What Is The Diffrence Between Hiv And Aids

Hiv And Aids Prevention

The CDC has set a goal of reducing new HIV infections by 90% by 2030, an objective made difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuing opioid crisis, and continuing gaps in health care for at-risk populations. The ultimate goal of medical researchers, health care workers, and government officials is to end the HIV epidemic by applying a diverse arsenal of preventive measures.

• The most effective methods of preventing HIV infection are abstinence, always using a condom when having sex, and never sharing hypodermic needles.
• Medications that help prevent HIV infection include Truvada and Descovy for pre-exposure prophylaxis , a treatment regimen that is taken daily and intended to prevent HIV infection before potential exposure, and post-exposure prophylaxis , a preventive treatment regimen that must be taken within 72 hours after a possible exposure to HIV.
• Researchers are working on long-acting medications and treatments to prevent HIV infection, including a form of the HIV drug cabotegravir thats injected once every eight weeks.

Other approaches under investigation to prevent HIV and AIDs are monoclonal antibodies that block both HIV and COVID-19 long-acting drugs, such as lenacapavir and HIV treatment regimens that are begun during pregnancy using dolutegravir and efavirenz .

What Is The Difference Between Hiv And Aids

People often confuse HIV and AIDS. Although both weaken the immune system, they arent the same. They have different symptoms and diagnoses. To understand the AIDSHIV difference, youll need to know what they are and how they can affect you.

HIV is a virus that infects only humans. If you contract HIV, the infection can progress into a condition called AIDS. This distinction between the virus and the condition that might or might not develop is the main difference between HIV and AIDS.

What is HIV?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This virus infects the human body and weakens the immune system. Typically, your immune system can fight many different viruses. But HIV attacks your immune cells and prevents them from fighting the infection.

HIV cannot be completely cured. Once you get HIV, it remains for life. However, medications can help control the growth of the virus and help you live a long, healthy life.

What is AIDS?

If the HIV infection is left untreated, it can lead to AIDS. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is also known as stage 3 HIV. It develops when HIV seriously damages the immune system. Its symptoms vary from person to person.

The condition can lead to other opportunistic infections like pneumonia or tuberculosis. These occur when the immune system gets too weak to fight invading germs.

AIDS can be prevented by taking HIV treatment called antiretroviral therapy.

What Are Viral Load Blips

Even if a person is durably undetectable and taking antiretroviral therapy daily as prescribed, they may experience small, transient increases in viral load called blips followed by a decrease back to undetectable levels. Having a blip is relatively common and does not indicate that antiretroviral therapy has failed to control the virus. Scientists are working to better understand what causes blips.

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How An Hiv Infection Develops Into Aids

As Medical News Today explains, a person with HIV who follows an effective treatment regimen is unlikely to have the virus lead to AIDS. However, if HIV is untreated, the persons immune system will continue to be damaged. The more compromised the immune system becomes, the more likely the person will develop an opportunistic infection.

The opportunistic infections that are most likely to affect AIDS patients include the following:

• Invasive cervical cancer, lung cancer, Kaposis sarcoma and other cancers
• Candidiasis, which is a fungal infection that affects the throat and lungs
• Pneumocystis pneumonia, which is a fungal form of pneumonia
• Toxoplasmosis, which is a parasitic infection that affects the brain
• Cryptococcosis, which is a fungal infection that often causes pneumonia

How To Know If You Have Aids

The list of difference between HIV and AIDS is not complete without knowing the symptoms in different stages.

• Stage One occurs 2-6 weeks after HIV exposure. Symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle aches, sore throat, fever, and red non-itchy rash, last 1-2 weeks, and are due to the immune systems initial defense against HIV.
• Stage Two begins after the first symptoms have disappeared and the immune system stops fighting the infection. This phase can last over a decade and not produce any symptoms. However, the HIV is gradually destroying CD4+ T-cells, increasing the risk of other infections.
• Stage Three or AIDS is diagnosed if there are under 200 CD4+ cells/mm3 of blood, or if the patient has an AIDS-defining illness, e.g. Pneumocystis pneumonia or Kaposis sarcoma. Other AIDS symptoms include night sweats, long-term fever, breathlessness, chronic diarrhea, lymph node swelling, weight loss, purple skin patches, bleeding, bruising, and yeast infections.

How Is HIV/ AIDS Transmitted?

