If you test positive for a sexually transmitted infection (STI), also known as sexually transmitted disease (STD), the good news is that most STIs can be treated or cured. If your HIV test results come back positive, there are very effective medicines to treat HIV and there are support services in Massachusetts that can help you.
Many STIs, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, can be treated with antibiotics. Learn more about treatment for specific STIs. Be sure to follow your health care provider’s instructions and take your medications as prescribed. If you need a health care provider, find testing and treatment services near you.
For bacterial infections, you’ll need to take a follow-up test to make sure that the antibiotics cured your infection. Your health care provider will let you know when to re-test depending on the STI.
You’ll also want to take steps to prevent giving your STI to any sex partners. To prevent spreading an STI, you should wear a condom, dental dam, or another barrier method every time you have sex.
Telling a sexual partner that you’ve tested positive for an STI or HIV can be uncomfortable and even scary. But letting them know they may have been exposed gives them a chance to get tested and treated. If you’re diagnosed, be sure to contact anyone you’ve had sex with as soon as possible.
Not comfortable contacting a partner? There’s help for that. The Partner Services Program (PSP) from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is a free, voluntary, and confidential service that helps people who have been diagnosed with STIs and HIV to notify their partners. PSP also helps people make sure they get the care they need, along with their sexual partners. The service can contact your partners anonymously, including via text. PSP will never reveal your name, gender, or other personal information to your partners.
Learn more about the Partner Services Program or call (617) 983-6999.
Yes. Having an STI doesn’t keep you from getting the same one again. For example, you may take medication to cure gonorrhea, but being exposed again can start a new infection. And if your partner doesn’t get treatment, it’s possible to pass the infection back and forth.
You can avoid getting re-infected by taking steps like wearing condoms to lower your risk of STIs, getting tested every three to six months, and talking with your partner about their sexual history.
If you’ve recently tested positive for HIV, chances are you’re feeling overwhelmed with questions and concerns. The important thing to remember is that HIV is a manageable disease that can be effectively treated with medications.
The first thing you should do after testing positive for HIV is to talk with a health care provider, even if you’re not feeling sick.
Your health care provider will perform a baseline evaluation, which will determine how far the virus has progressed. The evaluation usually includes three lab tests:
Getting treatment is the most important thing you can do after testing positive for HIV. Your health care provider will most likely recommend starting medication as soon as possible to prevent the virus from multiplying and to reduce the amount of the virus in your body.
Over time, these medications can bring the level of virus in your body down to the point that HIV is no longer detectable through testing. This is known as “viral suppression” or “being undetectable.” Keeping the virus undetectable is the primary goal of HIV treatment.
While treatment doesn’t cure HIV, it does help people with HIV live healthy lives. When your viral load is undetectable, the virus can’t attack your immune system. Plus, the risk of passing HIV to sexual partners is virtually eliminated.
Beyond testing and medications, you may still have questions about how HIV will affect your health. Here are a few things to ask your health care provider:
Learn more about living with HIV.
Find low- to no-cost sexual health services near you, like PrEP, STI testing, and more on the Service Locator Map.
PrEP is a medication that helps prevent HIV. Take a short quiz to find out if it may be right for you.