Please keep reading to learn how to work with your physician in this matter. AIDS, on the other hand, is acquired. People get it by catching the HIV virus, which breaks down the immune system. Sometimes the HIV virus is passed from a mother to her unborn child, but this is still an infectious, rather than a genetic, problem. Though it is hoped that research efforts in primary immune deficiency and AIDS will at times benefit each other, they are completely separate conditions where diagnosis and treatment are concerned.
Correct diagnosis begins with awareness of the signs discussed above.
Once the condition is suspected, doctors can order blood tests and screenings to evaluate the function of the infection-fighting cells of the immune system. Because primary immune deficiency is genetic in nature, blood relations of patients are often examined. Sometimes an unborn fetus can be tested for a specific disease. Of course, tests should be ordered as soon as primary immune deficiency is suspected, so that treatment may begin quickly if a problem is present. Once a diagnosis is established, much can be done for immunodeficient patients.