How Would You Know If You Got Hiv

How Do The Tests Work

Most HIV tests use a blood sample, either from a blood draw or finger prick. Others use saliva , but this is a little less accurate than blood tests.

Some HIV tests look for the virus itself. But most look for the antibodies for HIV. Antibodies are part of the immune system and fight infections. When someone is infected with HIV, the body creates antibodies to fight HIV.

Testing results may be available that day or can take longer come back.

What We Know About The Types Of Hiv Tests

HIV tests are very accurate, but no HIV test can detect HIV immediately after a person gets the virus. Some kinds of tests detect HIV sooner than others. In general, nucleic acid tests can detect HIV the soonest, followed by antigen/antibody tests, and then antibody tests.

Most rapid tests and self-tests are antibody tests. Your immune system makes antibodies when youre exposed to bacteria or viruses like HIV. Antibody tests look for these antibodies in your blood or oral fluid. In general, antibody tests that use blood from a vein can detect HIV slightly sooner after infection than tests done with blood from a finger prick or with oral fluid.

More Information With a rapid antibody screening test, results are ready in 30 minutes or less.

More Information

A self-test is an antibody test you can buy at a pharmacy or online. There is currently one available FDA-approved self-test, the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test.

The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test gives fast results at home. You have to swab your mouth to get an oral fluid sample and use a kit to test it. Results are ready in 20 minutes. If the test says you have HIV, you should go to a health care provider to get follow-up testing. The manufacturer provides confidential counseling and refers you to follow-up testing sites.

Can You Still Live A Healthy Life With Hiv

Thanks to advances in research and medicine, medication is available that allows you to manage an HIV diagnosis on a daily basis.

“Antiretroviral medicines come in the form of daily tablets that work by stopping the virus from replicating inside your body. This allows your immune system to repair itself and prevent further damage. That said, HIV can easily become resistant to a single form of medication, which is why most HIV-positive people take a combination of medications,” says Dr Dutt.

Without treatment, your immune system can become extremely damaged. This makes you more susceptible to life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer and other severe infections.

“However, someone with HIV who is taking effective treatment can definitely live a healthy life,” Dr Dutt says.

“The goal of medication is to get the level of the virus in your body so low that it’s undetectable by a test. With effective treatment, you will also significantly reduce your risk of passing HIV on to others.”

In fact, if your virus levels are undetectable on treatment, there is no risk of passing on the virus through sex – as the undetectable = untransmittable campaign has sought to highlight.

HIV is a long-term illness and it can affect your life. Dr Dutt explains how those with HIV cannot donate blood or organs, join the armed forces, or visit certain countries. You may also struggle getting life insurance to cover a mortgage loan .

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Herpes Might Not Have Any Symptoms

You or your partner may not have any herpes symptoms that you can see or feel, or the signs of herpes may be so mild you dont even notice them. Sometimes people confuse herpes symptoms with other things, like pimples, ingrown hairs, and the flu.

Herpes symptoms come and go, but that doesnt mean the infection goes away or that you cant spread it to other people. Once you have herpes, it stays in your body for life.

Where Can You Find Support As You Manage A Long

Being diagnosed with HIV can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression, as it can be very difficult news to take in. There is still a lot of shame and stigma surrounding HIV. Stereotypes from the 1980s about HIV and AIDS being a death sentence often prevent people from getting tested our of fear. Depression is actually twice as common in people with HIV however, help is available and you don’t have to face this by yourself.

Counselling and psychotherapy can help you to understand underlying issues and make longer-term changes to shift your perspective on life. Your GP will be able to help you find a trained counsellor or psychologist to talk to. You may also benefit from antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication, which your doctor can prescribe.

Alternatively, there are specialist helplines designed to help people with HIV.

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Unlikely Modes Of Transmission

• Night sweats
• Genital, anal, or mouth ulcers

This range of symptoms, typically referred to as acute retroviral syndrome , generally begin within five days of exposure and usually last for around 14 days .

If you have had a recent exposureâsuch as unprotected sex with a partner of unknown statusâthese early signs and symptoms strongly suggest the need for immediate HIV testing.

