Looking after your sexual health
There are many way you can look after your sexual health, including staying protected from both HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Condoms
Using the right condom will make a huge difference to how good they feel and how well they work. They come in different sizes, thicknesses and materials.
Condoms will give you protection against both HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
PrEP
If you struggle with or prefer not to use condoms, you can still protect yourself from getting HIV by using PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
PrEP is a drug taken by HIV-negative people before and after sex that reduces the risk of getting HIV. It’s almost 100% effective when taken as directed.
PEP
If you think you might have been exposed to HIV you can visit a sexual health clinic or accident and emergency department to get PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis).
PEP (also called PEPSE) is a month-long course of HIV drugs taken after sex. It can stop the virus taking hold if you have been exposed. You need to start PEP within 72 hours (three days) and ideally within 24 hours.
Immunisation
You can get immunisation against hepatitis A, hepatitis B and HPV.
Testing for HIV and STIs
You can live with HIV for a long time without knowing you have it and often people do know have any symptoms after they get an STI. It's therefore important to include testing as part of your routine of looking after your sexual health.
Find out how to get tested for HIV and how to get tested for STIs.
Treatment
The good news is that you can get treatment for HIV and STIs.
If you have HIV and are diagnosed early, you can start treatment and expect to have the same life expectancy as anyone else. Additionally, treatment can reduce the amount of the virus in the blood to undetectable levels. This means the levels of HIV are so low that the virus cannot be passed on. This is called having an undetectable viral load or being undetectable.
Remember...
Having a good sexual health also means having the confidence and skills to ask for the sex that makes you feel good. It also means respecting your partners and taking responsibility for their sexual health as well as your own.
These films are dramatisations made with actors and all details have been anonymised to protect the identities of all those who took part in the creative process.
Made by Brown Boy Productions for Terrence Higgins Trust and funded by Public Health England.