Treating The Rash At Home
How Is Hiv Diagnosed
An HIV antibody test, either from a blood sample or an oral sample , can tell whether you have been infected. A negative test result means no HIV antibodies were found. This usually means you are not infected. However, if you engaged in behavior that could spread the virus within three months of having the test, antibodies may not be detectable and you should be re-tested. A positive test result means antibodies to HIV were found. This means you are infected with the virus and can pass HIV to others even if you have no symptoms. You are infected for life. Even if you think you have a low risk for HIV infection, consider getting tested whenever you have a regular medical check-up.
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.
Read Also: Is Hiv Testing Included In Std Testing
Ways Hiv Cannot Be Spread
HIV is not spread by:
- Air or water
- Mosquitoes, ticks or other insects
- Saliva, tears, or sweat that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV
- Shaking hands hugging sharing toilets sharing dishes, silverware, or drinking glasses or engaging in closed-mouth or social kissing with a person with HIV
- Drinking fountains
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?
Also Check: What Percentage Of The Population Has Hiv
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
How To Live Healthily With Hiv
Besides the answer to “how does HIV turn into AIDS?” here are also tips about how to live healthily with HIV.
1. Eat a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is the key to boosting your immune system. You need to eat a well-balanced diet that is rich in nutrients. Some good options are whole grains, lean meat, fresh vegetables and fruits.
2. Avoid Wrong Types of Foods
Avoid foods which you are allergic to. In addition, you need to avoid raw sea food, half cooked meat, raw eggs and unpasteurized dairy products. They may cause foodborne illness and the level of severity of consequences is multiplied in HIV patients.
3. Get Vaccinations
Since you are more susceptible to common infections, you should get immunized against them. At the same time, you should avoid vaccines that are made using live viruses which can cause diseases since your immune system is already weakened.
4. Take Care with Pets and Other Animals
Pets and animals may carry parasites that will cause infections in people with HIV. For example, cats carry feces that can cause toxoplasmosis. Always wash your hands after handling animals.
5. Avoid Getting Stressed
If you feel stressed, increase your sleep time, and try stress relieving practices such as breathing exercises. This is because stress lowers the level of immunity in your body, and this can increase your chances of developing AIDS faster.
6. Dont Engage in Risky Sexual Behavior
7. Improve Your Lifestyle
Read Also: Can Hiv Be Cured Early
Taking Hiv Medication To Stay Healthy And Prevent Transmission
If you have HIV, it is important to start treatment with HIV medication as soon as possible after your diagnosis.
If taken every day, exactly as prescribed, HIV medication can reduce the amount of HIV in your blood to a very low level. This is called viral suppression. It is called viral suppression because HIV medication prevents the virus from growing in your body and keeps the virus very low or suppressed. Viral suppression helps keep you healthy and prevents illness.
If your viral load is so low that it doesnt show up in a standard lab test, this is called having an undetectable viral load. People living with HIV can get and keep an undetectable viral load by taking HIV medication every day, exactly as prescribed. Almost everyone who takes HIV medication daily as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load, usually within 6 months after starting treatment.
There are important health benefits to getting the viral load as low as possible. People living with HIV who know their status, take HIV medication daily as prescribed, and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long, healthy lives.
There is also a major prevention benefit. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.
Is There A Period When The Virus Isnt Transmittable
HIV is transmittable soon after its introduced into the body. During this phase, the bloodstream contains higher levels of HIV, which makes it easy to transmit it to others.
Since not everyone has early symptoms of HIV, getting tested is the only way to know if the virus has been contracted. An early diagnosis also allows an HIV-positive person to begin treatment. Proper treatment can eliminate their risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners.
Recommended Reading: Can I Get Hiv From Kissing An Hiv Positive Person
Hiv Treatment As Prevention
Treatment as prevention refers to taking HIV medication to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. It is one of the highly effective options for preventing HIV transmission. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.
TasP works when a person living with HIV takes HIV medication exactly as prescribed and has regular follow-up care, including regular viral load tests to ensure their viral load stays undetectable.
How Do You Know If Your Hiv Medication Is Working
You might not be able to feel it working, but the proof is in the numbers.
In a way, human immunodeficiency virus is a silent disease. It can infect you and replicate in your blood, you might not even feel it. Because of this, a person may not know theyre infected until its too late, and they can pass it on to someone else. The same is true with your HIV medication.
