How Do I Know I Have Hiv

How Easy Is It To Get

Itâs extremely difficult to give an exact risk of getting HIV. Thatâs because it depends on a number of factors, including how much of the virus is in the other personâs fluids and how itâs getting into your body . The important thing to know is that while each time you have unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive the likelihood youâll become infected is pretty low , those numbers are true every time you do that act. So the risk can pile up if youâre having sex with an HIV positive person multiple times. Itâs also important to remember that you can get infected the first time you have sex with someone.

Itâs also important to take into account the amount of virus in the other personâs blood. When someone first gets infected, the virus goes all spring break on your body while your immune system scrambles to retaliate. During this time of primary HIV infection, you have a lot of copies of the virus in your system, which means you are very infectious to other people. With proper medication and care, you can get the number of these copies very low, reducing the likelihood of transmission significantly.

Canadian Flight Attendant Theory

A Canadian airline steward named Gaëtan Dugas was referred to as “Case 057” and later “Patient O” with the alphabet letter “O” standing for “outside Southern California”, in an early AIDS study by Dr. William Darrow of the Centers for Disease Control. Because of this, many people had considered Dugas to be responsible for taking HIV to North America. However, HIV reached New York City around 1971 while Dugas did not start work at Air Canada until 1974. In Randy Shilts‘ 1987 book And the Band Played On , Dugas is referred to as AIDS’s Patient Zero instead of “Patient O”, but neither the book nor the movie states that he had been the first to bring the virus to North America. He was incorrectly called “Patient Zero” because at least 40 of the 248 people known to be infected by HIV in 1983 had had sex with him, or with a person who had sexual intercourse with Dugas.

A Timeline Of Hiv Symptoms

• Final stage

What is HIV?

HIV is a virus that compromises the immune system. Theres currently no cure for it, but there are treatments available to reduce its effects on peoples lives.

In the majority of cases, once HIV infection takes hold, the virus stays in the body for life. However, unlike what may occur with infections by other types of viruses, HIV symptoms dont suddenly appear and peak overnight.

If left untreated, the disease progresses over time through three stages, each with its own set of possible symptoms and complications some severe.

Regular antiretroviral treatment can reduce HIV to undetectable levels in the blood. At undetectable levels, the virus wont progress to the later stages of HIV infection. In addition, the virus cant be transmitted to a partner during sex.

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Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• Is there any sure way to avoid acquiring HIV?
• What is the best treatment for me?
• How can I avoid getting any infections that will make me very sick?
• How can I find support groups in my community?
• What diagnostic tests will you run?
• How often will I need to see my doctor?
• Will there be any side effects to my treatment?
• How does this affect my plans for having a family?
• Is it safe for me to breastfeed my baby?
• Will using a condom keep my sex partners from acquiring HIV?
• Should I follow a special diet?

Stage : Clinical Latency

In this stage, the virus still multiplies, but at very low levels. People in this stage may not feel sick or have any symptoms. This stage is also called chronic HIV infection.

Without HIV treatment, people can stay in this stage for 10 or 15 years, but some move through this stage faster.

If you take HIV medicine every day, exactly as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load, you can protect your health and have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to your sexual partner.

But if your viral load is detectable, you can transmit HIV during this stage, even when you have no symptoms. Its important to see your health care provider regularly to get your viral load checked.

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Early Signs And Symptoms Of Hiv In Men

Early symptoms of HIV in men are often vague and unspecific.

In men, initial HIV symptoms are typically unspecific. Early symptoms are usually bearable and frequently mistaken for flu or another mild condition. People may easily underestimate them or mistake them for minor health conditions.

Men can experience flu-like symptoms some days to weeks after contracting the virus, which may include:

• pain in the joints
• swollen lymph nodes

Men may undervalue initial symptoms and put off seeing a doctor until the symptoms worsen, by which time the infection might have advanced.

The fact that some men do not seek timely treatment may be why the virus affects men more severely than women.

