What Is HIV?
"HIV" stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is a virus. Viruses infect the cells of living organisms and replicate (make new copies of themselves) within those cells. A virus can also damage human cells, which is one of the things that can make an infected creature become ill.Someone who is diagnosed as infected with HIV is said to be 'HIV positive' or 'HIV+'.
Why is HIV dangerous?
The immune system is a group of cells and organs that protect your body by fighting disease. The human immune system usually finds and kills viruses fairly quickly.
Many people also refer to HIV as the "AIDS virus."
How Is the Virus Transmitted?
HIV lives in blood and other body fluids that contain blood or white blood cells. People have gotten HIV through:
unprotected sexual intercourse with an HIV-infected person. This includes vaginal or anal intercourse, and oral sex on a man or woman without a condom or other barrier. Intercourse while a woman is having her period, or during outbreaks of genital sores or lesions (caused by herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases) can increase the risk of HIV transmission.
sharing drug injection equipment (needles and/or works); or being accidentally stuck by needles or sharp objects contaminated with infected blood.
infected blood used in transfusions, and infected blood products used in the treatment of certain diseases and disorders (like hemophilia), before March, 1985. (Since 1985, federally mandated screening of the blood supply has reduced the risk of transmission through this route to 1 in 255,000.)
pregnancy, childbirth, and/or breastfeeding, where the virus is passed from mother to child.
transplanted organs from infected donors. (Routine screening of organ donors also began in 1985.)
HIV and AIDS are not transmitted through casual contact (that is, where no blood or body fluids are involved). HIV is what gets passed from person to person. People don't "catch AIDS"; they "become infected with HIV."
What Does an "HIV-Positive" Test Result Mean?
A positive test result means your body has been infected by the human immunodeficiency virus-and that you are capable of transmitting it to others. The test did not look for the actual virus itself, but found evidence of it in your blood. There's no way to tell from this result who gave you the virus, how long you've had it, or when it will begin to affect your health. You may see or hear the results called "HIV-positive," "HIV+," "HIV-antibody positive," or "seropositive for HIV." These terms all mean the same thing. People who have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus are said to have "HIV disease." While the virus itself is not a disease, it progressively damages the body's immune system. This puts you at risk for developing illnesses you wouldn't otherwise get.
At this time, doctors don't know of any way to rid the body of HIV. There is no cure. Once you've been infected, you have it for life.
How Does HIV Harm the Body?
Viruses tend to be specialists. They zero in on a few particular types of cells in the body and move in. The human immunodeficiency virus is best known for targeting the T cells of the immune system. However, it can also attack cells of the brain, nervous system, digestive system, lymphatic system, and other parts of the body.
The immune system is made up of specialized cells in the bloodstream that fight off invading germs to keep the body healthy. The "T" cells (also referred to as "T4," "helper-T," or "CD4" cells) are the brains of the operation. These white blood cells identify invaders and give orders to soldier-type cells, which then battle various bacteria, viruses, cancers, fungi, and parasites that can make a person sick.
Like all viruses, the HIV is only interested in one thing: reproducing itself. Once it has attacked and moved into a T cell, it converts that cell into a miniature virus factory. Eventually there are so many new viruses in the cell that the T cell explodes, scattering the HIV back into the bloodstream. The virus then moves on to fresh T cells and repeats the process. Over time, the HIV can destroy virtually all of an infected person's T cells in this manner.
How long does HIV take to become AIDS?
Without drug treatment, HIV infection usually progresses to AIDS in an average of ten years. This average, though, is based on a person having a reasonable diet. Someone who is malnourished may well progress to AIDS and death more rapidly.
What is AIDS?
A damaged immune system is not only more vulnerable to HIV, but also to the attacks of other infections. It won't always have the strength to fight off things that wouldn't have bothered it before.
As time goes by, a person who has been infected with HIV is likely to become ill more and more often until, usually several years after infection, they become ill with one of a number of particularly severe illnesses. It is at this point that they are said to have AIDS - when they first become seriously ill, or when the number of immune system cells left in their body drops below a particular point. Different countries have slightly different ways of defining the point at which a person is said to have AIDS rather than HIV.
