How Do You Find Out You Have Hiv

What Is Your Chance Of Getting Other Infections

There are other infections besides HIV that can be passed through sex or from sharing equipment for using drugs. Some of the most common sexually transmitted infections are human papillomavirus , herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. You can get hepatitis B through sex and by sharing drug equipment if you havent been vaccinated against it. ;Hepatitis C can also be passed by sharing drug use equipment.; Sexual transmission of hepatitis C is not common, but it is possible under certain circumstances.

Some HIV prevention methods only help to prevent HIV, and some also help to prevent STIs and other infections. If you are concerned about getting an STI or other infection, you may want to use a method that helps to prevent both HIV and other infections.

STIs and other infections often do not have symptoms, so the only way to know if you have them is to get tested. Some infections, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and hepatitis C, can be cured, while others, such as hepatitis B and herpes, cant be cured but they can be treated.

How Soon After Exposure To Hiv Can An Hiv Test Detect If You Are Infected

No HIV test can detect HIV immediately after infection. If you think youve been exposed to HIV, in the last 72 hours, talk to your health care provider about;post-exposure prophylaxis , right away.

The time between when a person gets HIV and when a test can accurately detect it is called the window period. The window period varies from person to person and also depends upon the type of HIV test.

How Can I Know If I Have Hiv

The only way to know if you have HIV is to take an HIV test. Many medical groups recommend routine voluntary HIV screening of all patients aged 18 to 75 years of age as a normal part of medical care. The reason for this is that nearly one out of seven people infected with HIV are not aware that they have the infection.

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How Are Hiv And Aids Diagnosed

A doctor may suspect HIV if symptoms last and no other cause can be found.

If you have been exposed to HIV, your immune system will make antibodies to try to destroy the virus. Doctors use tests to find these HIV antibodies or antigens in urine, saliva, or blood.

A diagnosis of HIV infection is not made until a positive ELISA test is confirmed by a positive test to detect HIV DNA or RNA. A PCR test can do this.

HIV antibodies or antigens usually show up in the blood within 3 months. If you think you have been exposed to HIV but you test negative for it:

• Get tested again. A repeat test may be done after a few weeks to be sure you are not infected.
• Meanwhile, take steps to prevent the spread of the virus, in case you do have it.
• Avoid sexual contact with others. If you do have sex, practice safer sex.
• Do not share needles, syringes, cookers, cotton, cocaine spoons, or eyedroppers.

Getting tested and home test kits

You can get HIV testing in most doctors’ offices, public health clinics, hospitals, and Planned Parenthood clinics.

A home test kit for HIV has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration . For the test, you rub your gums with a swab supplied by the kit. Then you place the swab into a vial of liquid. The test strip on the swab indicates if you have HIV or not.

If the results from a home test kit show that you have an HIV infection, talk with a doctor.

Tests after a positive result

• Syphilis.
• Hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
• Tuberculosis .

How Can You Get Hiv

HIV is found in the following bodily fluids of someone living with the virus:

• blood
• vaginal fluids
• breastmilk.

For you to get HIV, these bodily fluids need to get into your blood through a mucous membrane , via shared injecting equipment, or through broken;skin .

There is not enough HIV virus in other bodily fluids, like saliva, sweat or urine, to transmit it from one person to another.

Someone living with HIV who has;an undetectable viral load,;meaning effective treatment has lowered the amount of virus in their blood to levels where it cannot be detected by a normal blood test, cannot pass on HIV.

A person living with HIV with a detectable viral load can;pass the virus to others whether they have symptoms or not.

HIV is most infectious;in the first few weeks after infection.;At this time many;people are unaware of their status.

The main ways you can get HIV are:

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Aids Is The Final Stage

Controlling HIV with medications is crucial to both maintaining quality of life and helping prevent progression of the disease. Stage 3 HIV, also known as AIDS, develops when HIV has significantly weakened the immune system.

