You get the results over the phone using an anonymous code number. Counseling is also available over the phone for people who use the test kit. If the results from a home test kit show that you have an HIV infection, talk with a doctor.
If you test positive, your doctor will complete a medical history and physical exam. 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:. 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:.
Research suggests that treatment of early HIV with antiretroviral medicines has long-term benefits, such as a stronger immune system. But you may decide not to get treated at first. If you put off treatment, you will still need regular checkups to measure the amount of HIV in your blood and check how well your immune system is working.
Health care workers who are at risk for HIV because of an accidental needlestick or other exposure to body fluids should get medicine to prevent infection. Also, medicine may 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. And studies have shown that if you are not infected with HIV, taking antiretroviral medicines can protect you against HIV.
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.
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 behaviors 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. If you are HIV-positive infected with HIV or have engaged in sex or needle-sharing with someone who could be infected with HIV, take precautions to prevent spreading the infection to others.
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:.
Counseling may help you to:. Reducing stress can help you better manage the HIV illness. Some methods of stress reduction include:. Marijuana 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. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E. PeaceHealth endeavors to provide comprehensive health care information, however some topics in this database describe services and procedures not offered by our providers or within our facilities.
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 we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Skip to main content. Health Information Library. HIV: Understanding the Test. 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 may 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 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.
Tingling, numbness, and weakness in the limbs. Mouth sores or a yeast infection of the mouth thrush. The virus may enter the body through a tear in the lining of the rectum, vagina, urethra, or mouth. Most cases of HIV are spread this way. Infected blood. HIV can be spread when a person: Shares needles, syringes, cookers, cotton, cocaine spoons, or eyedroppers used for injecting drugs or steroids. Is accidentally stuck with a needle or other sharp item that is contaminated with HIV.
How HIV is not spread The virus doesn't survive well outside the body. The window period After you've been infected, it can take 2 weeks to 3 months for your body to start making HIV antibodies.
What Increases Your Risk Sexual contact You have an increased risk of becoming infected with HIV through sexual contact if you: Have unprotected sex do not use condoms. Have multiple sex partners. Are a man who has sex with other men.
Less than 1 per cent of people infected with HIV around the world are able to suppress its effects without taking drugs. This is what happened in all the dendritic cells the team tested — except those from elite controllers. In these colonies the virus appeared to run riot, producing copious amounts of genetic material. But then came the equally unexpected backlash. However, the team determined that a pleicomacrolide called concanamycin A inhibits Nef at much lower concentrations than those needed to inhibit the lysosome.
In a proof of concept experiment, they treated HIV-infected, Nef expressing cells with concanamycin A and found that cytotoxic T cells were able to clear the infected T cells. I had hoped we would find something that worked as well as this compound does but it was never a guarantee that we would actually be successful. But, she adds, the molecule is not yet ready to be used as a drug for treatment of HIV infected people.
We will need to further separate the potent Nef inhibitory activity from the more toxic effect on lysosomal function to make it a viable therapy. Collins, Painter and their colleagues are continuing work on refining the chemistry of concanamycin A to make it even more viable as a potential therapy.
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