STI testing: Overview, purpose, and when to get tested
Is There A Connection Between Herpes, HIV, And AIDS?
People living with herpes simplex virus (HSV) are more likely to contract HIV. Similarly, people living with HIV are more likely to contract HSV. But one does not cause the other.
HSV is a virus that can cause ulcerative skin disease, says reproductive health specialist Felice Gersh, MD, author of "PCOS SOS: A Gynecologist's Lifeline To Naturally Restore Your Rhythms, Hormones, and Happiness."
HSV can cause episodic outbreaks of blisters. Open sores or breaks in the skin make it easier for other viruses to enter the body.
"Herpes can also alter the microbiome of the vagina and anus, which make them less adept at fighting off foreign invaders and pathogens," says Gersh.
HIV is a virus that attacks your immune system. This affects your body's ability to defend against other illnesses.
"Both HIV and HSV are sexually transmitted diseases, so having one does increase your risk of acquiring the other if you're exposed," explains Dr. Kimberly Langdon, a retired OB-GYN with 19 years of clinical experience.
Undiagnosed or untreated HIV can progress to AIDS, which is sometimes known as late-stage HIV, says Langdon.
Anything that increases your risk of coming into contact with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or disease (STD) will increase your risk of contracting HSV or HIV.
While herpes is primarily transmitted via skin-to-skin contact, HIV can be transmitted via bodily fluids, says Gersh. "That means you can increase your risk of contracting HIV if you use or share needles, syringes, or other [unsterilized] drug equipment."
These days, it's rare for an individual who tests positive for HIV to ever develop AIDS, according to Gersh. "Modern HIV medicine is extraordinarily effective at managing the virus so that it doesn't become AIDS," she says.
As such, your risk of developing AIDS increases if you contract HIV and do not receive prompt medical treatment, says Monte Swarup, MD, OB-GYN, founder of the leading health information site Vaginal Health Hub.
If you're living with HSV, taking antiviral medication — such as acyclovir, famciclovir, and valacyclovir — can help prevent or shorten outbreaks.
There are also a number of home remedies and lifestyle changes that you can adapt that may help ease your symptoms and reduce your risk of an outbreak.
When your skin is free of lesions, you're less likely to contract HIV should you come into contact with it.
"Another option for reducing the risk of contracting HIV, whether you have HSV or not, is to talk with your doctor about PrEP," says Langdon.
Preexposure prophylaxis or PrEP is a daily oral medication that helps reduce your risk of contracting HIV, she explains.
If you're living with HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART) can help. "ART can make the virus undetectable and restore immune function," explains Gersh.
When HIV is undetectable, it can't progress to AIDS, she says. You're also less likely to contract HSV or another illness when your immune system is restored.
The best thing you can do to reduce your risk of HSV and HIV is to practice safer sex, says Swarup.
Common safer sex practices include:
You can also reduce your risk of HIV by using sterile equipment to prepare or inject subcutaneous medications and intravenous (IV) substances.
If there's any chance that you've been exposed to HIV or another sexually transmitted condition, contact a healthcare professional to get tested.
This is particularly important if you develop any new or unusual symptoms associated with HIV, including:
If it's been less than 72 hours (3 days) since potential HIV exposure, talk with a healthcare professional immediately.
They can prescribe postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) to help reduce the risk of infection. PEP must be started within 72 hours (3 days) to be effective. PEP medications are taken daily for 28 days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only recommends testing for HSV if you're experiencing genital lesions or sores. Increased discharge, painful urination, and other genital symptoms could be a sign of a different STI.
People living with HSV are more likely to contract HIV and vice versa. However, there are a number of sexual health precautions you can take to help reduce the likelihood of coming into contact with either virus.
If you think you've been exposed to HSV or HIV, contact a healthcare professional to learn more.
Gabrielle Kassel (she/her) is a queer sex educator and wellness journalist who is committed to helping people feel the best they can in their bodies. In addition to Healthline, her work has appeared in publications such as Shape, Cosmopolitan, Well+Good, Health, Self, Women's Health, Greatist, and more! In her free time, Gabrielle can be found coaching CrossFit, reviewing pleasure products, hiking with her border collie, or recording episodes of the podcast she co-hosts called Bad In Bed. Follow her on Instagram @Gabriellekassel.
HIV Testing Events And Their Significance
Are you aware an estimated 1.2 million people in the United States have HIV, including about 161,800 people who are unaware of their status, or that nearly 40% of new HIV infections are transmitted by people who don't know they have the virus?
People who get tested and learn they do not have HIV can make decisions about sex, drug use and health care that can protect them from HIV. For people at risk for HIV, taking HIV medicine called pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is highly effective for preventing HIV.
To get people to be aware of their status and promote National HIV Testing Day, Scotland County Health Department's HIV Education and Resource Team (H.E.A.R.T.) will be offering free and confidential HIV testing from 10 a.M. To 2 p.M. On June 27 at Scotland County Health Department. The event will have refreshments and prizes, and the first 20 people tested for HIV will be eligible for a gift card.
