The only way to find out if you have HIV is to have an HIV test, as symptoms of HIV may not appear for many years.
Seek medical advice immediately if you think there's a chance you could have HIV. The earlier HIV is diagnosed and treated, the earlier treatment can start. This helps to reduce the condition’s opportunity to progress and the person becoming seriously ill.
HIV tests are very accurate and many clinics can give you the result on the same day. Some HIV tests may need to be repeated 1-3 months after exposure to HIV infection, but you shouldn't wait this long to seek help. HIV testing should be voluntary and the right to decline testing should be recognised. Mandatory or coerced testing is not acceptable as it undermines good public health practice and infringes on human rights.
Receiving a HIV positive diagnosis can be a shock, and it may take time to adjust. If you’ve been diagnosed with HIV, starting treatment as soon as possible is the first step to taking care of yourself and keeping your immune system strong. Although antiretroviral treatment (ART) is not a cure for HIV, it does keep the virus under control. If you manage your condition properly by taking your medication correctly and avoiding illness, you should be able to live a near-normal life. Talking to your friends and family, and other people living with HIV, can really help when things get difficult. You could look for a peer mentoring or ‘buddy’ service in your area.
Many of the things we do to take care of ourselves are common sense, such as eating well, exercising and getting plenty of rest and sleep. However, if you’re living with HIV, checking in with your healthcare professional regularly is also important. They should monitor you for other health conditions, which you may experience more as you age, and adjust your treatment as needed.
Once you adjust to living with HIV, it’s a good idea to think about what you want out of life. What are your goals? What’s important to you? Maybe you want to study, travel, have a family or change career? Don’t let HIV stop you, there’s no reason why it should.
While there's no cure for HIV, there are very effective treatments that enable most people with the virus to live a long and healthy life.
HIV can be suppressed by combination ART consisting of 3 or more antiretroviral drugs (ARV). ART does not cure HIV infection but suppresses viral replication within a person's body and allows an individual's immune system to strengthen and regain the capacity to fight off infections. A combination of HIV drugs is used because HIV can quickly adapt and become resistant.
The amount of HIV virus in the blood (viral load) is measured to see how well treatment is working. Once it can no longer be measured it's known as undetectable. Most people taking daily HIV treatment reach an undetectable viral load within 6 months of starting treatment.
163 countries have already adopted the lifelong ART treatment to all people living with HIV, which covers 98% of all people living with the disease globally. Source: World Health Organization
