What the Guidance Really Says About HIV

Key takeaways

• Undetectable equals untransmittable: effective treatment prevents sexual transmission
• Testing: free, confidential, and available by post in many areas
• Most useful single change: Test regularly if you are at risk; it is free and confidential.
• Commonest mistake: Delaying testing out of fear; early treatment changes outcomes entirely.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

What it is

A virus that damages the immune system, now a manageable long-term condition when treated. It sits within Sexual Health. The figures below are the ones published guidance uses, rather than the ones that circulate.

The numbers, in one place

What helps

Here is what the evidence supports doing. Some of it will already be familiar.

• Test regularly if you are at risk; it is free and confidential
• Ask about PrEP if you are at ongoing risk
• Seek PEP urgently after a possible exposure
• Start and stay on treatment; it protects you and your partners

What to avoid

Things that seem reasonable and are not.

• Delaying testing out of fear; early treatment changes outcomes entirely
• Assuming risk is limited to particular groups
• Missing the 72-hour window for PEP

Where to go next

• The First Steps With HIV
• A Q and A on HIV
• HIV — the reference entry
• What the Guidance Really Says About Cervical Screening and HPV
• What the Guidance Really Says About Sexual Function

When to speak to a doctor

Seek emergency care within 72 hours of a possible HIV exposure — PEP is most effective the sooner it is started and is available from A&E and sexual health clinics. See a GP or sexual health service for a flu-like illness with rash, fever and swollen glands some weeks after a possible exposure, which can indicate recent infection.

Where this comes from

• NHS — HIV and AIDS
• Terrence Higgins Trust — PrEP and PEP

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.