With that said, not everyone experiences ARS in the same way. The symptoms are non-specific and often mild and are sometimes attributed to other conditions, such as the common cold or simple exhaustion.

According to a 2016 review in Emerging Infectious Diseases, as many as 43% of acute HIV infections are entirely asymptomatic .

Less commonly, some people may develop atypical symptoms of HIV soon after exposure, some of which may be serious. These include tonsillitis, meningitis, herpes zoster , gastric bleeding, and esophageal thrush.

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

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Will Treating Stds Prevent Me From Getting Hiv

No. Its not enough.

If you get treated for an STD, this will help to prevent its complications, and prevent spreading STDs to your sex partners. Treatment for an STD other than HIV does not prevent the spread of HIV.

If you are diagnosed with an STD, talk to your doctor about ways to protect yourself and your partner from getting reinfected with the same STD, or getting HIV.

What To Do If Emotions Get High

Try to stay calm and answer any questions they have. Most guys will be totally cool when it comes to finding out they may have been exposed to an STI while hooking up, but if you do find your partner has a negative reaction, try not to take it personally. Its important to remember that you are doing the responsible thing and sometimes people need time to process information.

Ultimately, how a person deals with the news is up to them, but hopefully, you may find that guys will more often than not react positively than negatively.

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Hiv: A Brief Overview

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is a sexually transmitted virus that spreads through exposure to certain body fluidsâlike genital secretions or blood. HIV transmission can also occur from a mother to a child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

HIV attacks and impairs the bodyâs immune cells, which weakens the immune system and can eventually progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome if it isnât treated. AIDS can be a life-threatening condition, particularly if HIV treatment is not initiated promptly, which is why HIV testing is crucial for protecting your health.

Learn more: What is the difference between HIV and AIDs?

More Questions From Patients:

The most common symptom of genital herpes in men is a cluster of blistery sores usually on your penis or anus. Symptoms may last up to a few weeks and go away. They may return in weeks, months, or years.

Many people with genital herpes have no symptoms, or have very mild symptoms that go unnoticed.

The first time genital herpes symptoms appear is called the “first episode” or “initial herpes.” Initial herpes symptoms are usually more noticeable than later outbreaks.

Symptoms of genital herpes in men may include

• blistery sores

• burning when you pee if you have sores

• trouble peeing if you have sores covering your urethra

• itching or pain around your genitals

During initial herpes, symptoms may also include

• swollen, tender glands in the pelvic area, throat, or under the arms

• fever

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How Long Does It Take To Show Symptoms Of Hiv

Some people notice flu-like symptoms 1-4 weeks after they’re first infected. They often only last a week or two. This stage is called acute or primary HIV infection.

Then, you may go for 10 years or more without further symptoms. This is called asymptomatic HIV infection. Even though you feel fine, the virus is still active in your body. And you can still give it to someone else.

Once HIV has seriously harmed your immune system, you’re at risk for diseases that a healthy body could fight off. In this stage, symptomatic HIV infection, you start to notice problems caused by those “opportunistic” infections.

If I Already Have Hiv And Then I Get An Std Does That Put My Sex Partner At An Increased Risk For Getting Hiv

It can. If you already have HIV, and then get another STD, it can put your HIV-negative partners at greater risk of getting HIV from you.

Your sex partners are less likely to get HIV from you if you

• Get on and stay on treatment called antiretroviral therapy . Taking HIV medicine as prescribed can make your viral load very low by reducing the amount of virus in your blood and body fluids. HIV medicine can make your viral load so low that a test cant detect it . If your viral load stays undetectable, you have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to HIV-negative partners, even if you have other STDs.
• Choose less risky sex activities.
• Use a new condom, consistently and correctly, for every act of vaginal, anal, and oral sex throughout the entire sex act .

The risk of getting HIV also may be reduced if your partner takes PrEP medications, as prescribed, after discussing this option with his or her healthcare provider and determining whether it is appropriate. When taken as prescribed, PrEP medications are highly effective for preventing HIV from sex. PrEP is much less effective if it is not taken consistently. Since PrEP does not protect against other STDs, use condoms the right way every time you have sex.

