I Tested HIV Positive, What Does This Mean? Do I Have AIDS?
A positive HIV test result means that you are infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Being infected with HIV does not mean that you have AIDS right now. However, if left untreated, HIV infection damages a person's immune system and can progress to AIDS.
What is AIDS?
AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV infection. It results from the destruction of the infected person's immune system. Your immune system is your body's defense system. Cells of your immune system fight off infection and other diseases. If your immune system does not work well, you are at risk for serious and life-threatening infections and cancers. HIV attacks and destroys the disease-fighting cells of the immune system, leaving the body with a weakened defense against infections and cancer.
Which disease-fighting cells does HIV attack?
CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell that fights infections. HIV kills these cells. They are also called CD4+ T cells or CD4 T lymphocytes. A CD4 count is the number of CD4 cells in a sample of blood. The CD4 count tells us how well your immune system is functioning. When HIV enters a person's CD4 cells, it uses the cells to make copies of itself. This process destroys the CD4 cells and the CD4 count decreases. As you lose CD4 cells, your immune system becomes weak. A weakened immune system makes it harder for your body to fight infections and cancer. The more CD4 cells you have the better. Even people without HIV might get this blood test ordered. I have lupus myself and we include this blood test periodically to see how well or poorly my immune system is functioning. A normal range for CD4 cells is about 500-1,500.
How will I know if I have AIDS?
AIDS is not a diagnosis you can make yourself; it is diagnosed when the immune system is severely weakened. If you are infected with HIV and your CD4 count drops below 200 cells/mm3, or if you develop an AIDS-defining condition (an illness that is very unusual in someone who is not infected with HIV), you have AIDS.
What are the AIDS-defining conditions?
In December 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the most current list of AIDS-defining conditions. It may now include other diseases, but these are still the most common. The AIDS-defining conditions are:
- Candidiasis
- Cervical cancer (invasive)
- Coccidioidomycosis, Cryptococcosis, Cryptosporidiosis
- Cytomegalovirus disease
- Encephalopathy (HIV-related)
- Herpes simplex (severe infection)
- Histoplasmosis
- Kaposi's sarcoma
- Lymphoma (certain types)
- Mycobacterium avium complex
- Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)
- Pneumonia (recurrent)
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
- Salmonella septicemia (recurrent)
- Toxoplasmosis of the brain
- Tuberculosis
- Wasting syndrome
People who are not infected with HIV can also develop these diseases; this does not mean they have AIDS. To be diagnosed with AIDS, a person must be infected with HIV.
What is HIV treatment?