Causes Of Hiv Infection
It’s a fragile virus and does not survive outside the body for long.
HIV cannot be transmitted through sweat, urine or saliva.
Other ways of getting HIV include:
- sharing needles, syringes or other injecting equipment
- transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding
The chance of getting HIV through oral sex is very low and will be dependent on many things, such as whether you receive or give oral sex and the oral hygiene of the person giving the oral sex.
What Is The Treatment For Hiv
Antiretroviral therapy is the use of HIV medicines to treat HIV infection. People on ART take a combination of HIV medicines every day.
ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. ART prevents HIV from multiplying, which reduces the amount of HIV in the body . Having less HIV in the body protects the immune system and prevents HIV infection from advancing to AIDS. ART cannot cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives.
ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission. A main goal of ART is to reduce a persons viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test. People with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partner through sex.
What Are The Symptoms Of Hiv/aids
The first signs of HIV infection may be flu-like symptoms:
- Swollen lymph nodes
These symptoms may come and go within two to four weeks. This stage is called acute HIV infection.
If the infection is not treated, it becomes chronic HIV infection. Often, there are no symptoms during this stage. If it is not treated, eventually the virus will weaken your body’s immune system. Then the infection will progress to AIDS. This is the late stage of HIV infection. With AIDS, your immune system is badly damaged. You can get more and more severe infections. These are known as opportunistic infections .
Some people may not feel sick during the earlier stages of HIV infection. So the only way to know for sure whether you have HIV is to get tested.
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How Do I Know If I Have Hiv
The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. Testing is relatively simple. You can ask your health care provider for an HIV test. Many medical clinics, substance abuse programs, community health centers, and hospitals offer them too.
To find an HIV testing location near you, use the HIV Services Locator.
HIV self-testing is also an option. Self-testing allows people to take an HIV test and find out their result in their own home or other private location. You can buy a self-test kit at a pharmacy or online. Some health departments or community-based organizations also provide self-test kits for a reduced cost or for free.
Its Not Just A Mans Disease
Approximately one-quarter of people with HIV in the United States are female, the CDC reports, and most were exposed to the virus through heterosexual sex. A woman who is pregnant and has HIV/AIDS can pass HIV to her unborn children during pregnancy she can also transmit the virus during childbirth and when breast-feeding, the CDC says.
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How Is Transmission In The Workplace Prevented
The Centers for Disease Control recommend using routine practices to protect workers at risk from HIV exposure. This approach stresses that all situations involving contact with blood and certain other body fluids present a risk. Routine practices outline the use of barriers to prevent workplace exposure to HIV and other viruses. These barriers include the use of:
- engineering controls such as retractable needles
- safe work practices and administrative controls
- protective equipment such as gloves, gowns or aprons, masks, and protective eye wear.
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Rights Of People With Hiv/aids
- Quality medical treatment and social service entitlements without regard to sexual orientation, diagnosis, economic status, age, or race.
- Full and understandable explanations of all medical procedures and risks, choice of treatment modalities, choice to refuse research participation without jeopardizing treatment, choice to make informed decisions about ones life.
- Privacy, confidentiality of condition and medical records, human respect, and to live and die with dignity.
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Symptoms Of Hiv Infection
Most people experience a short flu-like illness 2 to 6 weeks after HIV infection, which lasts for a week or 2.
After these symptoms disappear, HIV may not cause any symptoms for many years, although the virus continues to damage your immune system.
This means many people with HIV do not know they’re infected.
Anyone who thinks they could have HIV should get tested.
Some people are advised to have regular tests as they’re at particularly high risk.
There Are Several Effective Hiv Prevention Measures
The good news is that not only are there effective HIV treatments, but many HIV infections can be prevented when patients take proper precautions.
Condoms are inexpensive, readily available, and are more than 80% effective in preventing HIV, as well as other sexually transmitted infections, when theyre used properly.
A medication called Truvada is now available to help prevent HIV infections when patients take one tablet a day. As people have become more aware of this option, the number of Truvada users in the US, comprised mainly of men who have sex with men, has risen 880% since 2012! This HIV-prevention measure, known as PrEP is 99% effective in preventing HIV, as long as patients dont miss any doses.
If patients have a known exposure to HIV, such as unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person or a needle stick with an HIV-infected needle, theres a combination of medications known as PEP that patients can take every day for 28 days to lower their risk of contracting HIV. Its important to note that PEP must be started within 72 hours of the exposure, and the earlier its started, the more effective it is.
