HIV and AIDS

Treatment for HIV has come a long way since your parent’s days. Most people who have the virus can now live long and meaningful lives, but it’s important to get checked early. Here’s a breakdown of what it is, how you can get it, and how to treat it.

What is HIV?

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system - the system that defends our bodies against illness. Over time, HIV can make it harder to stay healthy and can make us more prone to sickness without the necessary defences to manage it.

If left untreated, HIV can develop into AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). If this happens, the body won’t be able to guard against infection and disease anymore. However, with treatment, the body learns to manage the virus and maintains its defences - helping people lead normal, healthy lives.

In short:

• HIV is the virus.
• AIDS is a condition that can develop if HIV is not managed.

How do you get HIV?

HIV is found in infected blood, semen or vaginal fluid. As a result, you can only get HIV in the following ways:

• Having unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive.
• Sharing a hypodermic syringe with someone who has HIV. (For example, using injection drugs like heroin can lead to the exchange of infected blood)
• A mother who has HIV can pass it on to her baby while she’s pregnant, or via breastfeeding.

The risk of contracting HIV through unprotected oral sex is significantly lower. But it’s still possible to transmit HIV if semen, vaginal fluid or menstrual blood come into contact with bleeding gums or mouth infections.

In the past, people have been exposed to HIV after receiving contaminated blood in a transfusion. Luckily, these days this is incredibly rare since most countries test blood for HIV prior to any transfusions.

The virus can’t survive outside of the body. This means that you cannot catch or transmit HIV from kissing, snogging, toilet seats, sharing towels or giving blood.

HIV and AIDS symptoms

Symptoms of HIV

While some people show no symptoms of HIV infection, between 70 and 90% will exhibit some sort of signs within 2-6 weeks after a possible exposure. This is the early stage, or acute HIV infection.

These might include:

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Swollen glands
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Rash
• Headache
• Mouth ulcers

After these symptoms pass, HIV might not be noticeable for years, but the the virus is still active in the body. This is why people can live with HIV for a long time without knowing it.

Symptoms of AIDS

If untreated, HIV can eventually lead to AIDS. These symptoms may include:

• Rapid weight loss
• Chronic diarrhoea
• Night sweats
• Persistent fatigue
• Recurrent infections
• Skin issues or unusual spots
• Memory loss or confusion

“Around 28% of people with HIV don’t even know they’re infected,” says Gareth Davies of the Terrence Higgins Trust. “That’s why it’s very important to go and get tested if you think you may have put yourself at risk. Or if you’re starting a new sexual relationship. You can never really be too careful.”

With testing and treatment, most people never reach the AIDS stage of the virus, and go on to live similar lives to those who don’t have HIV.

Getting an HIV test

You can get tested for free at your local NHS sexual health clinic, you can find your nearest clinic here.

You can also order an at-home testing kit with SH:24.

Most clinics recommend a window period of 45 days (7 weeks). This means that the test will be highly accurate after 45 days since your last potential exposure.

Testing is usually completed by providing a blood sample.

If you’re testing at home, you’ll be provided with a finger prick kit to collect your sample. This process is largely painless, quick and easy, but if you’re apprehensive about it, or don’t like blood, then it’s recommended to test at your local sexual health clinic.

Is there a cure for HIV?

While there is no cure for HIV yet, major progress has been made in managing the virus. Treatment can now suppress the virus to undetectable levels and prevent it from developing into AIDS.

Most people take one tablet a day to manage the virus effectively and live a normal life into old age. Furthermore, they cannot pass the virus onto anybody else.

Stigma around HIV and AIDS

HIV and AIDS continue to be heavily stigmatised. In fact, one of the hardest parts of living with HIV is dealing with the stigma that still exists. This is despite huge breakthroughs in managing the virus and the fact that early treatment brings it under control and undetectable.

Misinformation, fear, and judgement are still present in today’s society, and it can make people feel isolated or ashamed, so let’s be clear:

• HIV is a medical condition, and not a moral failure.
• Anyone can get HIV.
• People with HIV can love, work, have sex, start families, and live long lives.

If HIV is affecting your mental health, then chat to one of our counsellors or meet other young people via our online community.

Managing your mental health

Being overly concerned about contracting HIV can have an impact on your mental health.

If you’re anxious about waiting for test results then it’s important to prioritise your wellbeing during this time. Here are a few things that might help:

Write down all of your worries

Our minds get really busy when we receive unexpected news. A great way to slow them down is to write out all of your thoughts on paper or your phone. This allows you to tackle each thought one by one and gives you back a sense of control. If you have any unanswered questions then make a note of them and ask your GP.

