About HIV and AIDS

HIV is an abbreviation for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is a virus that can be transmitted between people through unprotected sex. You contract HIV if you become infected with the virus.

The most common is not to get any symptoms in connection with getting the virus. How long it then takes until you feel the HIV infection varies from person to person, but it can be several years. During that time, you usually feel as usual and do not notice anything from the virus.

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is the collective name for the condition that occurs when an untreated HIV infection has severely weakened the immune system. Various infections and diseases then become life-threatening. HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. The time from the moment of infection to contracting AIDS varies from person to person. It is usually said that it takes ten years on average for a person with untreated HIV to develop AIDS. During this time, you do not have to feel sick, but can transmit HIV to others if you are not on treatment.

The risk of transmitting HIV to another person is greatest in the first months after someone has contracted HIV, before HIV treatment is initiated. At this point the amount of virus in the blood and other body fluids is high, while the person who has HIV is unaware about his or her condition.

Untreated HIV can be transmitted in the following ways:

– in case of unprotected anal and vaginal intercourse with a person who has untreated HIV.
– in case of oral sex (oral sex) with a person who has untreated HIV.
– in case of transfusion of HIV-infected blood.
– through the transfer of infected blood when sharing syringes.
– from an HIV-positive mother to the child during pregnancy, at birth, or in connection with breastfeeding.

The treatments against HIV are so well developed today that the amount of virus barely reaches measurable levels. The availability of drugs against HIV has increased significantly in the last 10 years. The modern HIV drugs are very effective and usually have no or only mild and usually temporary side effects. You will receive a combination of several different antiviral drugs to slow down the production of virus the best way.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, recommends that HIV treatment should be initiated much earlier than before and for some groups preferably immediately after the HIV diagnosis. It is the doctor’s responsibility to find the right combination of medication that suits you best.

The only way to know if you have HIV or not is to take an HIV test. It is important that you get tested if you think you have exposed yourself to an HIV risk. Finding out early if you have HIV provides the opportunity for treatment, which can make you infection-free during sex. Getting tested can also be a way to get rid of your worry, fear, and anxiety about having HIV, if you don’t have HIV but have been exposed to risk.

The treatment is so effective that the amount of virus drops to immeasurable levels. Treated HIV is not transmitted through sex.

The risk of HIV being transmitted during pregnancy or childbirth is very low if the mother is treated in an early stage.

At present, it is not certain how much the risk of infection is reduced if you share injection tools.

Breastfeeding, blood transfusions, and organ transplants are still considered a risk even if HIV is treated.

The risk of transmitting HIV to another person is greatest in the first months after someone has contracted HIV and before the HIV treatment has started. At that point, the amount of virus in the blood and other body fluids is high, while the person who has HIV is unaware of his or her condition.

Untreated HIV can be transmitted in the following ways:

– in case of unprotected anal and vaginal intercourse with a person who has untreated HIV.
– in case of oral sex (oral sex) with a person who has untreated HIV.

– in case of transfusion of HIV-infected blood.

– through the transfer of infected blood when sharing syringes.

– from an HIV-positive mother to the child during pregnancy, at birth, or in connection with breastfeeding.

Treated HIV is not transmitted through sex. There is still an exaggerated fear of how HIV can be transmitted. This fear is usually rooted in ignorance. You can spend time with a person who has untreated HIV without fear of becoming infected.

-Untreated HIV is not transmitted by touching, caressing or kissing, nor through objects such as household items or through food and drink or through mosquitoes and other insects.

-You cannot get HIV if, for example, you swim in the same swimming pool with someone who has untreated HIV, use the same toilet or sit on the same bench in the sauna.

Condoms protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections if they are worn throughout intercourse, i.e. when the penis is inserted into the vagina, mouth or rectum.

-Never share syringes with anyone.

-Get tested if you are unsure and ask your partner if he or she has been tested.

-Using a condom is the safest way to protect yourself against untreated HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

A preventive medicine to reduce the risk of getting HIV. PrEP is an HIV preventive measure that means that HIV-negative people take a medicine that reduces the risk of getting HIV during sexual contact.

PrEP does not protect against other sexually transmitted infections or against pregnancy. PrEP also cannot cure HIV.

If you are considering starting PrEP, it is very important to get an HIV test first. This is to ensure that you are not already a carrier of the virus. If you take PrEP and carry HIV without knowing it, there is a high risk that the virus will develop resistance. The same applies to hepatitis B as PrEP is also effective against this virus.

PrEP must never replace HIV testing.