What Men Should Know
Men use substances for a lot of reasons. Sometimes those substances are legal, like alcohol. Other times, those substances may be illegal. Regardless of the type of substance you use, its important for you to understand how it affects your body so that you can use it more safely and protect your health.
Using Drugs with Sex
Some men use drugs to make sex better. Some drugs can intensify sexual pleasure but they can also decrease inhibitions and contribute to risky sex, leading to HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Using Drugs with Needles
Injecting drugs with needles can be one of the highest risk ways to get HIV if needles are shared between HIV-negative and HIV-positive people.
Using Drugs with ARVs
Some men use ARV medication as a recreational drug to get high. Like other substances, this can have some serious side effects. Men who use other drugs while taking ARV medication for HIV treatment are also at risk for the drugs interacting with each other negatively. Substance use also can depress our immune systems so using substances can make it harder for ARV’s to keep men living with HIV healthy.