Limit screen time

When we’re feeling anxious about our health we’re more likely to doomscroll. This is when we search endlessly through the internet for information that either confirms or denies our thoughts. While finding relevant information about your sexual health can be beneficial, it’s easy to get lost down an internet rabbit hole.

Make sure to take breaks, set boundaries and limit your screen time if you find that you’re spending a lot of time browsing information that isn’t ultimately helpful.

Be proud of yourself

It’s important to remember that you have done the right thing by prioritising your health and the health of others. Remember that it might seem difficult now, but your test results will give you a conclusion and peace of mind.

For more resources on how to manage your mental health, check out our Mental Health section.

Sam*, 17, has had HIV since birth. None of his friends know he's HIV positive, but he gets support from Teen Spirit - the UK's leading group for teens with HIV.

I found out about my HIV status when I was 11. I was at the hospital with my sister, who has HIV as well. She went in to see the nurse first and came out with tears rolling down her cheeks and her face in her hands.

We’d always had hospital check-ups and medication, so I didn’t understand why she was so upset. I thought it was just going to be a normal check up and they’d show me the files that I never understood. But there were no files, the nurse just said, “Sam, we need to talk to you. The reason why you come here, the reason why you take your medication, is because you have HIV.”

My first thought was that I was going to die. When I was in primary school you heard that if you’d got HIV it was because you were gay, and you were going to die. I wondered how long I’d got to live, but I didn’t want to ask because it would feel too real. The nurse broke it down and told me I wasn’t going to die, and I would be OK with the medication. She was trying to comfort me, but I didn’t feel like being comforted.

Life change

In the days after, I felt I needed a life change. I thought HIV was very dangerous and whoever has it and doesn’t know about it could get seriously ill. I felt like I wasn’t a kid anymore, and that I needed to grow up. I was scared about accidentally cutting myself, so I started acting differently at school.

I had been very smart and polite, but I just curled up into a ball and became really closed off. I wouldn’t play about in class and throughout secondary school I was really stiff. I could still have a laugh, but always felt like I had to have some self control. I’m really comfortable now and looking back I just think ‘geez, I could have let myself go a little bit sometimes’. I really regret that.

I decided not to tell my friends. I remember being in Year 6 and hearing people talk about Elton John being gay. A boy I knew said: “He’s probably going to get HIV, that’s disgusting.” From then on I decided not to tell anyone as I thought they wouldn’t understand.

My sister told her friends about her status and it was really surprising because one friend stayed close, but the friend she was closest to drew back completely. She was probably scared. She wasn’t a bad person; she just needed to be told a little bit more about HIV.

At one point I wanted to tell people. My sister said: “It’s entirely up to you; if you don’t want to do it then you don’t have to.” I felt like if I was able to tell someone, just one person, it would boost my confidence. But I don’t know if my friends understand HIV because we never really talk about it.

Carrying on

My nurse told me about Teen Spirit and I started going a year after I was told about my HIV status. I was at a point in my life where I had really low confidence because I didn’t know how to take the news of my status, but everyone was really welcoming.

Teen spirit is unique because there are loads of different projects. It’s about being positive about being ‘positive’. I remember being really quiet at first because there were a lot of big speakers. I thought, ‘wow, this lot have got so much to say, they must think having HIV is nothing, there’s obviously something’s wrong with me’. Some people weren’t fazed by having HIV at all, they carried on regardless. It just depends on your personality.

Medication differs from person to person, but I haven’t taken any since my GCSEs. My medication used to be refrigerated and come in a bottle. It was tricky, sometimes friends would ask me to go out, but it would get too late and I’d worry about missing my medication.

It’s not like I wouldn’t go out at all, but I’d be restricted by always looking at the time. Then a few years ago I started taking pills, which made it easier. They’re in this little box that you can carry around, so it’s more discreet. If it rattles I just fill it up with tissues.

Moving forward

I’m going to be 18 soon and I feel much more confident now. But when I think about disclosing my status to friends I’m still not sure. I have thought about it, but I feel like it would be a burden if I told someone, and I’d hate that. It’s too heavy for anyone else to handle – they don’t need it. Who knows if I’ll tell anyone in the future, I hope I will.

Right now I’m only looking as far ahead as uni. I’m not too sure where I want to go, but I want to do something around graphics and design. I don’t think having HIV is going to stop me from achieving anything; it’s just the stupid stigma around it that affects other people’s perception. That’s the only downfall about having HIV.

*name changed to protect identity