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Fact: Women Can Give Hiv To Men
Plus, if a partner has an untreated sexually transmitted infection like genital herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, or chlamydia, the risk is even higher. These infections can bring more CD4 cells to the area of infection or cause breaks in the skin. These STIs also raise your risk for passing HIV to others.
Why Does Having An Std Put Me More At Risk For Getting Hiv
If you get an STD, you are more likely to get HIV than someone who is STD-free. This is because the same behaviors and circumstances that may put you at risk for getting an STD also can put you at greater risk for getting HIV. In addition, having a sore or break in the skin from an STD may allow HIV to more easily enter your body. If you are sexually active, get tested for STDs and HIV regularly, even if you dont have symptoms.
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How Is Hiv Spread
The spread of HIV from person to person is called HIV transmission. HIV is spread only through certain body fluids from a person who has HIV. These body fluids include:
HIV transmission is only possible through contact with HIV-infected body fluids. In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by:
- Sharing injection drug equipment , such as needles or syringes, with someone who has HIV
The spread of HIV from a woman with HIV to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding is called perinatal transmission of HIV. For more information, read the HIVinfo fact sheet on Preventing Perinatal Transmission of HIV.
You cannot get HIV by shaking hands or hugging a person who has HIV. You also cannot get HIV from contact with objects, such as dishes, toilet seats, or doorknobs, used by a person with HIV. HIV is not spread through the air or water or by mosquitoes, ticks, or other blood-sucking insects. Use the HIVinfo You Can Safely ShareWith Someone With HIV infographic to spread this message.
Fact: People With Hiv Should Start Hiv Medicine Right Away
Even if you’re feeling great and have no symptoms, HIV is hurting your immune system. To protect your immune system, most experts recommend starting HIV medicines as soon as you are diagnosed with HIV. Because these drugs reduce your “viral load,” or the amount of HIV in your blood, they also reduce your chances of passing HIV to others.
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You Can Have Hiv And Not Know It
When some people are first infected with HIV, they can experience flulike symptoms such as fatigue, fever, headache, sore throat, and muscle and joint pain within the first two to four weeks. But many other people wont experience any symptoms at all during this early stage of infection, the CDC reports, and they can spread the virus without realizing it. The only way to know for sure whether you or your partner is HIV positive is to get tested. Late-stage HIV before it becomes AIDS does cause symptoms, but these can be confused with other ailments.
Hiv Treatment Has Come A Long Way
For a decade after HIV was discovered, there was no effective treatment to stall the HIV virus. The only option doctors had was to give patients antibiotics or antifungal medications once they had an AIDS-related infection.
In 1996, the first antiretroviral drugs were developed. When several antiretroviral medications were taken in combination , researchers saw a dramatic slowing of the progression from HIV to AIDS. That year, AIDS-related deaths dropped by a whopping 42%, and have continued to fall since then.
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You Can Test Yourself For Hiv In The Privacy Of Your Own Home
Several at-home HIV tests have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and can be bought online or at a drugstore. Many of these tests ask consumers to prick their finger with a needle, place a few drops of blood on a blotter pad, and then mail the sample to a lab. Of course, you can also see your doctor for a conventional blood test or visit almost any public health center for a blood or saliva test . These centers also offer confidential on-site counseling. The CDC notes that if you get a positive result from any at-home test, youll have to get other testing to confirm the results.
The Death Toll From Aids Is Astronomic
Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in 1981, more than 70 million people worldwide have been infected with the virus, and approximately 35 million people have died from AIDS, including more than 675,000 in the United States, according to agencies such as the World Health Organization and the CDC. People in other parts of the world are much more severely affected in sub-Saharan Africa, almost 1 in every 25 adults has HIV. Overall, however, the rate of new HIV infections and diagnoses is now dropping in the United States, likely thanks to prevention efforts, the CDC reports. But progress has been uneven. Certain groups, such as Hispanic and Latino gay and bisexual men, have had rising numbers of infections and diagnoses.
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Is There Any Treatment Of A Cure For Hiv/aids
Currently, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. People living with HIV will need lifelong treatment. The best treatments right now are combinations of prescription drugs. These medications include antiviral treatment, protease inhibitors and other drugs that help people who are living with HIV stay healthy. People living with HIV also can stay healthy by doing things like eating properly, exercising and getting enough sleep.
Living With Hiv And Aids
The first documented AIDS case in the United States was in 1981 . Since then, about 35 million people in the world have died from illnesses related to the disease. Millions of children have been orphaned because of it.
