How Long Hiv To Aids

Who Is At Risk For Hiv Infection

Anyone can get HIV, but certain groups have a higher risk of getting it:

• People who have another sexually transmitted disease . Having an STD can increase your risk of getting or spreading HIV.
• People who inject drugs with shared needles
• Gay and bisexual men, especially those who are Black/African American or Hispanic/Latino American
• People who engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as not using condoms

Stage : Acute Hiv Infection

Within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, about two-thirds of people will have a flu-like illness. This is the bodys natural response to HIV infection.

Flu-like symptoms can include:

• Swollen lymph nodes
• Mouth ulcers

These symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. But some people do not have any symptoms at all during this early stage of HIV.

Dont assume you have HIV just because you have any of these symptomsthey can be similar to those caused by other illnesses. But if you think you may have been exposed to HIV, get an HIV test.

Heres what to do:

Stage : Chronic Hiv Infection

After the acute stage has ended and if the person has not received treatment the virus remains active, reproducing at very low levels but continuing to damage immune cells.

At this stage, there are usually no symptoms or very mild ones. This is why doctors sometimes call stage 2 asymptomatic HIV infection or clinical latency. The virus can still pass to others during this stage, even if it causes no symptoms.

Without treatment, this stage can last for 10 years or more before the person develops stage 3 HIV.

However, modern antiretroviral medications can stop the infection from progressing. These drugs greatly reduce the amount of HIV in the body, the viral load, to very low levels.

When the viral load is so low that tests cannot detect it, HIV can no longer damage the immune system or transmit to other people. Some people refer to this as undetectable equals untransmittable or U=U.

A person with stage 2 HIV who takes effective antiretroviral therapy may never develop stage 3 HIV.

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When And Who Should Get Tested

The CDC recommends that anyone between ages 13 and 64 should have them tested for the infection. It is important to undergo a repeat test if you have changed your sexual partner. In most cases, you should have your HIV test after 3 months of engaging in sexual activity with a new partner. Some people are at high risk for contracting the virus this is true for IV drug users, homosexual males, and those who change sex partners often. For them, it is important to go for HIV testing every 6-12 months.

Your body may have enough antibodies after 3 months of becoming infected some people may have those antibodies within 20 days of becoming infected. Therefore, it is a good idea to go for testing every six months, especially if you have had unprotected oral, anal, or vaginal sex with a different partner during this time. To get tested, you can go to your local health department, doctor’s office, or hospital. Nowadays, special sites are set up to help you with HIV testing these testing sites keep your data private and share it only with medical experts authorized to see your record.

Risk of HIV

It is worth mentioning that certain factors put you at an increased risk of becoming infected. For instance, you are likely to contract the HIV virus if:

You should talk to your healthcare provider to get more information regarding how long can HIV go undetected and how often you should go for HIV testing.

The Link Between Hiv And Siv

HIV is a type of lentivirus, which means it attacks the immune system. In a similar way, the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus attacks the immune systems of monkeys and apes.1

Research found that HIV is related to SIV and there are many similarities between the two viruses. HIV-1 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in chimpanzees, and HIV-2 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in sooty mangabeys.2

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Treatment Of Acute Hiv Infection

Acute HIV infection is treated with antiretroviral drugs , which are drugs specially designed to treat retroviruses. People with HIV are prescribed a combination of antiretroviral drugs, which together are known as antiretroviral therapy .

Antiretroviral therapy reduces the amount of virus in the body. It does not cure HIV infection, but, taken correctly, it can slow progression of the condition from one stage to the next. For example, one recent study showed that a person diagnosed at age 20 who has appropriate treatment now has a life expectancy very close to that of a person without HIV.

Antiretroviral therapy should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis. It is very important to take antiretroviral medication correctly. Missing doses or stopping and restarting treatment can lead to drug resistance, which can reduce future treatment options.

Side-effects of ART may lead some people to consider stopping their medication. However, the long-term benefits of ART exceed the difficulties posed by some side-effects. It is very important not to stop taking ART without speaking with a doctor, who may be able to prescribe a more comfortable combination of antiretroviral drugs. More recent developments in ART mean that intolerable side-effects are fewer than in the past.

Side-effects associated with taking antiretroviral drugs include:

• Nausea

• Depression

How Is Hiv/aids Transmitted

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How Does Hiv Turn Into Aids

HIV and AIDS are often used interchangeably. However, the two are very different. HIV is a virus. Without treatment, HIV can destroy the immune system and end with AIDS. AIDS is the last stage of the development of HIV. The three stages of HIV infection are acute HIV infection, clinical latency and AIDS. Though there is no cure for HIV, there are drugs available that can delay or even prevent the progression of HIV to AIDS.