For the most part, you probably wont feel your medicine working. Its not like taking ibuprofen for a headache: You arent trying to relieve or get rid of a symptom. This can make it difficult to gage progress when managing your HIV. Is the medication doing anything? Is your condition under control? Are you at risk of progressing to AIDS?
However, there are a few things that can indicate if your HIV medicine is doing its job.
You May Like: How Does Hiv Aids Spread
What Is Your Chance Of Getting Hiv
While there is no perfect formula for knowing your exact chance of getting HIV, you can estimate your risk by thinking about:
- the types of sex you are having
- if you are sharing drug use equipment
- the number of people you have sex or use drugs with
- how often you are having sex or sharing drug use equipment
- what prevention method you and the people you have sex or take drugs with use and if they are used every time
The highest chance of getting HIV comes from having vaginal or anal sex or sharing injection drug use equipment when no prevention method is used by either partner.
You are most likely to get HIV from someone who has HIV but doesnt know it. This is because when someone doesnt know that they have HIV, they will not be taking treatment to stay healthy and prevent passing HIV to others. The only way for someone to know if they have HIV is to be tested.
If youre at risk of HIV, its important you are prepared to use a prevention method that is right for you!
If youre not sure about your risk of getting HIV, talk to a healthcare worker or someone at your local HIV organization.
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.
Read Also: How Do You Test For Hiv
Third Stage: Aids Symptoms
AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection. This is usually when your CD4 T-cell number drops below 200 and your immune system is badly damaged. You might get an opportunistic infection, an illness that happens more often and is worse in people who have weakened immune systems. Some of these, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia , are also considered âAIDS-defining illnesses.â
If you didn’t know earlier that you were infected with HIV, you may realize it after you have some of these symptoms:
- Being tired all the time
- Swollen lymph nodes in your neck or groin
- Fever that lasts more than 10 days
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.
Read Also: Are Hiv And Aids The Same
How Hiv Is Transmitted
The first step in determining whether you are at risk of HIV is to better understand how the virus is transmitted.
HIV thrives in certain body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. Most people get infected when exposed to HIV through these fluids.
HIV is transmitted through:
HIV can also be passed from mother to child during childbirth, although this is less common in the developed world due to advances in prevention and treatment.
It is important to note that HIV cannot penetrate intact skin. The virus can enter the body either through porous mucosal tissues , through breaks in vulnerable tissues , or directly through the bloodstream.
HIV infection can occur with just one exposure, particularly in high-risk individuals.
By contrast, HIV does not thrive in saliva, urine, tears, or feces and cannot survive in infectious quantities when exposed to air and environmental conditions.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Hiv
No two people with HIV will have the same symptoms, and some may not have any at all. But the infection can cause some common changes over time.
In the first few weeks: These first, flu-like symptoms happen because your body is reacting to HIV. Your immune system is trying to fight it off. The symptoms at this stage can include:
- Rash
- Aches and pains in muscles and joints
Keep in mind that even if you have these symptoms, that doesnât automatically mean you are HIV-positive. Many different illnesses can cause these problems. Talk to a doctor or an HIV testing facility if you think you might be infected.
At this early stage of HIV infection, itâs important to know that you may not get accurate results from an HIV test. It can take 3-12 weeks for enough signs of the virus to show up on routine tests for the infection, which measure antibodies against HIV. A new kind of screening, called a nucleic acid test, can detect the virus itself during this early stage, but itâs expensive and not usually used for routine HIV testing.
Let the testing site or your doctor know if you think you might be recently infected. Also, be sure to use a condom every time you have sex, and take other steps to prevent spreading the virus.
After years with untreated HIV, youâre likely to get infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi that your body is no longer strong enough to fight off. They can be a sign that your infection has gone from HIV to AIDS. You might have:
- Weight loss
You May Like: Can You Get Hiv From Insect Bites
What We Know About Hiv Testing
About 1 in 7 people in the United States who have HIV dont know they have it. Getting an HIV test is the only way to know your HIV status. HIV testing is easier, more available, and more accurate than ever. There are three types of HIV tests available in the United States some can detect HIV sooner than others.
Symptoms Of Swollen Lymph Nodes
The most common signs are:
-
Tenderness or pain in your lymph nodes
-
Swelling that makes your lymph nodes the size of a kidney bean or possibly larger
Because swollen lymph nodes are usually linked to some type of illness, you might also have other symptoms, depending on what that illness is:
-
Runny nose, sore throat, or fever
-
Swelling of clusters of lymph nodes in different places in your body
-
Hard lymph nodes that wonât move or get bigger quickly
Recommended Reading: How Do They Treat Hiv