What is the
difference between HIV and AIDS?
The letters HIV stand for Human
Immunodefiency Virus. This virus infects cells of the human immune
system and destroys them or stops them from working. Someone whose
immune system has been damaged by HIV is much more vulnerable to
infections and cancers.
AIDS is short for Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome. Someone with HIV does not have AIDS unless their
immune system has been severely weakened. By this point, the person
will have developed one of a number of particularly severe illnesses,
or will have lost most of their immune system cells. Read more about
stages of HIV infection.
What are the symptoms
of HIV and AIDS?
There are no standard symptoms of HIV
infection or of AIDS.
People living with HIV may feel and
look completely well but their immune systems may nevertheless be
damaged. It is important to remember that once someone is infected
they can pass on HIV right away, even if they feel healthy.
As time passes without effective
treatment, HIV weakens an infected person's immune system, making them
much more vulnerable to
opportunistic infections. These infections are caused by germs
that are around us all the time but which can normally be fought off
by a healthy immune system. Once HIV has broken down the body's
defences, such infections can take hold and produce any of a wide
range of symptoms - some of them very severe. Also, some tumours or
cancers can occur as a result of a damaged immune system and can cause
damage to the brain and nervous system.
Such symptoms are, however, not
caused directly by HIV, and they can't by themselves be interpreted as
definite signs of HIV infection or AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS requires
signs of severe immune deficiency, which cannot be explained by any
factor except HIV. This generally involves an HIV test.
The only way to know for sure whether
a person is infected with HIV is for them to have an
HIV test.
So does HIV by itself
have any symptoms?
Most people who become infected with
HIV do not notice any immediate change in their health. However, some
may suffer from a flu-like illness within a few weeks of infection, or
may develop a rash or swollen glands. These signs do not mean that
they are already developing AIDS.
"I have flu-like
symptoms/swollen glands - could it be HIV?"
Many illnesses have flu-like symptoms
or cause swollen glands. You cannot have HIV unless you have been
directly exposed to the virus. HIV can be transmitted during sexual
intercourse with an infected person, through contact with infected
blood or breastmilk, or during unsafe injections or medical
procedures. If you are not sure whether or not you have been put at
risk then first read our page about
how you can and can't be
infected with HIV.
The only way you can find out whether
or not you have been infected is to have an
HIV test.
