How Does Hiv Turn Into Aids

Stage : Chronic Hiv Infection

In stage 2 of HIV, the virus is still present and growing, but at a slower rate than in stage 1. Its common for people to experience no symptoms in this stage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stage 2 can last almost 10 years without receiving the appropriate HIV treatment, although, for some, it may progress quicker .

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Are Hiv And Aids The Same Thing

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. In the United States, at present, its not as common for people with HIV to develop AIDS because of the developments seen in HIV treatment: ART.

Early treatment and detection are crucial when it comes to stopping the progress of HIV. This means that knowing the early signs and symptoms of HIV as well as regularly checking your sexual health is key to knowing your HIV status.

If the HIV infection is not detected and progresses into stage 3 , the bodys immune system will begin to deteriorate and the individual will be at risk of experiencing severe illnesses. Although there is no specific test used to diagnose AIDS, a doctor is likely to take into account the individuals symptoms as well as the viral load and CD4 count .

When Does Hiv Turn Into Full

Without medication, HIV turns into full-blown AIDS approximately 10 years after initial infection with the HIV virus. According to AIDS.gov, those who take medication to help their body fight the HIV virus may not progress past the clinical latency stage of infection for several decades. During this period, the HIV virus produces no symptoms, but the virus continues to reproduce at very low levels, destroying the body’s immune system.

AIDS.gov details the three distinct stages of HIV infection: acute infection, clinical latency and AIDS. Undergoing medical treatments and following a healthy lifestyle are the two most effective ways to prevent the HIV virus from advancing to AIDS. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explains that medication works by reducing the amount of the virus present in the body. Medications also work to preserve T-cells in the blood and keep the immune system operating properly. The Mayo Clinic cautions that patients need to take special care when attempting to treat the HIV virus in conjunction with other medical issues. As the antiviral drugs many patients take do not interact well with other medications, it is often challenging to find the right mix of medications for HIV-positive individuals.

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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

Why Do Some People With Hiv Infection Develop Aids

Over time, untreated HIV infection damages the immune system and makes it more difficult to fight infections and cancers.

Before there were effective treatments for HIV infection, all infected people went on to develop AIDS within about 10 years. Today, people with HIV who take effective treatment are unlikely to develop AIDS and will have a near-normal life expectancy. This is because these medicines keep the amount of virus in their blood under control and protect the immune system.

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Which Is Worse Hiv Or Aids

AIDS is the last and most advanced stage of HIV. A person is considered to have progressed into AIDS when the following occurs:

• CD4 cell count drops below 200
• Develop one or more opportunistic infections

AIDS is characterized by the occurrence of severe illnesses, referred to as opportunistic infections. These infections tend to occur more often in those with AIDS and affect people with weakened immune systems more severely than people with healthy immune systems. Some of the most common opportunistic infections include:

• Herpes simplex virus
• Thrush
• Toxoplasmosis

If you are experiencing symptoms of early-stage HIV and believe you may have been exposed to the virus, its important to find out more. This can be done by taking a test with your doctor or from home with an at-home lab test.

LetsGetCheckeds at-home HIV Test involves a simple finger prick sample with online results available within 2-5 days. Our dedicated medical team will be available throughout the process to offer a helping hand should you need it.

You consider taking a test if:

• You should also consider getting tested if:
• You become sexually active
• You have had unprotected sex
• You are experiencing symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection
• You are entering into a new sexual relationship
• You have received a notification from a previous partner that they are infected

Stage : Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

This stage is widely known to be the most serious of the three. The immune system of those with AIDs becomes completely weakened, and they become at risk of experiencing a number of illnesses referred to as opportunistic infections – although these arent as common now with the advancement in medical treatments surrounding HIV and AIDs .

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How Is Hiv Diagnosed

Your doctor or sexual health clinic can order a blood test for HIV. They may also use a rapid test in the office that can provide a result within 30 minutes, but this will always need to be confirmed by laboratory tests.

Whatever type of test you have, it can take up to 24 days and sometimes longer after exposure for blood to show positive for infection with HIV. This is known as the window period. This means that you could have a negative test when you actually have an HIV infection. This is known as a false negative. So you may need more than one test over time to know for sure if you do or do not have HIV.

It is important to use safe sex and safe injecting practices while waiting for the test results. Maintaining these practices after testing, even if you get a negative result, will reduce your risk of future exposure and infection.

Can You Prevent Hiv

Practicing sexual abstinence and avoiding high-risk behavior are is the only sure-fire ways to maximally reduce risk or to prevent contracting HIV. If you are going to have sex, use a condom every time . Limit the number of sexual partners you have to decrease your risk of exposure. You are less likely to be infected with HIV from having oral sex than from having vaginal sex or anal sex. If you are at very high risk of contracting HIV, ask your doctor about medications that may substantially reduce your risk of getting the virus. If you engage in high-risk behavior, prophylactic medication is available to decrease the risk of contracting HIV. If you do inject drugs, always use clean, sterile needles. Avoid sharing needles. People at risk for getting HIV should be tested at least once per year, maybe even more frequently.

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Hiv Testing And Your Rights

Testing for HIV is voluntary and can only be done with your informed consent, except in exceptional circumstances.