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What Can Effective Hiv Treatment Do

HIV medication keeps you healthy so you can live a normal lifespan.

Treatment can also reduce your viral load to undetectable levels so that you wont be able to pass on HIV to anyone else. It can take up to six months from starting treatment to become undetectable, so its important to test and start treatment on time.

Sharing Responsibility For Safer Sex

Talk to your partner before you have sex so that you can share the responsibility for having safer sex. If your partner knows about HIV, it can make it easier to talk about using condoms.

Having HIV shouldnt stop you from having great sex you have as much right to a fulfilling and healthy sex life as anyone else but dont feel that you have to have sex just because your partner wants to. You can decide when youre ready for sex its your choice and no one elses.

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What Should I Do After I Start Pep

You need to see a doctor during the four weeks you are on PEP and again at the end of the four weeks when you are done with the PEP medicines. You will be tested for HIV again after the four weeks. Ask your health care provider for a number to call with questions about your PEP treatment.

While you are on PEP, and after you are done, be sure to protect yourself and others from HIV infection.

Newly Diagnosed With Hiv

What does an HIV diagnosis mean?

• If you receive an HIV diagnosis, it means that you have HIV.
• Unlike some other viruses, the human body cant get rid of HIV completely. Once you have HIV, you have it for life.
• But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. People with HIV who get effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners.

What should I do if I just got diagnosed with HIV?

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The Most Common Symptoms Of Seroconversion Are:

• sore throat
• fever
• rash over the body.

Seroconversion is a sign that the immune system is reacting to the presence of the virus in the body. Its also the point at which the body produces antibodies to HIV. Once seroconversion has happened, an HIV test will detect antibodies and give a positive result.

Seroconversion illness happens to most people shortly after infection. It can be severe enough to put someone in hospital or so mild that its mistaken for something like flu although a blocked or runny nose is not usually a symptom.

If you do have HIV, your body fluids are highly infectious during the early weeks and months after transmission. However, once youre on effective treatment and your viral load becomes undetectable you cannot pass on HIV.

It can take up to six months from starting treatment to become undetectable.

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.

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What Happens If My Test Is Positive

If you test positive for HIV, it is important to remember that with treatment you can live a long, healthy life. In fact, with early treatment, people with HIV can live about as long as people that are not infected.

A team approach will help you get the medical care and support that you need. Start by talking to your doctor or the counselor or social worker at the testing site. He or she can help you with suggestions on how to talk to your parents or guardians and how to find a health care provider who’s an HIV specialist. By starting treatment as soon as possible, you can stay healthy and learn to live well with HIV.

Start Hiv Treatment As Soon As Possible After Diagnosis

• Get in care and take medicine to treat HIV .
• Taking HIV medicine can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood .
• HIV medicine can make the viral load very low . Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.
• HIV medicine can make the viral load so low that a test cant detect it .
• Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load is the best thing you can do to stay healthy. Having an undetectable viral load also helps prevent transmission to others. In fact, if you have an undetectable viral load, you have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex. Most people can get the virus under control within six months.

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Living With Hiv And Aids

The first documented AIDS case in the United States was in 1981 . Since then, about 35 million people in the world have died from illnesses related to the disease. Millions of children have been orphaned because of it.

Now, combination drug treatments have turned HIV into a long-term infection that you can manage, even if HIV has progressed to AIDS. At the end of 2017, about 37 million people in the world were living with HIV, including about 2 million kids. About 22 million of these persons were receiving these life-saving treatments. When you work closely with your doctors and stick to your treatment plan, you can live a long time and expect a near normal life expectancy.

It can take HIV many years to damage your immune system enough to make you vulnerable to certain diseases, such as a form of skin cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma. These other “opportunistic infections” are signs that you have AIDS, since people with healthy immune systems rarely get them. The HIV treatments, if taken early, can prevent progression to AIDS.

Because there are drugs you can take for it, some groups of people believe they don’t have to be worried about HIV anymore, even though they’re more likely to get the virus. But treatments don’t change the fact that HIV is a potentially life-threatening illness.

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