The most common ways of acquiring HIV are through:

• Sexual intercourse with an HIV-positive person
• Needle-sharing with infected individuals

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What Are The Treatments For Hiv/aids

There is no cure for HIV infection, but it can be treated with medicines. This is called antiretroviral therapy . ART can make HIV infection a manageable chronic condition. It also reduces the risk of spreading the virus to others.

Most people with HIV live long and healthy lives if they get and stay on ART. It’s also important to take care of yourself. Making sure that you have the support you need, living a healthy lifestyle, and getting regular medical care can help you enjoy a better quality of life.

Surprising Things You May Not Know About Hiv/aids Today

Hallie Levine

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or all the talk of the differences between millennials and preceding generations, theres one difference thatâs based in fact: If you were born after 1980, youve never known a world without HIV and AIDS.

The HIV virus was first discovered by scientists in 1983, after doctors in Los Angeles and New York began reporting rare types of pneumonia and cancer among gay patients they were treating.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , young people between the ages of 13 and 24 today account for just over one in five HIV diagnoses. Over 80% of these cases occur in gay or bisexual males, and over half of them are African-American.

In fact, black, gay and bisexual men in the U.S. have a higher HIV rate than any other country in the world, says Alice Lin FabianoAlice Lin Fabiano,Global Director of Global Community Impact at Johnson & Johnson, Global Director of Global Community Impact, a division of Johnson & Johnson that aims to help change the trajectory of health for the most vulnerable populations in the world through strategic partnerships.

We hope that, with initiatives like these, we can help end HIV/AIDS within a generation, Fabiano says.

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Use Of Online Tools For Hiv And Aids Education

The CDCs HIV/AIDS Prevention Tools page features links to prevention programs available from the agency and from its partners:

• The CDCs Intervention Research page describes evidence-based interventions and replicating effective programs .
• The CDCs Effective Interventions page includes information on diagnosing, treating, responding and preventing HIV infections.
• The CDCs Whats New page links to the latest information on the agencys website relating to preventing HIV and AIDS.

How Is Hiv Detected

Today, HIV can be detected with a number of simple saliva or blood tests. A saliva test looks for antibodies, the natural defense the body puts up to fight the infection. But results typically show up 3 to 12 weeks after exposure a long time to wait for such sensitive news. For a faster turnaround, theres the nucleic acid test , which looks directly at the blood. This test is effective 7 to 28 days after exposure.

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Resources For Educating The Public About Hiv And Aids Intervention Strategies

• CDC, Guidelines and Recommendations The directory covers HIV testing, HIV surveillance, prevention and care, HIV/AIDS program management, and guidelines for preventing new infections.
• CDC, Resources for Persons Living with HIV The guide is available in English and Spanish and includes information for finding and paying for HIV care, travel, housing, employment, and legal issues.
• CAI, National HIV Classroom Learning Center The CDC funds this resource thats intended to help the U.S. achieve the goals of End the Epidemic: A Plan for America.
• Healthy People, HIV The site from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion provides an HIV overview, the objectives for reducing the rate of HIV infections, and an extensive list of interventions and resources.
• S. Health Resources & Services Administration, Find a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Medical Program Provider The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Medical Program links people with HIV to local resources that include medical care, medications, case management and mental health services.
• Office on Womens Health, HIV and AIDS Resources The directory includes links to HIV and AIDS information specifically for women and girls, including HIV/AIDS care providers and prevention resources.

Information For Family And Friends Of People With Hiv Or Aids

Supporting and caring for family members and friends who have HIV or AIDS can strain relationships and add tension to everyday interactions. Often, disclosing an HIV diagnosis reveals aspects of peoples lives that they may want to keep private. The resulting feelings of guilt and blame can damage family ties and friendships.

Many resources assist family and friends of people who have HIV or AIDS in understanding the effects of the disease and how best to help them.

• TeensHealth explains how a young person can learn about HIV and AIDS and support infected people, including keeping the persons condition private, encouraging activities that can relieve stress, and helping the person maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• The Foundation for AIDS Research provides an extensive FAQ webpage that addresses when someone is at risk of becoming infected, the HIV testing process, and where to find more information.

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How Common Is Hiv

HIV is a global disease that affects all demographics, both directly and indirectly. Over 35 million people, the majority of whom are in Sub-Saharan Africa, live with the virus today. HIV is deadliest in impoverished nations where access to care is difficult or impossible. In 2012, over 1.5 million died from AIDS most were children in Africa. Since the pandemic began, AIDS-related illnesses have taken the lives of 36 million people.

