HopeHealth: Preventing HIV

Preventing HIV:

5 Ways You Can Avoid Infection

story by Laura Lee Samuel, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, Family Nurse Practitioner HopeHealth

The Centers of Disease Prevention and Control reports nearly 37,000 people in the United States were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2019. Of those, 680 were in South Carolina. They join the almost 15,000 South Carolina residents that are living with HIV or AIDS today. For 30 years, HopeHealth has supported those living with HIV or AIDS. From its beginning as an all-volunteer support group, to an AIDS Service Organization helping people live full lives through treatment, to today’s primary care practice that can also help prevent new infections.

What is the age group with some of the highest risk

of contracting HIV? Our youth ages 13-24! While the annual rate of infection is decreasing, the CDC estimates 21 percent of those new infections in 2018 were in youths. Parents can make a difference. Talk to your teens early about HIV, how it is spread and how to protect themselves. Don’t be afraid to discuss the standard and why it is important for them to make safe decisions. HIV, short for human immunodeficiency virus, damages your immune system, disabling your ability to fight infections. If untreated, HIV can cause AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. While decades of research and the development of effective treatments can now help those diagnosed with HIV live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives, HIV remains a debilitating and costly illness. If allowed to progress to AIDS with no treatment, patients generally die early in the disease process. However, if one commits to treatment, they can live a long prosperous life. Fortunately, unlike certain viruses like the common cold, flu, or even COVID-19, HIV is not transmitted through coughing, sneezing, or infected droplets on hard surfaces like doorknobs. HIV can only be transmitted through certain bodily fluids, such as blood, sex fluids, or breast milk. By avoiding certain risky behaviors, or quickly seeking medical treatment after exposure, you can greatly reduce your risk of contracting HIV. Here are FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS for preventing HIV infection: 1. Practice Abstinence: Since HIV is primarily a sexually transmitted disease, one of the best ways to prevent it is by refraining from sex, especially with partners whose HIV status is unknown. Reduce risky sexual practices for safer and healthier outcomes. 2. Practice Safe Sex: If you choose to have sex, be sure to use a condom. Condoms can prevent exposure to bodily fluids that carry HIV, protecting you from infection. Oral sex also offers less risk than anal or vaginal intercourse for getting an HIV infection.

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Laura Lee Samuel,

Family Nurse Practitioner Laura Lee Samuel is a family nurse practitioner at HopeHealth in Timmonsville. From Marlboro County originally, Samuel is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Association, and South Carolina Nurses Association. She has spent most of her medical career in the Pee Dee region, which includes serving as the clinical manager, director and chief of nursing at HopeHealth from 2009-2017.

3. Always Use Clean Needles: Injection drug use is another common way to get HIV due to sharing used needles. Injecting yourself with a needle that was used by someone else can potentially introduce bloodborne infections like HIV into your body. When using syringes and other injectables, always use a fresh needle. 4. Taking Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): Taking prescribed PrEP reduces the risk of contracting HIV from sex by about 99 percent, and from injection drug use by about 74 percent. The medication must be taken as prescribed to receive the full benefits and does not protect against other sexually transmitted diseases, so condom use is still strongly encouraged. 5. Taking Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP): Sometimes, even when precautions are taken, HIV exposure can occur, such as with a broken condom, an accidental usedneedle stick, or sexual assault. If you believe you may have been exposed to HIV, you can take PEP to significantly improve your chances of preventing infection by about 80 percent. You must begin taking PEP within 72 hours (three days) of exposure, so see your primary care team immediately, or visit an urgent care or emergency department to begin treatment. PEP must be taken daily for 28 days to be effective. In addition to these recommendations, it is important to know your status. Get tested and do your part to keep yourself and partners healthy. If you would like to learn more about HIV and disease prevention, or you are HIV positive and need assistance with the management of condition, contact the HopeHealth Infectious Disease Treatment & Prevention Centers for support.