Before you are tested, you will be provided with information about what is involved. what the results might mean for you, and how to prevent HIV transmission in the future. All people who request an HIV test must receive this information from the test provider.

Under Australian and Victorian law, it is unlawful to discriminate against anyone who has HIV. Test results, and details on whether someone has been tested are strictly confidential. It is illegal for any information about a person being tested or a person with HIV to be disclosed without their permission.

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How Are Hepatitis B And Hepatitis C Spread From Person To Person

Like HIV, the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses spread:

• From mother to child: Pregnant women can pass these infections to their infants. HIV-HCV coinfection increases the risk of passing on hepatitis C to the baby.
• Sexually: Both viruses can also be transmitted sexually, but HBV is much more likely than HCV to be transmitted sexually. Sexual transmission of HCV is most likely to happen among gay and bisexual men who are living with HIV.

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Is There A Vaccine For Hiv

Currently, there are no vaccines to prevent or treat HIV. Research and testing on experimental vaccines are ongoing, but none are close to being approved for general use.

HIV is a complicated virus. It mutates rapidly and is often able to fend off immune system responses. Only a small number of people who have HIV develop broadly neutralizing antibodies, the kind of antibodies that can respond to a range of HIV strains.

The first HIV vaccine efficacy study in 7 years was underway in South Africa in 2016. The experimental vaccine is an updated version of one used in a 2009 trial that took place in Thailand.

A 3.5-year follow-up after vaccination showed the vaccine was 31.2 percent effective in preventing HIV transmission.

The study involves 5,400 men and women from South Africa. In 2016 in South Africa, about contracted HIV. The results of the study are expected in 2021.

Other late-stage, multinational vaccine clinical trials are also currently underway.

Other research into an HIV vaccine is also ongoing.

While theres still no vaccine to prevent HIV, people with HIV can benefit from other vaccines to prevent HIV-related illnesses. Here are the CDC recommendations:

• pneumonia:

How Do I Avoid Passing Hiv On To Someone Else

If you are infected with HIV, the best way to prevent spreading HIV infection to others is to:

• take your medication as prescribed there is a very low risk of passing on HIV if your own infection is under control
• use condoms and a water-based lubricant for anal and vaginal sex
• never share needles, syringes and other injecting equipment

If you have HIV infection, you are expected to notify anyone who is at risk of exposure from you:

• Tell people you have had sex or taken drugs with. Your doctor can help you decide who may be at risk and help you to contact them either personally or anonymously.
• Tell anyone you intend to have sex with about your HIV status . This is required by law in some states.

If you are pregnant, talk to your doctor about starting antiretroviral treatment to prevent the infection passing to the baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Read more about HIV and pregnancy.

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Causes Of Hiv Infection

HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person. This includes semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood and breast milk.

It’s a fragile virus and does not survive outside the body for long.

HIV cannot be transmitted through sweat, urine or saliva.

The most common way of getting HIV in the UK is through having anal or vaginal sex without a condom.

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.

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.

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Keep Taking Your Hiv Medication To Stay Undetectable

HIV is still in your body when your viral load is suppressed, even when it is undetectable. So, you need to keep taking your HIV medication daily as prescribed. When your viral load stays undetectable, you have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex. If you stop taking HIV medication, your viral load will quickly go back up.

If you have stopped taking your HIV medication or are having trouble taking all the doses as prescribed, talk to your health care provider as soon as possible. Your provider can help you get back on track and discuss the best strategies to prevent transmitting HIV through sex while you get your viral load undetectable again.

Letting Partners Know You Have Hiv

If you have just been diagnosed with HIV, it will likely be a difficult time. You might still be struggling to come to terms with diagnosis.

During this time, it is important to let any sexual or injecting partners know they may have been exposed to HIV as soon as you can, so they can be tested and offered PEP if appropriate.

You do not have to do this alone. Your doctor or the Department of Health and Human Services Partner Notification Officers can help you through this process and ensure your identity is not revealed.. Both groups can provide information, support, and guidance for people living with HIV.

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How Does Hiv Spread

HIV spreads when infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids enter the body. Because symptoms can be mild at first, people with HIV might not know they’re infected. They can spread HIV to others without knowing it.

HIV can spread:

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

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

HIV does not spread through:

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

Side Effects Of Hiv Treatment

People on current HIV treatments may experience mild side effects including:

• tiredness and fatigue
• skin rashes.

If you are on treatment, see your doctor every 3 to 6 months.

Regular blood tests are necessary to make sure your treatment is working and not causing serious side effects. It is recommended that you also get tested for STIs and talk to your doctor about your sexual health and overall wellbeing. Ensure you are having routine screening for cancers and keeping your vaccinations up to date.

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Whats The Difference Between Hiv And Aids

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. And people with HIV do not always have AIDS.

HIV is the virus thats passed from person to person. Over time, HIV destroys an important kind of the cell in your immune system that helps protect you from infections. When you dont have enough of these CD4 cells, your body cant fight off infections the way it normally can.

AIDS is the disease caused by the damage that HIV does to your immune system. You have AIDS when you get dangerous infections or have a super low number of CD4 cells. AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV, and it leads to death over time.

Without treatment, it usually takes about 10 years for someone with HIV to develop AIDS. Treatment slows down the damage the virus causes and can help people stay healthy for several decades.

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