How to prevent transmission of HIV and AIDS

Becky Kuhn, M.D., co-founder of Global Lifeworks, discusses how people who are HIV positive (HIV+) can reduce or eliminate their risk of transmitting HIV to others. If HIV positive people choose to be sexually active, it is important that they practice safer sex techniques, such as using condoms and dental dams, both to avoid infecting others and to avoid re-infecting themselves with other strains of HIV that may become resistant to medications they are on or cause their T cell (CD4) count to drop, which can lead to the onset of clinical AIDS in a person who had been healthy up until that point. If an HIV positive person is on antiretroviral medication, it is important that they take every dose on schedule to avoid developing a drug-resistant strain of HIV. This will also help keep their viral load low, reducing the risk of HIV transmission.