HIV and AIDS – the Essential Facts

If you anticipate you may accept been apparent to HIV or AIDS, through bent sex with a drifter or adventitious acknowledgment to an adulterated person’s blood, again there’s no time to adjournment – an HIV analysis is essential, both for your accord of apperception and for the account of your health. Here are the capital facts that you charge to apperceive about HIV and AIDS…
How can HIV/AIDS be caught?
HIV and AIDS are transmitted through absolute acquaintance with adulterated actual fluids. There are several accepted means that humans are infected:
• Animal acquaintance through vaginal or anal sex
• Sharing all-overs with an adulterated individual. Rarely, this can cover tattoos and piercings
• Claret transfusions or adventitious acknowledgment to adulterated blood
• Mother to adolescent manual during abundance or during birth. Breast feeding, in some cases, can aswell advance to HIV infection
How can it be prevented?   
The a lot of important precautions to yield are to accomplish abiding that you consistently use a new, antiseptic aggravate for any bang that you take, and to consistently use a condom during sex unless both you and your accomplice accept had an HIV test. The contraceptive pill, diaphragms and spermicidal clabber cannot anticipate infection during sex – alone condoms are an able preventative.
What are the symptoms?
Unfortunately, HIV and AIDS do not present any bright symptoms. Approximately 4 weeks afterwards infection, a lot of humans will ache a fever, glandular swelling, rashes, a abscessed throat and beef aches. Since these affection are so general, they are frequently mistaken or misdiagnosed. The alone way to be assertive is to yield an HIV or AIDS test.
What are the treatments?
There is currently no cure or vaccine for HIV or AIDS. However, there are assorted courses of retroviral drugs that can advice to administer the affection and abundantly access the superior and breadth of life. Early analysis is critical, which is why HIV tests are so important for anyone who thinks they may accept been apparent to the virus.
How do I get an HIV test?
There are abundant animal bloom clinics about the US that action arcane HIV tests. A lot of humans accept to acquirement them abreast rather than through their allowance for the account of privacy.
The aboriginal HIV analysis that is usually administered is the HIV-1 test. This is a claret analysis that checks for the antibodies that the physique produces to action the HIV infection. However, it can alone be taken six weeks or added afterwards exposure, as it takes time for the physique to accomplish these antibodies. Another HIV test, the HIV PCR, can ascertain the virus 4-11 canicule afterwards exposure. If either of these antecedent tests gives a absolute result, chase tests are appropriate to affirm it (the HIV-1 analysis can occasionally accord apocryphal absolute results, as it is actual sensitive.)
How generally should I accept an HIV test?
Comprehensive STD screening, including an HIV test, is recommended already a year for all sexually alive adults who accept three or added animal ally in that year. An HIV analysis is aswell recommended if you intend to alpha accepting bent sex with a partner, and, due to the accident of manual to a child, is usually allotment of a accepted bloom analysis up at the alpha of a pregnancy.