Living With HIV/AIDS

by CDC

Although infection with HIV is serious, people with HIV and AIDS are living longer, healthier lives today, thanks to new and effective treatments. This booklet will help you understand how you can live with HIV and keep yourself healthy.

You probably have many questions about HIV, such as

• What is HIV and how did I get it?
• What is the difference between HIV infection and AIDS?
• How long does it take to go from HIV infection to a diagnosis of AIDS?
• How can I stay healthy longer?
• What can I expect when I go to the doctor?
• What is the treatment for HIV or AIDS?
• What are some of the other diseases I could get?
• How do I protect other people from my HIV?
• Is there special advice for women with HIV?
• Where can I find help in fighting HIV?

This booklet will give you answers to these questions. You can also ask your doctor any questions you have about HIV. Other sources of information about HIV are listed at the back of this booklet.

What is HIV and how did I get it?

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. The first cases of AIDS were identified in the United States in 1981, but the virus probably existed here and in other parts of the world for many years before that. In 1984, scientists proved that HIV causes AIDS.

Ways you might have gotten HIV

• having unprotected sex (sex without a condom) with someone who has HIV
• sharing a needle to inject drugs or sharing drug works with someone who has HIV
• having a mother who was infected with HIV when you were born
• from a blood transfusion (However, it is unlikely you got infected that way because all blood in the United States has been tested for HIV since 1985.)

Ways you did NOT get (and no one else can get) HIV

• just working with or being around some one who has HIV
• being stung or bitten by an insect
• sitting on toilet seats
• doing everyday things like sharing a meal

What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?

HIV is the virus that causes the disease AIDS. Although HIV causes AIDS, a person can be infected with HIV for many years before AIDS develops.

When HIV enters your body, it infects specific cells in your immune system. These cells are called CD4 cells or helper T cells. They are important parts of your immune system and help your body fight infection and disease. When your CD4 cells are not working well, you are more likely to get sick.

Usually, CD4 cell counts in someone with a healthy immune system range from 500 to 1,800 per cubic millimeter of blood. AIDS is diagnosed when your CD4 cell count goes below 200. Even if your CD4 cell count is over 200, AIDS can be diagnosed if you have HIV and certain diseases such as tuberculosis or Pneumocystis carinii [NEW-mo-SIS-tis CA-RIN-nee-eye] pneumonia (PCP).

There are general stages of HIV infection that you may go through before AIDS develops.

• Infection. The earliest stage is right after you are infected. HIV can infect cells and copy itself before your immune system has started to respond. You may have felt flu-like symptoms during this time.

• Response. The next stage is when your body responds to the virus. Even if you don't feel any different, your body is trying to fight the virus by making antibodies against it. This is called seroconversion, when you go from being HIV negative to HIV positive.

• No symptoms. You may enter a stage in which you have no symptoms. This is called asymptomatic infection. You still have HIV and it may be causing damage that you can't feel.

• Symptoms. Symptomatic HIV infection is when you develop symptoms, such as certain infections, including PCP.

• AIDS. AIDS is diagnosed when you have a variety of symptoms, infections, and specific test results. There is no single test to diagnose AIDS.

How long does it take to go from HIV infection to a diagnosis of AIDS?

There is no one answer to this question because everyone is different. Estimates of the average length of time for progression from HIV to AIDS are being developed. Before antiretroviral therapy became available in 1996, scientists estimated that AIDS would develop within 10 years in about half the people with HIV. Since 1996, new medical treatments have been developed that can prevent or cure some of the illnesses associated with AIDS, though they cannot cure AIDS itself.

Various factors, including your genetic makeup, can influence the time between HIV infection and the development of AIDS.

Time between HIV infection and AIDS

Shorter

• older age
• infection with more than one type of HIV
• poor nutrition
• severe stress

Longer

• closely adhering to your doctor's recommendations
• eating healthy foods
• taking care of yourself

What is clear is that you have some control over the progression of HIV infection.

How can I stay healthy longer?

There are many things you can do for yourself to stay healthy. Here are a few.

• Make sure you have a health care provider who knows how to treat HIV. Begin treatment promptly once your doctor tells you to.

• Keep your appointments. Follow your doctor's instructions. If your doctor prescribes medicine for you, take the medicine just the way he or she tells you to because taking only some of your medicine gives your HIV infection more chance to fight back.

• If you get sick from your med i cine, call your doctor for advice; don't make changes to your medicine on your own or be cause of advice from friends.

• Get immunizations (shots) to prevent infections such as pneumonia and flu. Your doctor will tell you when to get these shots. Practice safe sex to reduce your risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or another strain of HIV.

• If you smoke or use drugs not prescribed by your doctor, quit.

• Eat healthy foods. This will help keep you strong, keep your energy and weight up, and help your body protect itself.

• Exercise regularly.

• Get enough sleep and rest.

• Take time to relax. Many people find that meditation or prayer, along with exercise and rest, help them cope with the stress of having HIV or AIDS.

There are also many things you can do to protect your health when you prepare food or eat, when you travel, and when you're around pets and other animals. You can read more about these things in the brochures in the CDC Opportunistic Infection series. You can get these brochures and other information about HIV by calling CDC-INFO at 1-800-232-4636 or by going to the CDC Internet address, www.cdc.gov/hiv/dhap.htm.

What can I expect when I go to the doctor?

During your first appointment your doctor will ask you questions, examine you, take a blood sample, and do some other tests. Your doctor also may do a skin test for tuberculosis and give you some immunizations (shots).

Tell your doctor about any health problems you are having so that you can get treatment. You also should ask your doctor any questions you have about HIV or AIDS, such as

• what to do if your medicine makes you sick
• where to get help for quitting smoking or using drugs
• how to create a healthier diet
• how to minimize the chance that you will spread HIV to your partners

Your blood sample is used for many tests, including the CD4 cell count and viral load. Your CD4 cell count tells you how many CD4 cells you have in your blood. If you are getting treatment, your CD4 cell counts indicate how well it is work ing. If your CD4 cell count rises, your body is better able to fight infection. Viral load testing measures the amount of HIV in your blood. Your viral load helps predict what will happen next with your HIV infection if you don't get treatment.

Keep your follow-up appointments with your doctor. At these appointments you and your doctor will talk about your test results, and he or she may prescribe medicine for you.

About the Author

www.cdc.gov
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.