What is HIV?
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the body's immune system. A healthy immune system is what keeps you from getting sick.
Because HIV damages your immune system, you are more likely to get sick from bacteria and viruses. It is also harder for your body to fight off these infections when you do get them, so you may have trouble getting better. HIV is the condition that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
What is AIDS?
AIDS is a progression of HIV. When HIV moves into its final stages, it is considered to be AIDS. People who have AIDS are at an even higher risk of getting sick, and their bodies are even less able to fight off infections than people who have HIV. They usually die of an infection or cancer.
How do people get HIV?
HIV can only be passed from person to person through body fluids, such as blood, semen and vaginal fluid. The most common ways HIV is passed are:
- By having unprotected anal, vaginal or oral sex with an infected person.
- By sharing needles and syringes for injecting drugs with an infected person.
- You may be at risk of getting HIV if you have any of the risk factors listed in the box below. Children born to infected mothers can also become infected during pregnancy.
What are the possible risk factors for HIV infection?
You should be tested for HIV if you:
- Have had unprotected sex with many sex partners.
- Have a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
- Use illegal injected drugs.
- Had blood transfusions or received blood products before 1985.
- Have a sex partner with any of the above risk factors.
What contact is safe?
HIV can't live very long outside the body, so you can't get it through casual contact. You can't get the virus by touching, shaking hands, hugging, swimming in a public pool, giving blood, or using hot tubs, public toilets, telephones, doorknobs or water fountains. You also can't get it from food, mosquitoes or other insects.
Should I use the home test or see my doctor?
Your doctor is concerned about you, your health and your privacy. If you want to be tested for HIV, you should see your doctor. He or she will help you decide whether you should be tested and will give you the support you need before and after the test. You don't get this type of support with home tests.
However, if you are afraid to talk with your doctor about HIV or to be tested, then the home collection test may be a good idea. If the test result is positive, you should see your doctor right away.
Remember, one negative test is not a guarantee that you don't have HIV or won't get it in the future. You should talk with your doctor and learn about ways to protect yourself from getting infected.
How can I avoid getting HIV?
The best ways to protect yourself from getting infected with HIV are to:
- Abstainance for the unmarried.
- Not have sex with a person who is infected or is having sex with others.
- Practice "safer" sex if you do have sex even with infected married partner.
- Not share needles and syringes.
You can't tell who's infected with HIV by how they look. It takes an average of 8 years for symptoms of AIDS to develop after a person is infected with HIV. So even people who don't look or feel sick can give you AIDS.
What is "safer" sex?
The "safest" sex is no sex, or abstainance. If you are having sex, "safer" sex is sex between 2 people who don't have HIV infection, only have sex with each other and don't abuse injectable drugs.
Safer sex also means using condoms if you have any doubts about whether your partner is infected or whether he or she is having sex with someone else. Use male latex condoms every time you have sex.
If a man doesn't want to use a male condom, use a female condom. Female condoms may not be as effective as male condoms, but they offer some protection.
Never let someone else's blood, semen, urine, vaginal fluid or feces get into your anus, vagina or mouth.
What if I share needles?
The best decision for your health is to get help for your drug abuse. If you do share needles and syringes, clean them twice with bleach and water to help kill HIV. Draw bleach into the syringe and needle, then squirt it out. Do the same with water. Do both steps again.
How do babies get HIV from their mothers?
Babies can get HIV infection from their mothers during pregnancy, during the birth process and during breastfeeding.
It is now possible to prevent many cases of HIV in children by giving medicines to the pregnant mother and to her newborn baby. This protection cannot be offered if a pregnant woman does not know she is infected. Many people with HIV feel perfectly healthy at first. The only way to know if you are infected is to have an HIV test. If you are pregnant, ask your doctor for an HIV test as part of your prenatal care. Better yet, if you are thinking about getting pregnant, talk to your doctor about HIV tests for you and your partner.
What is perinatal HIV?
Perinatal means the time right before, and right after, birth. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The words "perinatal HIV" mean that HIV has been passed to the new baby from the mother.
Mothers who have HIV and who are not treated and who do not breastfeed have about a 25% chance of passing HIV onto their babies. The good news is that treatment with a group of drugs called antiretrovirals can reduce this chance to 2% or less.
How can my baby get perinatal HIV?
If you have HIV, your baby can get HIV several ways: during pregnancy, during labor and delivery, or during breastfeeding. Most babies get infected with HIV during labor and delivery. There may be less of a chance of passing HIV to your baby if you have a cesarean delivery (a C-section). Talk about this with your doctor.
How can I find out if my baby has HIV?
During pregnancy, the mother's antibodies (part of the immune system that fights germs) are passed on to her baby. So all babies of women with HIV will test positive for HIV antibodies at first. This doesn't mean the baby is infected, though. Babies keep the mother's antibodies until they can make their own, which happens between 6 and 18 months of age.
If the baby isn't infected, he or she will lose the mother's antibodies and start to test negative for HIV sometime between 6 and 18 months of age.
If the baby is infected with HIV, he or she will still lose the mother's antibodies, but the baby will start to make antibodies to HIV. The baby will test positive and continue to test positive for HIV.
Other blood tests, called PCR and viral culture, can also be used to check babies for HIV infection. These tests may be able to tell your doctor if your baby is infected during the first 6 months of age. These tests aren't available at all clinics, however, so ask your doctor if they are available.
If I'm thinking about becoming pregnant or if I'm pregnant, should I get tested for HIV?
You should talk about this with your doctor. In some states, your doctor is required by law to offer you an HIV test. If you think you are at risk for HIV or may already have the virus, you may want to be tested. If you find out that you are infected with HIV, you might choose not to have children. If you are already pregnant when you find out, you have time to think about starting treatment and doing other things to lower the chance that your baby will be infected with HIV.
Should I end my pregnancy if I find out I'm HIV-positive?
Not necessarily. You should talk about it with your doctor. Treatment with antiretroviral medicine can lower the chance that you will pass the HIV virus to your baby.
Can medicines prevent my baby from getting HIV?
Medicine can't totally protect your baby from getting HIV, but it can significantly lower the chance that the baby will get the virus. An antiretroviral medicine called zidovudine (also called AZT) can reduce the chance of passing HIV from mother to baby to less than 2%. Zidovudine slows the growth of the virus, so the baby's immune system (which helps fight germs and illness) can get stronger.
Should I breastfeed my baby if I have HIV?
Because HIV can be passed to the baby through breast milk, it's better to bottle feed your baby if you are infected with HIV.
What are some good tips for eating right?
A few simple steps can help you make sure your food is healthy and safe:
- Wash your hands with soap and water before you eat so you won't get an infection from germs on your hands.
- Wash fruits and vegetables before you eat them or cook them.
- Wash your hands with soap and water after you touch raw fish, chicken or meat to help prevent infection.
- Be sure that meat, eggs and fish are well cooked before you eat them.
