Your Questions on HIV
Q: What is HIV?
HIV stands for ‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus’. Having HIV means you carry this virus in your body. The HIV virus can attach itself to a kind of cell in your blood called a CD4 lymphocyte (often referred to as ‘T cells’). These cells are an important part of your immune system.
Over time the HIV can damage a person’s immune system. Without treatment, the immune system may become so weak that it cannot fight off certain infections that usually don’t cause any problems in healthy people. AIDS is the term used to describe these unusual infections in HIV positive people.
Nowadays, the use of the word AIDS is being phased out in favour of the term 'advanced HIV disease'.
Q: How is HIV spread?
HIV is not spread by casual contact, like a cold or the flu can be. The virus cannot survive for long outside the body and so cannot be passed on through everyday contact at home, at school or work.
HIV is passed from one person to another in sexual fluids, blood and breast milk. This may happen during unprotected penetrative sexual intercourse, from a mother to her baby, or when sharing needles to inject drugs.
Other body fluids, like saliva, sweat or urine, do not contain enough of the HIV virus to infect another person.
It is important to remember that there are steps you can take which may prevent transmission. Using condoms during sexual intercourse is just one of these. There are also precautions which may prevent transmission from a mother to her baby, and if you are HIV positive, you can discuss the options with your HIV doctor or sexual health worker.
Although it is possible to become infected with HIV through oral sex, the risk of becoming infected in this way is much lower than the risk of infection via unprotected penetrative sexual intercourse with a man or woman.
In the past, HIV had been passed on during blood transfusions and affected some people who regularly required blood products. However, since 1985/1986 in the UK, all blood donations are screened for HIV, and blood products for haemophiliacs are specially treated.
Q: What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?
HIV is short for ‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus’.
AIDS is short for ‘Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome’
Having HIV means you carry this virus in your body. People with HIV usually feel and look perfectly well. Without treatment, HIV will damage most people’s immune system. When someone’s immune system is very weak they can develop infections which are very rare in people without HIV. Once someone has had one of these infections they are said to have AIDS. Without treatment, the average time from catching HIV to becoming ill with HIV-related infections is about 8-10 years although this varies for some individuals. However these days, as advances are made in treatments, individuals in the UK may never get to this stage but manage their condition and live long and fulfilling lives.
Q: How can people with HIV give birth to babies that do not have HIV?
HIV can be passed on from mothers to their babies during childbirth or when breast feeding. However, there are steps which can be taken to greatly reduce the risk.
Some of these steps include
- Taking Anti-HIV drugs in pregnancy, during and after birth.
- Elective caesarian section
- Anti-HIV drugs given to the baby after birth
- Avoiding breast feeding
Using these strategies can reduce the chance of passing HIV on to your baby to around 2%.
Women living with HIV can now get pregnant and have a baby that doesn't have HIV.
If you are HIV positive, your specialist HIV doctor or sexual health worker will be able to discuss all the options with you.
If the woman is HIV negative but wants to get pregnant by a man who does have the virus, a doctor will carry out a process called ‘ sperm washing’ . Sperm washing removes all the HIV before artificial insemination takes place to impregnate the woman.
Do I have to tell my GP I am positive?
No. You are not obligated to tell your GP, however, it may be to your advantage to keep them informed to ensure that any medical advice or treatment they provide for you will not work against any other medication you may be taking. It is also advantageous to tell your dentist about your status so that you are assured of the most appropriate treatment.
Is the virus present in menstrual blood?
Yes. The virus is blood-borne and therefore present in all blood.