Although scientists and researchers have made significant progress in the prevention and treatment of HIV over the last decades, it remains a serious health problem in most countries around the world.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , in 2016, an estimated 39,782 people were diagnosed with HIV in the U.S.

Although the number of new diagnoses fell by 5 percent between 2011 and 2015, there were still around 1.1 million people in the U.S. living with HIV in 2015.

A higher number of men than women are living with the virus. By the end of 2010,

In 2016, 44 percent of new HIV diagnoses were among African Americans, compared with 26 percent among white people and 25 percent among Hispanics and Latinos.

How Can I Get It

HIV lives in only certain human bodily fluids, and is transmitted into your bloodstream through only certain parts of your body. So to know if youâve been exposed, you need to answer two questions: first, is there HIV present? and second, did it get into my blood?

This may seem obvious, but itâs really important to remember â you canât get HIV from someone who doesnât have it in their system. What this really means is that in order for you to be exposed to HIV, the other person who could be exposing you to it needs to have it. The fluids through which HIV can be transmitted are blood, semen, precum , vaginal fluid, breast milk , and rectal fluids, also called anal mucous. Notice fluids not on this list, including spit, sweat, and tears.

Letâs say you know that the other person in question has HIV in their system. Just because they have it doesnât mean you will get it. In order to potentially get their HIV into your system, you need to get it into your body through either a mucous membrane , a cut on your skin , or straight into your bloodstream through sharing needles.

Knowing how this virus is transmitted is what you need to protect yourself against it or protect others from becoming infected .

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Treating The Rash At Home

Diagnosis In Men Vs Women

Doctors diagnose HIV in both men and women by testing a blood or saliva sample, although they could also test a urine sample. This test looks for antibodies produced by the person to fight the virus. The test typically takes around 3 to 12 weeks to detect antibodies.

Another test looks for HIV antigens, which are substances that the virus produces immediately after transmission. These antigens cause the immune system to activate. HIV produces the p24 antigen in the body even before antibodies develop.

Usually, both the antibody and the antigen tests are done in labs, but there are also home tests that people can take.

Home tests may require a small sample of blood or saliva, and their results are quickly available. If the test is positive, it is essential to confirm the results with a doctor. If the test is negative, a person should repeat it after a few months to confirm the results.

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How Do People Get Hiv

HIV spreads when infected blood or body fluids enter the body. This can happen:

• during sex
• through sharing needles for injecting drugs or tattooing

HIV also can pass from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

HIV is NOT spread through:

• pee, poop, spit, throw-up, or sweat
• coughing or sneezing
• sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses

How Can You Tell If You Have Hiv

The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. You cant rely on symptoms to tell whether you have HIV.

Knowing your HIV status gives you powerful information so you can take steps to keep yourself and your partner healthy:

• If you test positive, you can take medicine to treat HIV. By taking HIV medicine daily as prescribed, you can make the amount of HIV in your blood very lowso low that a test cant detect it . Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load is the best thing you can do to stay healthy. If your viral load stays undetectable, you have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.
• If you test negative, there are more HIV prevention tools available today than ever before.
• If you are pregnant, you should be tested for HIV so that you can begin treatment if you’re HIV-positive. If an HIV-positive woman is treated for HIV early in her pregnancy, the risk of transmitting HIV to her baby can be very low.

Use the HIV Services Locator to find an HIV testing site near you.

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, or your health care provider may be able to order one for you. Some health departments or community-based organizations also provide self-test kits for free.

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Case Definition For Epidemiological Surveillance

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, a team led by Robert Shafer at Stanford University School of Medicine has discovered that the gray mouse lemur has an endogenouslentivirus in its genetic makeup. This suggests that lentiviruses have existed for at least 14 million years, much longer than the currently known existence of HIV. In addition, the time frame falls in the period when Madagascar was still connected to what is now the African continent the said lemurs later developed immunity to the virus strain and survived an era when the lentivirus was widespread among other mammals. The study is being hailed as crucial, because it fills the blanks in the origin of the virus, as well as in its evolution, and may be important in the development of new antiviral drugs.

