HIV and AIDS
Overview
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that weakens your immune system and increases your risk of serious illness. There’s currently no cure, but with treatment most people with HIV can live a long and healthy life.
Symptoms
The symptoms of HIV are different for everyone. Some people experience a short flu-like illness around 2 to 6 weeks after HIV infection. This can include: a sore throata high temperatureswollen glandsmuscle aches and tirednessa skin rash However, these symptoms can also be caused by lots of common conditions. You may not have any other symptoms of HIV for years. This means many people with HIV do not know they have it. If HIV is not treated, it damages your immune system and may eventually cause more serious illnesses, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia or cancer. This is known as advanced HIV, late-stage HIV or AIDS.
Causes
HIV is most often spread by having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who has HIV, while not using a condom. This is because HIV is spread by infected body fluids getting into your bloodstream. This includes blood, semen, vaginal fluids and mucus from inside the anus. It can also be spread: by sharing needles, syringes or other equipment for injecting drugs with someone who has a detectable viral loadby sharing sex toys with someone who has a detectable viral loadto your baby during pregnancy or birth if you have a detectable viral load You cannot get HIV from kissing, hugging or shaking hands, or from sharing toilet seats, food, drinks, or normal everyday household items like cups and cutlery. If you’re having effective treatment for HIV and have an undetectable viral load (an extremely low level of the HIV virus in your blood), you cannot pass the HIV virus onto someone else.
Treatment
There is currently no cure for HIV, but there are treatments to help reduce the amount of HIV in your blood. You'll be seen at a specialist HIV clinic, where healthcare professionals can discuss your treatment options with you. HIV can be treated with anti-HIV medicines called antiretrovirals. These are tablets that you’ll need to take every day. The aim is to bring down the amount of HIV in your blood to a level where it can no longer be measured. This is known as an undetectable viral load. If you're taking daily medicines, it usually takes around 6 months for the virus to be undetectable.
Prevention
There are things you can do to reduce the risk of HIV infection. take medicine called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if you think you've been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours – it's available from sexual health clinics and A&E take medicine called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if you think you've been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours – it's available from sexual health clinics and A&E usecondomsbefore and during any sexual contact between the penis, vagina, mouth or anus – condoms are the most effective protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) usecondomsbefore and during any sexual contact between the penis, vagina, mouth or anus – condoms are the most effective protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) use water-based lubricants (such as K-Y jelly) instead of oil-based lubricants (such as Vaseline or massage and baby oil) with condoms – oil-based lubricants can cause condoms to break or tear use water-based lubricants (such as K-Y jelly) instead of oil-based lubricants (such as Vaseline or massage and baby oil) with condoms – oil-based lubricants can cause condoms to break or tear do not share needles, syringes, spoons or swabs, drugs or liquids used to dilute drugs – a GP or drug counsellor should be able to advise you about needle exchange programmes do not share needles, syringes, spoons or swabs, drugs or liquids used to dilute drugs – a GP or drug counsellor should be able to advise you about needle exchange programmes