Now, combination drug treatments have turned HIV into a long-term infection that you can manage, even if HIV has progressed to AIDS. At the end of 2017, about 37 million people in the world were living with HIV, including about 2 million kids. About 22 million of these persons were receiving these life-saving treatments. When you work closely with your doctors and stick to your treatment plan, you can live a long time and expect a near normal life expectancy.
It can take HIV many years to damage your immune system enough to make you vulnerable to certain diseases, such as a form of skin cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma. These other “opportunistic infections” are signs that you have AIDS, since people with healthy immune systems rarely get them. The HIV treatments, if taken early, can prevent progression to AIDS.
Because there are drugs you can take for it, some groups of people believe they don’t have to be worried about HIV anymore, even though they’re more likely to get the virus. But treatments don’t change the fact that HIV is a potentially life-threatening illness.
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Hiv Has A Powerful Opponent
Before 1996, contracting the HIV was basically a death sentence. But then, over the course of the next two decades, a regimen of drugs known as antiretroviral therapy evolved and came into use. This drug regimen helps prevent the virus from replicating and can help keep the infection from causing AIDS, transforming a fatal disease into a manageable one. These drugs have been an amazing scientific advancement, Dr. Santiago says. Most of the people who die nowadays are those who are unaware they have until symptoms become severe. Even people who think they may have been exposed to HIV have options if they act very quickly. The CDC advises you to alert your healthcare provider and start a regimen of ART medicines called post-exposure prophylaxis within 72 hours.
New Hiv Diagnoses And People With Diagnosed Hiv In The Us And Dependent Areas By Area Of Residence 2020*
Data for 2020 should be interpreted with caution due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to HIV testing, care-related services, and case surveillance activities in state and local jurisdictions.* Among people aged 13 and older.Source: CDC.Diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States and dependent areas, 2020. HIV Surveillance Report2022 33
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What Is Hiv And Aids
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus that causes HIV infection. The abbreviation HIV can refer to the virus or to HIV infection.
AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.
HIV attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells of the immune system. The loss of CD4 cells makes it difficult for the body to fight off infections and certain cancers. Without treatment, HIV can gradually destroy the immune system and HIV infection advances to AIDS.
How Can A Person Reduce The Risk Of Getting Hiv
To reduce your risk of HIV infection, use condoms correctly every time you have sex, limit your number of sexual partners, and never share injection drug equipment.
Also talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis . PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who do not have HIV but who are at high risk of becoming infected with HIV. PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day. For more information, read the HIVinfo fact sheet on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis .
HIV medicines, given to women with HIV during pregnancy and childbirth and to their babies after birth, reduce the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV. In addition, because HIV can be transmitted through breast milk, women with HIV who live in the United States should not breastfeed their babies. Baby formula is a safe and healthy alternative to breast milk and is readily available in the United States.
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What Are The Treatments For Hiv/aids
There is no cure for HIV infection, but it can be treated with medicines. This is called antiretroviral therapy . ART can make HIV infection a manageable chronic condition. It also reduces the risk of spreading the virus to others.
Most people with HIV live long and healthy lives if they get and stay on ART. It’s also important to take care of yourself. Making sure that you have the support you need, living a healthy lifestyle, and getting regular medical care can help you enjoy a better quality of life.
U=u Undetectable Equals Untransmittable
The science really does verify and validate U=U.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of NIAID, NIH at the United States Conference on AIDS, September 9, 2017
Undetectable=Untransmittable campaign tells us, This is the moment we have been waiting for! The CDC agreed today there is effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV when on treatment and undetectable. The overwhelming data clearly shows that taking our medication daily protects our health and our partners.
- Buddies of New Jeresey, Inc.
- Franklin A. Smith Resource Center149 Hudson Street
- Franklin A. Smith Resource Center149 Hudson Street
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Hiv: Basic Facts About Hiv
HIV weakens a persons immune system by destroying the bodys cells that fight disease and infection.
If its not treated, it can lead to AIDS . There isnt a cure for HIV, but you can manage it with treatment.
The only way to know for sure whether you have HIV is to get tested. If youre at risk for HIV, get tested regularly so you can start treatment right away if needed. Knowing your HIV status helps you make healthy decisions to prevent getting or transmitting HIV. If you have HIV, treatment can help keep the virus from spreading to others. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services Division of Public Health funds local agencies that provide free HIV testing.
You can lead a healthy and full life living with HIV.