As well as being one of the biggest threats to sexual wellbeing, HIV is one of the most serious threats to the emotional and psychological wellness of those affected.
This is because once you have become infected, you not only have to live with the condition for the rest of your life, and the worry that it is going to cause the premature ending of your life, but you also have to become aware as a carrier that you are at risk of passing on the disease to others.
A large, randomised trial was recently carried out which involved over 1,700 heterosexual couples where one person in the couple had HIV and the other did not. The results of this trial were astounding, and seemed to indicate that early treatment of HIV could avoid it being transmitted sexually.
The results showed that the people who took the anti-HIV drugs reduced the risk of transmitted the disease to their partner by a whopping 96% when compared directly to those who did not receive the drugs early.
These results were so staggering that lead scientists Dr. Anthony Fauci decided to release the results of the study a good four years before it was scheduled to end, as he felt that the potential benefit of what they had discovered was enormous. All of the participants in the study are now offered the antiretroviral therapy.
Another trial was also recently carried out which seemed to indicate that using antiretroviral drugs could possibly be used as a preventative measure against contracting HIV. This trial involved 2,500 HIV negative males in countries where they were at high risk of contracting the disease. Those who took the anti-HIV drugs were found to be between 44 percent and 73 percent less likely to get HIV.