According to the CDC National Prevention Information Network, CD4 levels give one indication that HIV has progressed to its final stage. CD4 levels decreasing below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood is considered a sign of AIDS. A normal range is considered 500 to 1,600 cells/mm3.

AIDS can be diagnosed with a blood test to measure CD4. Sometimes its also determined simply by a persons overall health. In particular, an infection thats rare in people who dont have HIV may indicate AIDS. Symptoms of AIDS include:

• persistent high fevers of over 100°F
• pneumonia

AIDS is the final stage of HIV. According to AIDSinfo, it takes at least 10 years without treatment for most people with HIV to develop AIDS.

At that point, the body is susceptible to a wide range of infections and cant effectively fight them off. Medical intervention is necessary to treat AIDS-related illnesses or complications that can otherwise be fatal. Without treatments, the CDC estimates the average survival rate to be three years once AIDS is diagnosed. Depending on the severity of their condition, a persons outlook may be significantly shorter.

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?

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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:

Does Hiv Always Show Up On Testing

No, if someone was recently infected, it might not show up with testing. How quickly HIV shows up on testing depends on the type of test done:

• Testing that looks for the virus itself can find HIV 728 days after infection.
• Testing that looks for HIV antibodies can find HIV antibodies 312 weeks after infection.

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What You Can Do

Get tested for HIV. CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care. People with certain risk factors should get tested at least once a year.

If you were HIV-negative the last time you were tested and answer yes to any of the following questions, you should get an HIV test because these things inc rease your chances of getting HIV.

• Are you a man who has had sex with another man?
• Have you had sex —anal or vaginal— with a partner who has HIV?
• Have you had more than one sex partner since your last HIV test?
• Do you have another sexually transmitted disease ?
• Do you have hepatitis or tuberculosis ?
• Have you had sex with someone who could answer yes to any of these questions or someone whose sexual history you dont know?

You should be tested at least once a year if you answered yes to any of these questions. Sexually active gay and bisexual men may benefit from more frequent testing , depending on their risk.

If you think youve recently been exposed to HIV during sex or through sharing needles, syringes, or other injection equipment , talk to your health care provider or an emergency room doctor right away about taking post-exposure prophylaxis . You must start PEP within 72 hours of a possible exposure, but the sooner you start PEP, the better.

Also, anyone who has been sexually assaulted should get an HIV test as soon as possible after the assault.

What Are The Tests For Detecting Hiv

Various tests may be used for HIV detection:

• HIV antibody test: This test detects the antibodies produced in the body in response to HIV.
• Antigen test: This test can be done at an earlier stage than an HIV antibody test. It measures a protein called p24 antigen, present in the virus and produced in high amounts after the infection.
• Nucleic acid test : It is also called an RNA test. It is a very specific test that looks for the virus itself and can detect HIV as early as about 10 days of infections.
• In-home test kits: Although less accurate than the laboratory-based tests, home-based kits have the advantage of testing in the privacy and comfort of the home. Only FDA approved home-based kits should be used.
• Viral culture: This involves using the patients sample and growing the virus in the lab. It takes longer to get the results and is not the most preferred test for HIV.

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How Do Hiv Tests Work

When you get HIV, your immune system makes antibodies that try to fight off the infection. The most common type of HIV test looks for these antibodies in your blood or cells from your cheek.

It usually takes about 3 months for your body to make enough antibodies to show up on an HIV test, but it could be even longer. This time after you first get infected but wont test positive for HIV is called the window period. If you get tested during this time, you can get a negative result even if you do actually have HIV. You also have the biggest chance of giving HIV to other people during the window period.

Is It Safe To Get Vaccinated If You Have A Weakened Immune System Because Of For Instance Hiv Or Cancer

Its perfectly safe. And it is critically important that individuals who are immunocompromised get vaccinated that is, if you have cancer or HIV, or if youre on chemotherapy, or you have a lymphoma, all of those conditions.