The H.E.A.R.T. Team and staff of SCHD are promoting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2023 "Let's Stop HIV Together" Campaign and encouraging everyone to get tested. The CDC recommends people ages 13 to 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of their routine health care, just as you might get tested for any other disease, infection or illness.
H.E.A.R.T.'s goal is to raise awareness of the impact HIV is having on our community and that the number of people living with this disease is increasing significantly in this county, this state, this nation, and globally. As of December 31, 2021, Scotland County ranked 2nd (previously 3rd in 2020) in the State of North Carolina for newly diagnosed HIV cases, with 126 persons diagnosed with HIV living in Scotland County. In 2022, there were twelve newly diagnosed HIV cases in Scotland County.
HIV tests are very accurate, but no test can detect the virus immediately after infection. How soon a test can detect HIV depends upon different factors, including the type of test being used. There are three types of HIV diagnostic tests: nucleic acid tests (NAT), antigen/antibody tests, and antibody tests. For people with undiagnosed HIV, testing is the first step in maintaining a healthy life and preventing HIV transmission. The National Institutes of Health show a clear personal health advantage of being diagnosed with HIV early and starting treatment immediately. Understanding this highlights the importance and benefit of routine HIV testing and its potential impact on better health outcomes.
Scotland County Health Department offers an Early Intervention Clinic for those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Resources and information can be provided by calling the Health Department at (910) 277-2440.
Kathie Cox is a Public Health educator II/Public Information officer for the Scotland County Health Department. Cox can be reached at [email protected].
HIV Infections Drop, But Racial Gaps Remain
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday shows a significant drop in new HIV infections across the U.S. — a 12 percent decrease between 2017 and 2021. Young people accounted for the bulk of the progress during that period, with new infections dropping 34 percent among 13- to 24-year-olds.
Still, 1.2 million people in the U.S. Had HIV in 2021, and one of every eight of those was not aware of their status, raising the risk for transmission and threats to their own health without treatment. Just 58 percent were taking adequate medication to suppress their viral load. And despite new preventive drugs and self-testing options, health officials warned that progress remains both inadequate and fragile.
"At least three people in America get HIV every day, and that is far too many," Jonathan Mermin, the director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, told reporters Tuesday.
Progress was also uneven among racial groups, demonstrating that barriers remain to people of color accessing testing and treatment. While white gay and bisexual men between ages 13-24 saw a 45 percent drop in infections, it was just 36 percent for Latinos and 27 percent for Black men.
A big driver of that disparity, the CDC found, was access to HIV prevention medication, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, which is highly effective at blocking transmission of the virus.
Overall progress on getting PrEP to people who could benefit from it was significant, with uptake surging from 13 percent in 2017 to 30 percent in 2021. But there's a wide gap between the 78 percent of white people in that category taking the medication versus 21 percent of Latinos and 11 percent of Black people.
Health officials said they will soon roll out plans to narrow these gaps, including one PSA campaign in the South focused on Black and Latino men who have sex with men and another encouraging medical providers to prescribe PrEP to more at-risk Black women.
Story continues
Still, pandemic disruptions to the medical system have knocked the U.S. Off track to meeting Ending the HIV Epidemic goals set during the Trump administration, and despite marked progress, many challenges remain.
More than half of new HIV infections in 2021 were in the South, where more states have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and where officials are moving aggressively to remove people from Medicaid rolls if they can't confirm their eligibility.
And a yet-to-be-finalized debt ceiling deal between Democrats and Republicans could mean tens of billions of dollars of cuts to public health funding for testing, case investigation and treatment of HIV and other STDs.
"This will result in new infections, more people living with HIV and the need to provide lifetime care and treatment," warned Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute.
And because having another STD like syphilis or chlamydia significantly raises a person's risk of contracting HIV, federal health officials argue that the budget cuts would have a spillover effect.
"We're not going to end the HIV epidemic unless we address the [sexually-transmitted infection] crisis in this country," said Harold Phillips, who leads the Office of National AIDS Policy and sits on the White House's Domestic Policy Council.
Additionally, a case pending in federal court could eliminate Obamacare's mandate that insurance companies cover PrEP medication — and other preventive services — at no cost to patients.
Though he declined to comment on the litigation, Mermin said he's concerned "about any situation that makes it harder for people to get highly effective HIV treatment and prevention services, which we know from our data are not reaching everyone who could benefit."
Other barriers to access are more nuanced, he and other health officials noted.
Mermin cited "age-old" challenges of "poverty, differences in geographical access, racism, discrimination, homophobia and stigma," while Demetre Daskalakis, director of the division of HIV prevention at the CDC, warned the wave of new laws in GOP-led states targeting gay and trans youth could make those populations more distrustful of the government and less likely to seek services during future disease outbreaks and health emergencies.
"When you send the message to people that you don't care about their lives, it's then hard to convince them that you care about their lives," he told POLITICO in an interview.
Comments
Post a Comment