Why does hiv become deadly

Some people are afraid to be tested for HIV. But if there is any chance you could be infected, it is very important to find out.

HIV can be treated. Getting early treatment can slow down the virus and help you stay healthy. And you need to know if you are infected so you can prevent spreading the infection to other people.

Your doctor may recommend counselling before and after HIV testing. It is usually available at the hospital or clinic where you will be tested.

This will give you an opportunity to:. Testing positive for HIV will probably make you anxious and afraid about your future. Denial, fear, and depression are common reactions. Don't be afraid to ask for the emotional support you need. If your family and friends aren't able to provide you with support, a professional counsellor can help. The good news is that people being treated for HIV are living longer than ever before with the help of medicines that can often prevent AIDS from developing.

Your doctor can help you understand your condition and how best to treat it. If you test positive, your doctor will complete a medical history and physical examination.

He or she may order several lab tests to check your overall health, including:. Other tests may be done to check for current or past infections that may become worse because of HIV. You may be tested for:. When you have HIV, two tests are done regularly to see how much of the virus is in your blood viral load and how the virus is affecting your immune system :. The results of these tests may help you make decisions about starting treatment or switching to new medicines if the ones you are taking aren't helping.

HIV often changes or mutates in the body. Sometimes these changes make the virus resistant to certain medicines. Then the medicine no longer works. Medical experts recommend testing the blood of everyone diagnosed with HIV to look for this drug resistance.

You also may be tested for drug resistance when:. It is diagnosed if the results of your test show that you have a certain kind of infection called an opportunistic infection that is common in people who have weakened immune systems, such as Kaposi's sarcoma or Pneumocystis pneumonia. The most effective treatment for HIV is antiretroviral therapy ART , a combination of several medicines that aims to control the amount of virus in your body. For more information, see Medications. Other steps you can take include the following:.

Medical experts recommend that people begin treatment for HIV as soon as they know that they are infected. Research suggests that treatment of early HIV with antiretroviral medicines has long-term benefits, such as a stronger immune system, delay in onset of AIDS, and longer life expectancy.

If you put off treatment, you will still need regular checkups to measure the amount of HIV in your blood and your CD4 cell count to see how well your immune system is working. Learning how to live with HIV infection may keep your immune system strong, while also preventing the spread of HIV to others.

If HIV progresses to a late stage, treatment will be started or continued to keep your immune system as healthy as possible. If you get any diseases that point to AIDS, such as Pneumocystis pneumonia or Kaposi's sarcoma , your doctor will treat them. Many important end-of-life decisions can be made while you are active and able to communicate your wishes. For more information, see the topic Care at the End of Life. Health care workers who are at risk for HIV because of an accidental needle stick or other exposure to body fluids may need medicine to prevent infection.

Medicine may also prevent HIV infection in a person who has been raped or was accidentally exposed to the body fluids of a person who may have HIV. Studies have shown that treatment with antiretroviral medicine also can reduce the risk of an uninfected person getting infected through sex. Practice safer sex. This includes using a condom unless you are in a relationship with one partner who does not have HIV or other sex partners. If you do have sex with someone who has HIV, it is important to practice safer sex and to be regularly tested for HIV.

Talk with your sex partner or partners about their sexual history as well as your own sexual history. Find out whether your partner has a history of behaviours that increase his or her risk for HIV. You may be able to take a combination medicine tenofovir plus emtricitabine every day to help prevent infection with HIV. This medicine can lower the risk of getting HIV.

If you use alcohol or drugs, be very careful. Being under the influence can make you careless about practicing safer sex. And never share intravenous IV needles, syringes, cookers, cotton, cocaine spoons, or eyedroppers with others if you use drugs.

If you are infected with HIV, you can greatly lower the risk of spreading the infection to your sex partner by starting treatment when your immune system is still healthy. Experts recommend starting treatment as soon as you know you are infected. Studies have shown that early treatment greatly lowers the risk of spreading HIV to an uninfected partner.

Your partner may also be able to take medicine to prevent getting infected. The risk of a woman spreading HIV to her baby can be greatly reduced if she:. The baby should also receive treatment after it is born. If you are infected with HIV, you can lead an active life for a long time. Support groups are often good places to share information, problem-solving tips, and emotions related to HIV infection.

You may be able to find a support group by searching the Internet. Or you can ask your doctor to help you find one. Get the immunizations and the medicine treatment you need to prevent certain infections or illnesses, such as some types of pneumonia or cancer that are more likely to develop in people who have a weakened immune system.

A skilled caregiver can provide the emotional, physical, and medical care that will improve the quality of life for a person who has HIV. Medicines used to treat HIV are called antiretrovirals. Several of these are combined for treatment called antiretroviral therapy, or ART.

When choosing medicines, your doctor will think about:. Medicines for HIV may have unpleasant side effects. They may sometimes make you feel worse than you did before you started taking them. Talk to your doctor about your side effects. He or she may be able to adjust your medicines or prescribe a different one.

You may be able to take several medicines combined into one pill. This reduces the number of pills you have to take each day. Resistance to HIV medicines can occur when:. There are two main reasons that treatment fails:. Reducing stress can help you better manage the HIV illness. Some methods of stress reduction include:. Cannabis has been shown to stimulate the appetite and relieve nausea. Talk to your doctor if you're interested in trying it.