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What happens in those individuals is that if they are very severely immunocompromised, we find that they dont respond well to the first dose of the vaccine. But they tend to respond well when they get a booster dose so they have a slightly delayed response.;

And when they are very severely immunocompromised, sometimes they even need a third dose.;

I would say that every person who is immunocompromised should be scheduling themselves to get vaccinated as soon as possible. They should get fully vaccinated, so with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine .

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Symptom : Night Sweats

Many people will get night sweats during the early stages of HIV. These can be even more common later in infection and arent related to exercise or the temperature of the room.

With such a vast array of symptoms, HIV testing is vital to ensure a proper diagnosis. If you think youve been exposed to HIV, or have an active sex life with casual sex partners, regardless of whether you are showing symptoms of HIV or not, its important to get tested as soon as possible.

If youre in Sydney, you can get a rapid HIV test and STI check-up at a.;If youre not in Sydney, you can still get a rapid HIV test and STI check-up using our;where to get tested tool here.

Is It Safe For Children With Hiv To Receive Routine Immunizations

• MMR, or measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, is safe to give to children with HIV, unless they have a severely weakened immune system.

• DTaP/Td vaccine is safe to give to infants and children with HIV.

• Hib and Hep B vaccines are safe to give to children with HIV.

• Hepatitis A and B vaccines are safe to give to HIV-positive children.

• VZIG should be considered for known HIV-positive children, depending on their immune status.

• A yearly influenza vaccine is recommended for children with HIV, as well as any individual living in the same household as a child with HIV. There are two types of influenza vaccine; children and adults with HIV should receive the “shot” form of the vaccine–not the nasal spray form, as it contains a live virus.;Pneumococcal vaccine can be safely administered to age-appropriate HIV-infected children.

Always consult with your child’s;doctor regarding immunizations for an HIV-infected child.

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What Is The Difference Between Hiv And Aids

The term AIDS refers to the most advanced stages of HIV infection. Most of the conditions affecting people with AIDS are opportunistic infections that generally do not affect healthy people. In people with AIDS, these infections are often severe and sometimes fatal because the immune system is so ravaged by HIV that the body cannot fight off the infection. Symptoms of opportunistic infections common in people with AIDS include:

• coughing and shortness of breath
• seizures and lack of coordination
• difficult or painful swallowing
• severe headaches
• coma

People with AIDS also are particularly prone to developing various cancers. These cancers are usually more aggressive and difficult to treat in people with AIDS.

Will The Doctor Call You If Your Hiv Test Result Is Positive

How HIV test results are handled varies from doctor to doctor, and from office to office. Most doctors will be unwilling to share or discuss HIV test results on the phone — whether the result is negative or positive.

If your test does show that you have HIV, the doctor is likely to be keen to ensure that you receive the result. As it is a serious medical condition, it would be important that you receive the information. So you might be asked to come into the office or to make an appointment, to discuss your test results.

But that doesn’t mean that anyone who is asked to come in for follow-up is going to get an HIV positive result. There are SO MANY other possible reasons why your doctor might want to talk to you.

• Most doctors prefer to only give HIV test results face-to-face, whether the result is negative or positive.
• It is good practice to ensure that all people taking an HIV test get their results, whether the result is negative or positive.
• There may have been a technical problem with the test and they may need to take another sample to test again.
• You were probably tested for several other things at the same time as HIV. The results of these tests may need to be discussed.

Some services do provide HIV test results over the phone, but this will usually have been arranged and discussed at the time of taking the test.

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What Is Usually The First Sign Of Hiv

The initial presentation of an HIV infection is a flu-like illness which includes:

• Rash
• Swollen lymph nodes: Lymph nodes are a part of the bodys immune system that helps get rid of bacteria and viruses. An HIV infection, like many other infections, can cause the inflammation of lymph nodes, which can be felt as round or nodular swellings in the armpit, groin, and neck. The swelling is often associated with aches and pains in these areas.