As the festive season begins, many of us are going to attend a lot of parties and drink alcohol.
This is why we need to keep in mind some guidelines for responsible drinking, to make sure that we protect ourselves and our loved ones from getting HIV due to sexually risky behaviour because we were drunk.
Drinking alcohol can be social, fun and many people use it as a way to relax. However, when you drink too much, it can lower resistance so that you engage in risky sexual behaviour by having sex with multiple concurrent partners without a condom.
“When you are drunk at a club and things start heating up, you know you don’t have condoms but you are definitely not going to hold yourself back,” says a student from KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.
Here are some guidelines to help you to protect yourself against HIV when you are in social places:
- Always be prepared to only have safe sex when you do drinking. This means that you must always carry a condom.
- Do not drink until you are drunk, so that you can be in control enough to back off if you or your sexual partner do not have condoms.
- Remember that having multiple cconcurrent partners increases your risk of getting HIV. So it is wiser to be faithful to your one love, even when you have been drinking.
Here are some guidelines for responsible drinking:
Men should not take more than 4 standard drinks in one day and women should not take more than 2 standard drinks in one day. No-one should drink alcohol every day.
One standard drink is roughly:
1 tot of spirits (25ml)
1 small can beer
1 small glass wine
1 small bottle cider/ cooler/ alcopop
(People should be careful of home brewed and unregulated beverages that may be dangerous in terms of their high alcohol content or other additives.)
Children under 18 years, pregnant women and people on medication should not take any alcohol at all. No alcohol should be taken by people operating machinery or driving a vehicle and where people are doing sports or are in other dangerous environments (such as being on mountains).
Other sensible drinking tips:
• Eat before drinking and while you drink
• Have a glass of water or cool drink in between alcoholic drinks
• Pour your own drink so you know what alcohol is in it
• Have a personal limit per drinking occasion
• Spread drinks over several hours
• Don’t binge drink
• Don’t mix drinks
Only drink very little if you are socializing with strangers or in an unfamiliar environment. Use safe public transport or a designated sober car driver for traveling after drinking.
Enjoy the festive season.
