you’re still negative?
- “If a guy had HIV, he’d tell me”
- “He didn’t mention HIV. So no need for condoms.”
- “I tested negative in the past, so must still be OK”
- “If I had HIV I’d know. I’d feel ‘different’.”
- “If I’ve got HIV I’d rather not know.”
- “I’ll wait until I’m ill before I test.”
- “I sometimes worry about getting HIV”
- “I got ill a few weeks after unsafe sex. Was it serious?”
Downloads about sex and
sexual health
“I’ll wait until I’m ill before I test.”
Leaving it until you’re ill means HIV treatment might not work as well (or at all). Gay men are dying because they test and start treatment too late. But test soon enough and treatment could keep them healthy. With HIV drugs better than ever and easier to take, why wait and risk it?
Between 8,000 and 10,000 gay men in the UK have HIV without knowing. Most think they’re still HIV negative. 1 in 4 gay men with HIV don’t realise they have it.
In some big city gay scenes nearly half of men with HIV may not know they have it.**source: Health Protection Agency, 2008 and J Dodds A tale of three cities, 2007.
So lots of us have HIV without realising. Now let’s bust some myths!