HIV

HIV symptoms & treatments - Illnesses & conditions | NHS inform Home Illnesses and conditions Symptoms and self-help Tests and treatments Healthy living Care, support and rights Scotlands Service Directory 0 Home Illnesses and conditions Immune system HIV HIV HIV is a long-term health condition that is now very easy to manage. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. The virus targets the immune system and if untreated, weakens your ability to fight infections and disease. Speak to a sexual health service as soon as possible if you think you might have been exposed to HIV. Symptoms of HIV Most people experience a short flu-like illness 2 to 6 weeks after infection, which lasts for 2 weeks. This is known as primary HIV infection. Symptoms of primary HIV infection include: fever (high temperature) sore throat body rash Other symptoms can include: tiredness joint pain muscle pain swollen glands After these symptoms disappear, HIV may not cause symptoms for many years. During this time, HIV continues to be active and causes damage to your immune system. This means many people who have HIV do not know theyre infected. Once the immune system becomes severely damaged symptoms can include: weight loss chronic diarrhoea night sweats skin problems recurrent infections serious life-threatening illnesses Testing for HIV If you think you might have HIV, get tested for free by: booking an appointment at your local sexual health service contacting your GP practice for an appointment ordering a home test kit contacting clinics run by charities such as the Terrence Higgins Trust or Waverley Care Scotland for an appointment contacting local drug dependency services for an appointment Services available may vary depending on where you live. Some private clinics may offer HIV testing, but they may charge. Who should get tested for HIV? Anyone who thinks they may have HIV should get tested. Certain groups of people are at a higher risk and are advised to have regular tests. For example: gay and bisexual men or men who have sex with men should have an HIV test at least once a year, or every 3 months if having sex without HIV PrEP or condoms with new or casual partners women and men from countries with high HIV prevalence, especially from sub-Saharan Africa, should have an HIV test if having sex without using HIV PrEP or condoms with new or casual partners people who inject drugs or have unprotected sex (sex without condoms or HIV PrEP ) with people who inject drugs What does a HIV test involve? The test for HIV is straightforward, highly accurate and is the only way to know if youre infected. It involves taking a sample from the body for analysis. There are 4 main types of HIV test. Blood test Where a sample of blood is taken and sent to a lab for analysis. Results are usually available within a few days. Point of care test A sample of saliva from your mouth or a small spot of blood from your finger is taken. This sample doesnt need to be sent to a lab and the result is available within a few minutes. Anyone who has a reactive point of care test still needs a confirmed laboratory test. Home sampling kit Where you collect a saliva sample or small spot of blood at home and send it off in the post for analysis. Youll be contacted by phone or text with your result in a few days. You can buy them online or from some pharmacies. Anyone who has a reactive home testing kit result is still required to have a laboratory confirmed test. Home testing kit Where you collect a saliva sample or small spot of blood yourself and test it at home. The result is available within minutes. Check that any test you buy has a CE quality assurance mark and is licensed for sale in the UK. Treatment for HIV Antiretroviral medicines are used to treat HIV. They work by stopping the virus multiplying in the body, allowing the immune system to repair itself and prevent further damage. These come in tablet form and must be taken every day. Most people with HIV take a combination of medicines. The goal of HIV treatment is to have an undetectable viral load. This means the level of HIV virus in your body is low enough to not be detected by a test. People who take HIV treatment and whose virus level is undetectable cant pass HIV on to others. Although there is no cure for HIV yet, people living with HIV who take their treatment should have a normal lifespan and good health. Without treatment, people with HIV will eventually become unwell. HIV can be fatal if its not detected and treated in time to allow the immune system to repair. Its extremely important to test for HIV if you think youve been exposed. How HIV is passed on You can get HIV by having unprotected vaginal or anal sex (sex without a condom or not taking HIV PrEP ). It may be possible for HIV to be passed on through unprotected oral sex, but the risk is very low. Other ways of getting HIV include: sharing sex toys that arent washed or covered with a new condom each time theyre used sharing needles, syringes and other injecting equipment from mother to baby before or during birth when the mother isnt taking HIV medication from mother to baby by breastfeeding when the mother isnt taking HIV medication blood transfusion (outside of the UK) Who is most at risk? People who are at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV include people who are not taking HIV PrEP medication and who are: men who have had unprotected anal sex with men women who have had unprotected sex with men who have sex with men people who have had unprotected sex with a person who has lived or travelled in a high HIV prevalence country people who inject drugs people who have had unprotected sex with somebody who has injected drugs people who have caught another sexually transmitted infection (STI) How to prevent HIV Safer sex The best way to reduce your risk of STIs is to practice safer sex . This means using a condom for vaginal, anal and oral sex. If youre having anal sex its important to also use water-based or silicon-based lubricant. HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Taking HIV PrEP before youre exposed to HIV means theres a drug inside of you to block HIV if it gets into your body, so it cant infect you. HIV Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) If you think you may have recently been exposed to HIV and you havent taken HIV PrEP medication or used a condom, you should take PEP medication. PEP is a form of emergency HIV medication taken by someone who does not have HIV but who has or may have been very recently exposed to HIV. PEP should be taken as soon as possible, but it can be taken up to 72 hours after exposure. The earlier it is taken the more effective it is. PEP is available from sexual health services or out of hours from A&E . If you inject drugs If you inject drugs, you should never share needles or other injecting equipment (including syringes, spoons and swabs). You can get free clean needles and other injecting equipment from your local injecting equipment providers, which are sometimes also called needle exchanges . Other STIs If youve been diagnosed with HIV you should get tested for all STIs and blood borne viruses including: chlamydia gonorrhoea syphilis hepatitis B hepatitis C Find your local sexual health clinic Source: Scottish Government - Opens in new browser window Last updated: 28 March 2024 How can we improve this page? Help us improve NHS inform Thank You Your feedback has been received Dont include personal information e.g. name, location or any personal health conditions. Email Address e.g. you@example.com Message Maximum of 500 characters Send feedback Add this page to\n            Info For Me Also on NHS inform HIV PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) Other health sites Terrence Higgins Trust: My HIV Waverley Care - HIV & Hep C charity NAM: HIV and AIDS HIV i-Base Brook: advice for under 25s Scottish Government: End HIV stigma AVERT: HIV and AIDS NHS inform About NHS inform Editorial policy Contact us Webchat Give feedback about NHS inform Info for Me tool Terms and conditions Privacy and cookies policy Freedom of information (FOI) Accessibility Other languages and formats  2023 NHS 24  v1.1.1.17852