When youreliving with HIV, dating can come with a lot of questions: How can you meet people?
When and how should you discuss your diagnosis?
How will HIV affect different areas of your new relationship?
Verywell / Danie Drankwalter
How does HIV make you feel about yourself?
People will answer those questions in different ways.
Just remember thatHIVis only part of your story.
Dating has its ups and downs for everyone.
Some things may be easier after your diagnosis, even as others are harder.
you could have a fulfilling romantic and intimate life after being diagnosed with HIV.
Several dating sites cater to HIV-positive individuals of different sexual orientations.
These include meeting through shared hobbies, social events, and general dating sites.
How HIV affects the way you search for a new partner is very much a personal choice.
They may have been too uncomfortable to discuss testing history or safe sex.
Some people do everything they can toavoid thinking or talking about the topicaltogether.
However, people have different degrees of risk tolerance and willingness to be open and honest about sex.
However, HIV is not spread through casual contact or saliva.
Therefore, people make different choices about how and when they want to disclose their status.
Others may prefer only to disclose once they know they care about someone and might want to be intimate.
Its helpful to put HIV status in the context of a broader discussion aboutintimacy and safer sex.
Without testing, theres no way to tell.
They may feel that everyone should assume they are at risk all the time, particularly during casual encounters.
That is a choice that has potential legal and personal risks.
Equality Maps from the nonprofit Movement Advancement Project lists thecurrent state of these lawsin each U.S. state and territory.
They may be worried about your health or their own.
They may be scared or angry.
They may not know what they think.
Having reputable information about HIV available can help.
A lot of people dont know what they dont know about the virus.
They may be more concerned than they need to be, or less.
Fortunately, there are ways to substantially reduce the risk of HIV transmission during sex.
Safer sexis just one tool in the HIV prevention toolbox.
Its important to use barriers consistently and correctly, and only use types of condoms rated for STI prevention.
These include latex,polyurethane, andpolyisoprenecondoms, butnotlambskincondoms.
Keeping yourself healthy and your HIV under control is another great way to protect your partner.
This is known as treatment as prevention.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is also an effective way to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
With PrEP, the HIV-negative partner takes an antiretroviral medication to keep themselves from becoming infected.
Some people choose to engage only in non-penetrative sex to reduce the risk of passing on the virus.
Summary
If you are HIV-positive, you may have several concerns about dating.
You may want to meet people via dating sites where HIV status is disclosed.
There are ways you’ve got the option to keep your partner safer from transmission of HIV.
A Word From Verywell
Dating with HIV isnt easy, but neither is dating without HIV.
There are always challenges in starting any new relationship.
HIV is one that can be faced and dealt with.
That can be hard to hear.
In some cases, education can help.
Learning to think critically about STIs based on accurate information can open peoples minds and hearts.
2014;28(10):1509-1519. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000000298
