How Long Does It Take To Detect Hiv

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Man immunodeficiency virus, more commonly known as HIV, is a virus that, without treatment, leads to deterioration of your trunk's immune system to a point where your body has trouble fighting off mild infections. When your immune system has become severely damaged after a prolonged period with HIV, it'due south known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS.

HIV is a bloodborne retrovirus that infects specific cells in the human allowed system called CD4 T cells. CD4 cells commonly play an important function in your immune system. They're responsible for detecting harmful pathogens like bacteria and viruses then your body can begin fighting off those pathogens.

There'due south no cure for HIV, and one time you contract information technology, the virus volition remain in your body for life. Over time, if left untreated, HIV can progressively damage your immune system to a point where y'all go susceptible to AIDS-defining illnesses — infections and conditions that wouldn't ordinarily make you sick if your allowed system was operation properly.

In honour of National HIV/AIDS & Aging Sensation Mean solar day, we're going to discuss the causes of, symptoms of, and treatments for HIV and AIDs.

Many people have no symptoms at all after initially becoming infected with HIV. Nonetheless, most people do experience some non-specific symptoms inside the starting time few weeks after infection. This means the symptoms are typical of many illnesses and don't immediately point to ane specific condition as their cause. For HIV, non-specific symptoms include:

Flu-similar symptoms
Diarrhea
Fatigue
Fever
Headache
Strong or aching muscles
Rash
Mouth ulcers
Sore throat
Sweating at night
Bloated lymph glands

After this initial disease, which is known as "seroconversion," most people live for many years without whatever symptoms until the virus has harmed their immune system to a point where they beginning to go significantly more vulnerable to infections and illnesses.

HIV is present in the claret, pre-ejaculatory fluid, semen, vaginal fluid, rectal fluid, and breast milk of people with the virus. HIV can be transmitted past:

Sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex, and through the sharing of sex toys
Sharing of needles, which near commonly occurs in groups of people who are using intravenous drugs
Receiving a claret transfusion from an infected individual; this rarely occurs in developed countries, as donor blood is normally screened for blood-borne viruses such as HIV
Childbirth; HIV can exist passed from the pregnant parent to the kid during pregnancy or childbirth
Breastfeeding; HIV exists in chest milk and can be passed on to a child

In rare cases, HIV can also be spread by:

Ingesting pre-chewed food from someone who has the virus; this is a mutual practice in some underdeveloped countries and is more often than not done to feed modest children or elderly people

Being bitten by someone or biting someone who has HIV
Kissing, if there is bleeding within the mouth
Undergoing body-modification procedures such as tattoos or piercings if tools are non properly sterilized between clients

The vast majority of cases of HIV in the United States are acquired via sexual contact. HIV cannot be spread by:

Air
Water
Insect bites
Saliva
Sweat
Tears
Casual contact such every bit shaking hands or hugging

Diagnosing HIV

HIV is usually diagnosed via a blood test. The nigh accurate and reliable test is known as a fourth-generation exam. Information technology checks for both a specific role of the HIV viral structure (chosen the p24 antigen) and your ain body's response to the infection (HIV antibodies).

Point-of-care tests are also available, and they differ from fourth-generation tests. These take a small sample of saliva or blood and provide a effect in less than an hour. Nevertheless, these are less sensitive and may not pick up all cases of HIV due to the smaller concentration of antibodies in the saliva or pocket-sized blood sample. You should e'er follow upward a betoken-of-care result with a confirmatory laboratory test. In that location are besides cocky-sampling and home-testing kits available.

Any positive result is usually repeated to check information technology wasn't a rare fake-positive. If you're diagnosed with HIV, you'll exist referred to a specialist HIV center to discuss handling right away.

HIV has a window menstruation, meaning it can take a certain length of time for a exam to be able to observe the virus in your body. Many newer tests tin can determine results in 99% of people 45 days following their potential exposure. If yous recall yous might have been exposed to HIV, it may not show upwardly in a claret test for 45 days. Point-of-care testing and at-home testing can have an even longer window period, sometimes lasting up to 12 weeks.

