HIV/ AIDS Symptoms and Testing

Jason Warriner, Clinical Director at the Terrence Higgins Trust tells us about HIV/ AIDS

What is HIV/ AIDS?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.  HIV can  infect and gradually destroy an infected person's immune system, reducing their body’s ability to fight infection and cancers.

AIDS is short for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.  AIDS is not a single disease or condition. It is a term that describes the point when a person’s immune system can no longer cope because of the damage caused by HIV and they start to get one or more specific illnesses.

The Health Protection Agency estimates that around 1 in 4 of people in the UK living with HIV do not know that they have become infected. Since 2003 more of the people newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK became infected through heterosexual sex than gay sex and there were 6,600 new infections diagnosed in 2010.

Main sources of infection


The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are:
* seminal fluid
* vaginal fluids, including menstrual fluids
* breast milk
* blood
* the mucous found in the rectum
* pre-cum (the fluid that the penis produces for lubrication before ejaculation)

Signs and symptoms


The first symptoms of HIV can appear within six weeks of infection.  After this many people can have no symptoms for years.

Common symptoms of HIV infection include:
* unintentional weight loss
* chronic diarrhoea
* skin rashes, especially on your face, genitals or anus
* an increase in herpes ulcers or thrush infections in your mouth and genitals
* sweats, especially at night
* unusual tiredness
* nausea or loss of appetite
* swollen lymph glands in the neck, groin or armpits.


These symptoms can all be caused by conditions other than HIV and do not mean you have AIDS. However, if you experience all or some of these symptoms it is a good idea to get an HIV test, especially if you have had unprotected sex or have engaged in any other high risk activity including injecting drugs, had sex with multiple partners, have had unprotected penetrative sex with someone who is infected, have received and infection or transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, have received a donation of semen (artificial insemination), skin grafts or organ transplants taken from someone who is infected. It is also possible for a mother who is infected to pass the infection to her baby; this can occur during pregnancy, at birth and through breastfeeding. Sharing unsterilized injection equipment that has previously been used by someone who is infected.

Testing for HIV


Knowing you HIV status is always better for your long term health.  An HIV test needs a sample of blood from your arm or a from a pin prick on your finger.

Why test?


Treatment for HIV has become very good over the last ten years or so, and being HIV positive is no longer considered to be a fatal condition.

If you have HIV, avoiding testing does not make the virus go away. But it does allow HIV to silently damage your health. The longer someone goes untested and untreated, the more chance that HIV treatment will not work as well as it would if started sooner.

HIV testing can save your life and protect others too. Imagine if you had HIV but did not realise it and then infected others without knowing: you can pass it on to others if you have sex without a condom, or practice any other unsafe sexual or lifestyle behaviour.

For more help and support please contact Better2Know, the Terrence Higgins Trust or your GP.  Prices for HIV tests can be found here.  To find the Better2Know clinic nearest you please click here.