What is HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)?

HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a serious sexually transmitted disease that negatively impacts the body’s immune system, eventually giving rise to AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome if left untreated, which has no cure.

Learning and understanding about HIV and AIDS and the symptoms of HIV can help reduce your chances of infection and aid in prevention.  

How is HIV spread?

HIV can be spread a number of ways.

HIV is most commonly spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex. HIV can also be spread by sharing needles with infected persons and, less commonly, the disease can be spread when blood infected with HIV contacts an open cut or wound of another person. HIV is spread “fluid to fluid,” meaning an infected person’s secretions need to come in contact with the mucous membranes or blood stream of another.

Pregnant women can also pass HIV to their infant during childbirth. 

Pregnant women with HIV or AIDS are at risk of passing HIV to their children either in the womb, during delivery or while breast-feeding.  A March of Dimes study concluded that 1 in 4 of babies born to HIV/AIDS mothers who are not receiving  treatment are born infected. However, when HIV/AIDS mothers are receiving the correct treatment, the percentage of their babies born with HIV drops to less than two percent. 1 

If you are pregnant and think you have HIV, get tested and treated as soon as possible. 

Is HIV treatable?

There is no cure for HIV. However, HIV can be effectively treated with an ongoing course of drugs which the infected person must take regularly.

This medication is extraordinarily successful at slowing the spread of HIV throughout one’s body and people living with the disease can expect to live decades after contracting the virus given proper care.

It is possible for individuals on this medication to live long and healthy lives and not transmit HIV to their partners during sexual activity. 

If left untreated, however, HIV will progress into AIDS, a life-threatening auto-immune disease that has no cure – as such, it is a disease which is avoided through prevention, not through treatment (as treatment will not cure you of HIV). It is therefore of utmost importance to get regularly tested for STD/STIs if you have an active sex life with multiple partners, as HIV must be caught as early as possible for care to be effective, as well as help prevent further spread of the disease.

It is important to note that you don’t “catch AIDS” from someone – you instead contract HIV from an infected person, which then can eventually develop into AIDS if left untreated long enough. 

How do you test for HIV? 

HIV testing is done via blood test that measures the antibodies present in the blood. It is possible to detect HIV 18 to 45 days after exposure when using antigen/antibody tests. 

Symptoms & Stages of HIV Infection

There are various symptoms of HIV infection that differ in accordance with what stage of HIV the individual may be in.  

It’s important to be tested for HIV before it develops into AIDS, which can be deadly.

AIDS can be life threatening, but due to successful treatment, the majority of individuals in the United States living with HIV do not advance to AIDS.

By staying in care, adhering to prescribed HIV medication, and maintaining an undetectable viral load, you can ensure your health and prevent progression to AIDS.

Submit to HIV testing at the first manifestation of symptoms.

HIV and AIDS are life threatening, so the symptoms of HIV should never be ignored – educate yourself on prevention and on the facts about the virus and resultant syndrome.  

HIV is an STD, and as such, STD prevention techniques remain applicable.

That said, it is important to note that HIV is incurable and as such should be afforded a tremendous amount of attention and understanding.  HIV prevention falls in line with STD/STI prevention – proper use of condoms reduces risk of transmission during sex with infected partners to less than 1%, abstinence is completely effective and relations with HIV negative partners is also completely effective.