Treatment for HIV

In that location is no cure for HIV, but the infection can be managed, assuasive people with the virus to lead long and normal lives. Treatment for HIV usually involves a number of different antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The virus requires an enzyme called protease in order to replicate, so treatment volition involve protease inhibitors likewise as ARV drugs. This combination of medications is called highly active antiretroviral treatment, or HAART.

The aim of handling is to reduce the level of circulating virus particles in your body to a point where HIV is no longer detectable. This means that the virus is at such depression levels that information technology won't cause well-nigh as much damage to your allowed organisation, and you likely won't exist able to transmit it to anyone. Undetectable means untransmissable. Many people attain this level inside half-dozen months of treatment.

HIV drugs, like any medication, tin cause side furnishings, such as nausea, diarrhea, headache and rash. Some people experience long-term side effects, such equally changes in blood cholesterol levels or interference with liver or kidney functioning. You'll be regularly monitored for these side effects once you start medication therapy.

How well the treatment is working is monitored by two parameters: the HIV viral load, meaning how many viral particles are present in your blood, and the CD4 count, which is a measure of how much the HIV virus has damaged specific blood cells of your immune system.

Post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is a prepare of medications that you tin can take very before long later on potential exposure to HIV. In nearly cases, these drugs tin can prevent infection from occurring. This handling should merely be used in an emergency and must be taken within 72 hours of exposure. PEP is usually taken for a period of 28 days.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP (available under the brand names Truvada® and Descovy®), is a medication that you can take if you're at high risk of contracting HIV. These drugs tin can protect y'all from acquiring an infection with the virus. You can take PrEP daily or "on demand," in which you take the medication right before you could potentially exist exposed to the virus.

HIV Prognosis

HIV is a chronic condition that currently has no cure, but people with the virus have plenty of effective options for managing the condition and living comfortably. Without treatment, nearly every HIV patient volition go on to develop AIDS. However, when doctors detect HIV early and begin providing prompt treatment, the prognosis for people with HIV is very good. Present, someone who's diagnosed early with a high CD4 count has the same life expectancy as someone without HIV. However, people with HIV do appear to develop some other conditions at earlier ages than those without HIV — including cardiovascular disease, kidney affliction, lung disease, diabetes and cancer — which may equate to differences in quality of life.

If someone doesn't get treatment early, the virus will progress and weaken their allowed organisation, which may cause more complications after in life. However, handling can still be constructive, no affair when the virus is diagnosed.

There's a very small-scale group of people who, despite having HIV in their bodies, never develop AIDS. These patients are called "long-term nonprogressors," and information technology's not articulate what makes them resistant to the effects of HIV.

The best mode to prevent the spread of HIV is to practice prophylactic sex, as this is how most cases are transmitted. Consequent and right condom utilise tin can forbid the spread of the virus. Sharing needles when misusing injectable drugs is some other common form of manual, and it'southward important to never share another person'south needles or injecting equipment. If you lot're looking for help in overcoming drug addiction, contact the Substance Corruption and Mental Wellness Services Administration National Helpline at one-800-662-4357 for gratuitous and confidential counseling.

HIV tin can exist transmitted from a pregnant parent to their unborn kid, then it's important if you have HIV and get significant to inform your obstetrician immediately. They can help yous have steps to reduce the take a chance of spreading the disease to your unborn baby. Consider the use of PrEP to forbid infection acquisition if you're unable to avoid potential contact with HIV.

Resource Links:

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.html

https://www.fpa.org.uk/sites/default/files/hiv-information-and-advice.pdf

https://www.aidsmap.com/news/mar-2020/yes-same-life-expectancy-hiv-negative-people-far-fewer-years-good-health

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hiv-and-aids/

https://medlineplus.gov/hivaids.html

https://bestpractice.bmj.com/patient-leaflets/en-gb/pdf/3000138/HIV%3A%20what%20is%20it%3F.pdf

https://www.tht.org.uk/hiv-and-sexual-wellness

https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics