CDC: 'Condomless Sex' Is the New 'Unprotected Sex'
LatestAmericans have long been told that sex without a condom is “unprotected sex,” which leaves you at risk for HIV and a multitude of other sexually transmitted diseases. Now, after pressure from health community advocates, the Center for Disease Control is changing its language and replacing “unprotected sex” with “condomless sex” to reflect the many ways people are sleeping together while minimizing their risks, sans condoms. After all, would you describe two people in a monogamous, long-term relationship who’ve tested negative for STDs as engaging in “unprotected sex?”
Condoms obviously still play an important role, but there are other ways individuals can protect themselves as well. Many HIV experts, for example, talk about treatment as prevention. Individuals who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART), which suppresses the replication of HIV, often have an undetectable viral load (a measure of the number of copies of HIV in a given blood sample). Though it is possible to transmit HIV even when one’s viral load is very low, it is much less likely.
Much of the conversation is pegged to Truvada, a daily pill, is part of another prevention method called PrEP (shorthand for pre-exposure prophylactics), RH Reality Check reports, which reduces the likelihood of HIV infection if taken routinely and as part of a doctor-supervised regimen, especially among gay or bi men. Technically that counts as some kind of protection, no?