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 won’t 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 person’s CD4 count gets low, doctors prescribe daily antibiotics. This prevents pneumocystis pneumonia, which happens in people with weakened immune systems.

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Aids Diagnosis Is More Complicated

AIDS is late stage HIV infection. Healthcare providers look for a few factors to determine if HIV latency has progressed to stage 3 HIV.

Because HIV destroys immune cells called CD4 cells, one way healthcare providers diagnose AIDS is to do a count of those cells. A person without HIV can have anywhere from 500 to 1,200 CD4 cells. When the cells have dropped to 200, a person with HIV is considered to have stage 3 HIV.

Another factor signaling that stage 3 HIV has developed is the presence of opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are diseases caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that would not make a person with an undamaged immune system sick.

Getting Tested For Hiv

An HIV test can be done with an oral swab or with a blood sample in rare cases, a test is performed on a urine sample.

• The cheapest, quickest, most common method of testing is antibody testing, which uses oral fluids, blood, or urine to look for HIV antibodies instead of the virus itself. A positive antibody test requires a second test known as the Western blot test for confirmation of infection. It may take up to two weeks to receive results for this test.

• Antigen testing, which looks for a particular protein produced by HIV, is done on the blood. It is less common than antibody testing and is more expensive. However, antigen testing is very good at early HIV detection , making it ideal for those who are of a high-risk demographic and fear they have recently come into contact with the disease.

• Two types of genetic testing known as PCR testing and NAT testing look for genetic material of HIV in the blood. These tests are less commonly used on adult patients, but they are often used on babies born to an HIV-positive mother. These are also the tests used to ensure donated blood is safe to enter into the blood supply.

Those in the U.S. can use AIDS.gov’s service locator to find nearby clinics and care centers that will provide HIV testing. Furthermore, the FDA has approved one type of at-home rapid HIV testing kit, which can be bought from many pharmacies or .

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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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Resources For Hiv And Aids Education And Prevention

Education is central to the goal of treating, preventing, and ultimately eradicating HIV and AIDS. The strategy for achieving that goal unites community organizations with research and social services agencies at all strata of government. The organizations are among the HIV and AIDS resources available to public health educators and the public.

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Educating The Public About Hiv And Aids

Healthcare professionals play a vital role in helping people understand the differences between HIV and AIDS. Statistics reported by the CDC demonstrate the positive effect that public education about HIV and AIDS has on new infection rates:

• HIV infection rates among gay and bisexual men declined by 7% between 2014 and 2018.
• Infection rates among Blacks/African Americans also fell by 7% in the period.
• Infection rates among all heterosexuals dropped by 10%, and among heterosexual men, rates dropped by 13%.

However, HIV infection rates continued to climb among certain ethnic groups:

• Rates increased by 6% among American Indians and Alaska Natives .
• Rates grew by 55% among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders .

Prevention Of Hiv Infection

So far there is no cure for HIV. The prevention is the most effective measure against HIV infection and the consequences of AIDS. For this it is recommended:

• the correct use of condoms , especially when there is no commitment to sexual fidelity.
• Do not share needles or syringes.
• Any instrument that pierces the skin must be sterile.
• Antiretroviral treatment for infected pregnant women to prevent infection of the baby.

HIV test

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Antionettea Etienne New York City Diagnosed In 1997

The craziest, most outlandish myth that I’ve heard about HIV is about a Hispanic person going to a santera to take the virus out of their body: The smoke of cigars being blown on them and chicken blood being splattered on them and them lighting candles and stuff.

But I understand why a person of Latino descent would do so, because that is also part of my culture. They felt that brujería — which is like witchcraft — would help them get rid of HIV, but being a knowledgeable person in this field, I know that that would not work.

Can Hiv/aids Be Prevented

You can reduce the risk of spreading HIV by:

• Getting tested for HIV.
• Choosing less risky sexual behaviors. This includes limiting the number of sexual partners you have and using latex condoms every time you have sex. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.
• Getting tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases .
• Not injecting drugs.
• Talking to your health care provider about medicines to prevent HIV:
• PrEP is for people who don’t already have HIV but are at very high risk of getting it. PrEP is daily medicine that can reduce this risk.
• PEP is for people who have possibly been exposed to HIV. It is only for emergency situations. PEP must be started within 72 hours after a possible exposure to HIV.

NIH: National Institutes of Health

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