In 2010, researchers reported that SIV had infected monkeys in Bioko for at least 32,000 years. Previous to this time, it was thought that SIV infection in monkeys had happened over the past few hundred years. Scientists estimated that it would take a similar amount of time before humans adapted naturally to HIV infection in the way monkeys in Africa have adapted to SIV and not suffer any harm from the infection.

Second Stage: Clinical Latency Symptoms

After your immune system loses the battle with HIV, the flu-like symptoms will go away. But thereâs a lot going on inside your body. Doctors call this the asymptomatic period or chronic HIV infection.

In your body, cells called CD4 T cells coordinate your immune systemâs response. During this stage, untreated HIV will kill CD4 cells and destroy your immune system. Your doctor can check how many of these cells you have with blood tests. Without treatment, the number of CD4 cells will drop, and youâll be more likely to get other infections.

Most people don’t have symptoms they can see or feel. You may not realize that you’re infected and can pass HIV on to others.

If youâre taking ART, you might stay in this phase for decades. You can pass the virus on to other people, but itâs extremely rare if you take your medicines.

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How Do I Protect Myself From Hiv

There are a number of ways you can protect yourself from HIV, including:

• using a condom every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex
• in some countries PrEP is available. This is a course of HIV drugs which if taken consistently as advised by your healthcare professional prevents HIV infection through sex
• avoiding sharing needles, syringes and other injecting equipment
• taking HIV treatment if you are a new or expectant mother living with HIV, as this will dramatically reduce the risk of passing HIV to your baby during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding
• asking your healthcare professional if the blood product you are receiving has been tested for HIV
• taking precautions if you are a healthcare worker, such as wearing protection , washing hands after contact with blood and other bodily fluids, and safely disposing of sharp equipment
• if you think you have been exposed to HIV you may be able to access PEP, a 4-week course of ARV drugs taken after possible HIV exposure to prevent HIV infection. You must start PEP within 72 hours of possible exposure to be effective.

For more detailed information on how to prevent HIV infection visit the relevant page from the listed below:

Swollen Lymph Node Treatment And Home Remedies

If your swollen lymph nodes arenât caused by something serious, they will go away on their own. A few things may help with any discomfort while you wait for it to run its course:

• Warm compress. A washcloth rinsed in hot water and placed on the area that hurts may help ease pain.

• Rest. Getting good rest can help you get over a mild illness faster.

• Over-the-counter pain relievers: Acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen may make you feel better.

If something more serious is causing the swelling, treatment can include:

• Antibiotics for an infection caused by bacteria

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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.

When To See A Doctor For Swollen Lymph Nodes

In most cases, swollen glands return to normal size after the illness or infection has passed. But here are some things to watch for:

• Glands that swelled up very suddenly

• Glands that are much larger than they should be, not just mildly swollen

• Glands that feel hard or don’t move when you push on them

• Glands that stay swollen for more than 5 days in children or 2 to 4 weeks in adults

• The area around the glands turns red or purple, it feels warm or you see pus

• Swelling in your arm or groin

• Sudden weight loss

If you notice any of these, see your doctor.

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We Know That Men Who Have Sex With Men In Illinois Are At Higher Risk For Hiv What About Women Who Have Sex With Women

It is not a personâs gender, sexual orientation, race or class that puts them at risk for HIV. People are at risk for HIV when they practice risky behaviors. Women who identify as lesbian or gay can be at risk for HIV by practicing any of the behaviors that place women at risk. Lesbian women have become infected with HIV by using injection drugs or having unprotected sex with male or female partners who are already infected with HIV. Women who have sex with other women should follow guidelines in this fact sheet to protect themselves, and can call the Illinois AIDS/HIV/STD Hotline at 800-243-AIDS for specific information.