Alternative and complementary treatments for HIV need to be carefully evaluated. Some people with HIV may use these types of treatment to help with fatigue and weight loss caused by HIV infection and reduce the side effects caused by antiretroviral therapy ART.

Some complementary therapies for other problems may actually be harmful. For example, St. John's wort decreases the effectiveness of certain prescription medicines for HIV. Make sure to discuss complementary therapies with your doctor before trying them. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.

Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Learn How this information was developed. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. All rights reserved. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

Top of the page. What is AIDS? HIV-2 infection is uncommon in North America. What causes HIV? Most people get the virus by having unprotected sex with someone who has HIV. Another common way of getting it is by sharing drug needles with someone who is infected with HIV. The virus can also be passed from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding.

What are the symptoms? Common early symptoms include: Fever. Sore throat. Muscle aches and joint pain. Swollen glands swollen lymph nodes. Skin rash. These symptoms usually include: Swollen lymph nodes. Extreme tiredness. Weight loss. Night sweats. How is HIV diagnosed? If you think you have been exposed to HIV but you test negative for it: Get tested again. A repeat test can be done after a few weeks to be sure you are not infected. Meanwhile, take steps to prevent the spread of the virus, in case you do have it.

How is it treated? How can you prevent HIV? So it's always important to protect yourself and others by taking these steps: Practice safer sex. Use a condom every time you have sex including oral sex until you are sure that you and your partner aren't infected with HIV or other sexually transmitted infection STI. Don't have more than one sex partner at a time.

The safest sex is with one partner who has sex only with you. Talk to your partner before you have sex the first time. Find out if he or she is at risk for HIV. Get tested together. Use condoms in the meantime. Don't drink a lot of alcohol or use illegal drugs before sex. You might let down your guard and not practice safer sex. Don't share personal items , such as toothbrushes or razors.

Never share needles or syringes with anyone. Experts may recommend this for: footnote 1 , footnote 2 People whose sexual practices put them at high risk for HIV infection, such as men who have sex with men and people who have many sex partners.

People who inject illegal drugs, especially if they share needles. Adults who have a sex partner with HIV. Health Tools Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health. Actionsets are designed to help people take an active role in managing a health condition.

Symptoms HIV may not cause symptoms early on. The symptoms may include: Belly cramps, nausea, or vomiting.

Enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin. Later symptoms Later symptoms may include: Diarrhea or other bowel changes. Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss. Dry cough or shortness of breath. Nail changes.

Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin. Pain when swallowing. Confusion, trouble concentrating, or personality changes. Repeated outbreaks of cold sores or genital herpes sores. Examples of these symptoms include:. The flu symptoms are due to the increase of copies of HIV and widespread infection in the body. During this time, the amount of CD4 cells starts to fall very quickly. The immune system then kicks in, causing CD4 levels to rise once again.

In addition to potentially causing symptoms, the acute stage is when people with HIV have the greatest chance of transmitting the virus to others. This is because HIV levels are very high at this time. The acute stage typically lasts between several weeks and months. The chronic HIV stage is known as the latent or asymptomatic stage.

However, a person can still transmit HIV if the virus is left untreated and they continue to have a detectable viral load. Advances in antiretroviral treatments have significantly improved the outlook for people living with HIV. With proper treatment, many people who are HIV-positive are able to achieve viral suppression and live long, healthy lives. Learn more about HIV and life expectancy.

People with AIDS are vulnerable to opportunistic infections and common infections that may include tuberculosis , toxoplasmosis , and pneumonia.

People with weakened immune systems are also more susceptible to certain types of cancer , such as lymphoma and cervical cancer. The survival rate for people with AIDS varies depending on treatment and other factors. The most important factor affecting HIV progression is the ability to achieve viral suppression. Taking antiretroviral therapy regularly helps many people slow the progression of HIV and reach viral suppression.

However, a variety of factors affect HIV progression, and some people progress through the phases of HIV more quickly than others. Treatments for HIV typically involve antiretroviral therapy. The U. Antiretroviral therapy works to prevent the virus from copying itself. This maintains immunity levels while slowing the progression of HIV. It found that over time, human immune system proteins, in addition to the use of HIV drugs , may have forced the virus to change into less virulent forms.

This is consistent with the theory that viruses get less virulent over time. The "poster boy" for successful long-living viruses is, arguably, the family of viruses that cause the common cold , which has existed for thousands of years. Similarly, this study does not show that HIV virulence in the UK is decreasing, and that the virus remains life-threatening.

The simplest way to protect yourself against HIV infection in the UK is to use a condom during sex and never share needles if you are an injecting drug user. It is an open-access study , meaning that anyone can read it online or download it for free. The UK media reported the story accurately. This can significantly shorten life, due to impairment of the immune system if the correct treatment is not followed and made available soon after infection.

This was a laboratory study investigating whether HIV virulence has changed over time, and what might be influencing it.

The term virulence means the ability of the virus to cause disease. This is generally described in terms of:. Individuals can have slightly different immune responses to HIV infection. Understanding this variation is important in the effort to minimise the suffering and deaths from the disease.

This natural variation is partly caused by changes in human leukocyte antigen HLA genes, a group of genes that encode HLA proteins involved in the immune response. This study wanted to find out how HIV evolution has been shaped by specific HLA proteins that are known to protect against disease progression.