Homeless People And Intravenous Drug Users In New York

A volunteer social worker called Betty Williams, a Quaker who worked with the homeless in New York from the seventies and early eighties onwards, has talked about people at that time whose death would be labelled as “junkie flu” or “the dwindles”. In an interview for the Act Up Oral History Project in 2008, she said: “Of course, the horror stories came, mainly concerning women who were injection-drug users … who had PCP pneumonia , and were told that they just had bronchitis.” She continues: “I actually believe that AIDS kind of existed among this group of people first, because if you look back, there was something called junkie pneumonia, there was something called the dwindles that addicts got, and I think this was another early AIDS population way too helpless to ever do anything for themselves on their own behalf.”

Julia Epstein writes in her book Altered Conditions: Disease, Medicine and Storytelling that: “As we uncover more of the early history of HIV infection, it becomes clear that by at least the 1970s the virus was already making major inroads into the immune systems of a number of diverse populations in the United States and had for some time been causing devastation in several countries in Africa.”

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Multiclass Combination Drugs Or Single

The following combination drugs include both NRTIs and NNRTIs:

• doravirine, lamivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
• efavirenz, lamivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
• efavirenz, lamivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
• · efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
• emtricitabine, rilpivirine, and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate
• emtricitabine, rilpivirine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate

Symfi and Symfi Lo are made up of the same generic medications. However, Symfi Lo contains a smaller dose of efavirenz.

The following combination drugs include NRTIs, an INSTI, and the CYP3A inhibitor cobicistat:

• elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
• elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate

The following combination drugs include at least oneNRTI and an INSTI:

• abacavir, dolutegravir, and lamivudine
• bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate
• dolutegravir and lamivudine

The manufacturer of Biktarvy also refers to it as being built on Descovy, or as bictegravir plus Descovy.

The following combination drug includes an NNRTI and an INSTI:

• dolutegravir and rilpivirine

The following combination drug includes NRTIs,a PI, and the CYP3A inhibitor cobicistat:

• darunavir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate

Many HIV drugs can cause temporary side effects when first used. In general, these effects can include:

• diarrhea
• rash
• vomiting

How Does Hiv Spread

HIV spreads when blood or certain bodily fluids that have high amounts of active virus are exposed to ones bloodstream.

For a person to contract HIV, there must be enough active virus in the fluid that encounters the bloodstream. This can occur through:

• a mucous membrane, or moist skin, such as in the mouth, rectum, penis, or vagina
• a significant opening in the skin
• injection

Transmission of the virus most often happens during anal or vaginal sex, but it can also occur by sharing needles.

Factors that affect the survival of HIV outside the body include:

• Temperature. HIV stays alive and active when kept in the cold but is killed by heat.
• Sunlight. Ultraviolet light in sunshine damages the virus, so its no longer able to reproduce.
• Amount of virus in the fluid. Generally, the higher the level of HIV virus in the fluid, the longer it will take for all of it to become inactive.
• Level of acidity. HIV survives best at a pH around 7 and becomes inactive when the environment is even just a little more or less acidic.
• Environmental humidity. Drying will lower the viral concentration of active virus as well.

When any of these factors arent perfect for HIV in its environment, survival time of the virus goes down.

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Conditions By Which Hiv Can Survive

If HIV were to survive outside of the body for more than a few minutes, it could only do so under these specific environmental conditions:

• Colder temperatures: Temperatures below 39 degrees Fahrenheit are considered ideal for HIV to thrive. By contrast, HIV does not do well at room temperature and continues to decline as it reaches and exceeds body temperature .
• Ideal pH: The ideal pH level for HIV is between 7.0 and 8.0, with an optimal pH of 7.1. Anything above or below these levels is considered unsuitable for survival.
• Dried blood: HIV can survive in dried blood at room temperature for up to six days, although the concentrations of virus in dried blood will invariably be low to negligible.
• No UV exposure: HIV survives longer when is not exposed to ultraviolet radiation. UV light quickly degrades viral DNA as well as the lipids that make up the virus’ shell, rendering it incapable of attaching to and infecting other cells.

Even given these parameters, there has yet to be a documented case of infection by means of a discarded syringe in a public place.

