  • If both you and your partner have HIV, use condoms to prevent other STDs and possible infection with a different strain of HIV.
  • If only one of you has HIV, use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex.
     
• If you have, or plan to have, more than one sex partner, consider the following:
  • Get tested for HIV
    • If you are a man who has had sex with other men, get tested at least once a year.
    • If you are a woman who is planning to get pregnant or who is pregnant, get tested as soon as possible, before you have your baby.
  • Talk about HIV and other STDs with each partner before you have sex.
  • Learn as much as you can about each partner’s past behavior (sex and drug use) and consider the risks to your health before you have sex.
  • Ask your partners if they have recently been tested for HIV; and if not, encourage them to get tested.
  • Use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex.
  • If you think you may have been exposed to another STD such as gonorrhea, syphilis, or chlamydia, seek treatment because these diseases can increase your risk of getting HIV.
     
• Even if you think you have low risk for HIV infection, consider getting tested whenever you have a regular medical check-up.
   
• Do not inject illicit drugs (drugs not prescribed by a doctor). You can get HIV through needles, syringes, and other works if they are contaminated with the blood of someone else who has HIV.  Drugs also cloud your mind, which may result in riskier sex.
   
• If you do inject drugs, do the following:
  • Use only clean needles, syringes, and other works.
  • Never share needles, syringes, or other works.
  • Get tested for HIV test at least once a year.
  • Consider getting counseling and possible treatment for your drug use.
     
• Do not have sex when you are taking drugs or drinking alcohol because they make you more likely to take risks.

 To protect yourself, remember these ABCs:

A=Abstinence

B=Be Faithful

C=Condoms