Practicing Safe Sex When Both Partners Have HIV

It's natural to wonder if safe sex is unnecessary when you and your partner both have HIV. After all, if you don't have to be concerned about transmitting HIV between each other, that's one less thing to worry about at a time when your health is already at the forefront of your mind. So what's the bottom line? Can you take safe sex off your to-do list?

couple in bed
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Continuing Risks

Although it may be disappointing to hear, safe sex is essential even when both sexual partners are living with HIV. Why? The most obvious reason is that HIV is not the only sexually transmitted infection (STI) to which people are vulnerable. Individuals who are living with HIV can also be infected with other STIs, and having the infection can make some of these infections substantially worse.

Being simultaneously infected with HIV and another infection is known as co-infection. One particularly problematic type of co-infection occurs when someone is infected with both HIV and hepatitis C (HCV). An HIV/HCV co-infection is more difficult to treat and those who have it may have more severe health outcomes in both the long and short terms.

Unprotected sex between two people living with HIV is also risky even if both partners are otherwise STI-free and the relationship is mutually monogamous. This is because of the potential for an HIV superinfection. HIV superinfection occurs when a person who is already infected with HIV is exposed to and becomes infected with, a different strain of the virus.

Some studies have estimated that the risk of superinfection is similar to the rate of initial infection with HIV. Superinfection is problematic because it is associated with increased health problems and because it is harder to treat, even when using combined antiretroviral therapy, as there is a possibility that someone could be infected with two different drug-resistant strains.

The fact that HIV superinfection is reasonably common also poses problems for vaccine research. It suggests that infection with one strain of HIV isn't enough to protect patients from infection with another. That makes it less likely that a vaccine will be universally, or even widely, effective.

Does Treatment Matter?

If you and your partner are both living with HIV and both of you have your infections fully suppressed with treatment, you should discuss the risks of unprotected sex with your healthcare providers. Safe sex is still a very good idea, but treatment as prevention studies have shown that the risk of infection of a partner without HIV is zero when their regular sexual partner has an undetectable viral load.

NOTE: HIV superinfection should be distinguished from dual-infection, which is defined as being infected with two HIV strains at the same time. Although HIV superinfection can lead to dual infection, it is also possible for an individual to initially be infected with two strains of HIV.

3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Grebely J, Oser M, Taylor LE, Dore GJ. Breaking down the barriers to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment among individuals with HCV/HIV coinfection: action required at the system, provider, and patient levels. J Infect Dis. 2013;207 Suppl 1:S19-25. doi:10.1093/infdis/jis928

  2. Redd AD, Quinn TC, Tobian AA. Frequency and implications of HIV superinfectionLancet Infect Dis. 2013;13(7):622–628. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70066-5

  3. Bavinton BR, Rodger AJ. Undetectable viral load and HIV transmission dynamics on an individual and population level: where next in the global HIV response?. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. 2020 Feb 1;33(1):20-7.

    doi:10.1097/QCO.0000000000000613 

Additional Reading
Elizabeth Boskey, PhD

By Elizabeth Boskey, PhD
Elizabeth Boskey, PhD, MPH, CHES, is a social worker, adjunct lecturer, and expert writer in the field of sexually transmitted diseases.