In 2008, the largest retrospective study investigating child needlestick injuries concluded that not one case of HIV occurred following contact with a discarded needle.

Moreover, in 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could only confirm one infection by means of a needlestick injury since 1999, and that case involved a lab researcher who was working with a live HIV culture.

Talk To A Healthcare Provider

Theres no cure for HIV yet, but prescription medications can help slow the progression of the virus. Drugs can also improve HIV symptoms and make living with the condition more comfortable.

This medication list is a brief overview of the types of drugs that are available to treat HIV. Talk to a healthcare provider about all of these options. They can help you determine your best treatment plan.

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Hiv Life Expectancy: How Long Can You Live With Hiv Or Aids

• Tips on improving life expectancy

The most frequently asked question for HIV-positive patients is how long can you live with HIV? Fortunately, the answer is far more promising than it was 20 years ago. Join Flo as we discuss how advancements in medical technology have altered the prognosis for those living with HIV or AIDS.

A national database containing statistics from 25 states shows that the average HIV life expectancy has more than doubled between 1996 and 2005. The bump from 10.5 to 22.5 years after diagnosis can be attributed to vast improvements in drug therapy and related approaches. However, experts still say this is only an average, and plenty of other circumstances must be taken into account regarding HIV life expectancy.

Hiv And Aids Diagnosis

HIV tests check your blood or fluid from your mouth for antibodies that your body makes in response to the virus. You can take them at a doctorâs office, a community health center, a hospital, or at home.

When you have HIV, your doctor will keep an eye on how much of the virus is in your system. You might hear them call it your âviral load.â Two things will tell them if your infection has become AIDS:

• Your CD4 count. A person with a healthy immune system has 500 to 1,600 CD4 cells in a cubic millimeter of their blood. A person with AIDS has fewer than 200. This number is called your âCD4 count.â
• AIDS-defining infections. These are also called opportunistic infections. These generally happen in people who have a CD4 count below 200. Viruses, bacteria, or fungi that donât usually make healthy people sick can cause these infections in someone with HIV or AIDS.

How long it takes HIV to become AIDS is different for everyone. If you donât get treatment, it might take 10 to 15 years. With treatment, you may never have AIDS.

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Lack Of Symptoms In Early Stages

ARS is common once a person has HIV. Still, this isnt the case for everyone. Some people have HIV for years before they know they have it. According to HIV.gov, symptoms of HIV may not appear for a decade or longer. This doesnt mean that cases of HIV without symptoms are less serious. Also, a person who doesnt experience symptoms could still transmit HIV to others.

Symptoms in early HIV tend to appear if the rate of cell destruction is high. Not having symptoms can mean that not as many CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell, are killed early on in the disease. Even though a person has no symptoms, they still have the virus. Thats why regular HIV testing is critical to prevent transmission. Its also important to understand the difference between a CD4 count and a viral load.

How Are Hiv And Aids Treated

Medicines can help people with HIV stay healthy. They can also prevent HIV from progressing to AIDS.

Health care providers prescribe a combination of different medicines for people with HIV and AIDS. They must be taken exactly as prescribed or they wont work. These medicines:

• help keep the number of CD4 cells high
• reduce the viral load of HIV

Regular blood tests will check the number of CD4 cells in the body and the viral load.

If an HIV-positive persons CD4 count gets low, doctors prescribe daily antibiotics. This prevents pneumocystis pneumonia, which happens in people with weakened immune systems.

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How Long Does An Hiv Test Take

Dear Alice,

How long does it take to get results from an HIV test?

â Wondering

Dear Wondering,

Waiting for test results can certainly be stressful â and while the past few decades of research on human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome have made great advances in testing technology, it’s tough to give an exact estimate of how long it takes to get test results. There are many factors to consider, including: the type of HIV test completed, how long it takes for a particular community health center or lab to analyze and report the test result to the patient, and how long someone has waited to get tested after an exposure . Also, sometimes the results must go through a health care provider first, who will then relay them to the patient, which can take more time. The good news is that many testing options are fairly quick. While the most rigorous lab-based tests can take several days to produce a result, some rapid tests can take as little as 20 minutes.

In general, the turn around time for HIV testing depends on the type of testing performed. These tests include:

• NAT: 10 to 33 days after exposure
• Laboratory antigen/antibody test: 18 to 45 days after exposure
• Rapid antigen/antibody test and antibody self-test: 18 to 90 days after exposure

Hereâs hoping you didnât have to wait long to get results from this response!