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is an extremely serious condition, and at this stage the body has very little defence against any sort of infection.
Then What Happens?
With fewer and fewer "leaders" to rely on for warnings, the "soldier" cells become powerless. They can no longer recognize and fight off common organisms that would not present a problem to a healthy immune system. These organisms may be lying dormant in the body already, or may enter from outside. The immune system's weakness gives them the opportunity to wake up, multiply, and cause illness. Thus, we call these illnesses "opportunistic infections." People with fully functioning immune systems are almost never troubled by these particular infections-but those with damaged immune systems are highly vulnerable to them.
So What's the Connection Between HIV and AIDS?
When a person with an HIV-weakened immune system comes down with one or more of these rare opportunistic infections, or has a T cell count below 200 or 14%, that person may be diagnosed by a doctor as having AIDS. "AIDS" stands for "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome." The "syndrome" part means that AIDS is not a single disease but a collection of diseases. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has put together a list of 26 "AIDS-defining illnesses" in adults. Diagnosis of AIDS in children involves a list of slightly different ailments.
AIDS can be thought of as the most severe form of HIV disease. All but a handful of medical experts now believe that HIV is the primary agent that leads to the development of AIDS.
How is HIV passed on?
HIV is found in the blood and the sexual fluids of an infected person, and in the breast milk of an infected woman. HIV transmission occurs when a sufficient quantity of these fluids get into someone else's bloodstream. There are various ways a person can become infected with HIV.
What does 'safe sex' mean?
Safe sex refers to sexual activities which do not involve any blood or sexual fluid from one person getting into another person's body. If two people are having safe sex then, even if one person is infected, there is no possibility of the other person becoming infected. Examples of safe sex are cuddling, mutual masturbation, 'dry' (or 'clothed') sex . . .
In many parts of the world, particularly the USA, people are taught that the best form of safe sex is no sex - also called 'sexual abstinence'. Abstinence isn't a form of sex at all - it involves avoiding all sexual activity. Usually, young people are taught that they should abstain sexually until they marry, and then remain faithful to their partner. This is a good way for someone to avoid HIV infection, as long as their husband or wife is also completely faithful and doesn't infect them.
What is 'safer sex'?
Safer sex is used to refer to a range of sexual activities that hold little risk of HIV infection.
Safer sex is often taken to mean using a condom for sexual intercourse. Using a condom makes it very hard for the virus to pass between people when they are having sexual intercourse. A condom, when used properly, acts as a physical barrier that prevents infected fluid getting into the other person's body.
Is kissing risky?
Kissing someone on the cheek, also known as social kissing, does not pose any risk of HIV transmission.
Deep or open mouthed kissing is considered a very low risk activity for transmission of HIV. This is because HIV is present in saliva but only in very minute quantities, insufficient to lead to HIV infection alone.
There has only been one documented instance of HIV infection as a result of kissing out of all the millions of cases recorded. This was as a result of infected blood getting into the mouth of the other person during open mouthed kissing, and in this instance both partners had seriously bleeding gums.
Can anything 'create' HIV?
No. Unprotected sex, for example, is only risky if one partner is infected with the virus. If your partner is not carrying HIV, then no type of sex or sexual activity between you is going to cause you to become infected - you can't 'create' HIV by having unprotected anal sex, for example.
You also can't become infected through masturbation. In fact nothing you do on your own is going to give you HIV - it can only be transmitted from another person who already has the virus.
Is there a cure for AIDS?
HIV medication can slow theprogress of the virus
Worryingly, surveys show that many people think that there's a 'cure' for AIDS - which makes them feel safer, and perhaps take risks that they otherwise shouldn't. These people are wrong, though - there is still no cure for AIDS.
There is antiretroviral medication which slows the progression from HIV to AIDS, and which can keep some people healthy for many years. In some cases, the antiretroviral medication seems to stop working after a number of years, but in other cases people can recover from AIDS and live with HIV for a very long time. But they have to take powerful medication every day of their lives, sometimes with very unpleasant side effects.
There is still no way to cure AIDS, and at the moment the only way to remain safe is not to become infected.
