Difference Between AIDS and HIV

HIV is the cause of AIDS and impairs the body's ability to fight infections. Contact with contaminated blood, sperm, or vaginal secretions can spread the virus. Flu-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and exhaustion can arise within a few weeks following HIV infection. The condition is therefore typically asymptomatic until it advances to AIDS. Weight loss, fever or night sweats, weariness, and repeated infections are among the signs of AIDS. Although there is no cure for AIDS, strict adherence to antiretroviral regimens (ARVs) can significantly delay the disease's progression while also preventing secondary infections and consequences.

Keyterms: HIV, AIDS, Immunity, Virus, Pneumonia, Kaposi sarcoma, Cancer, Skin, Wasting syndrome, Tuberculosis, Immune system, Cell

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What is AIDS?

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HIV infection advances into AIDS. Because both terminologies represent the same disease, the labels HIV and AIDS might be confusing. The majority of persons living with HIV do not have AIDS. And most persons infected with HIV will not get AIDS if they begin treatment (with antiretroviral therapy, or ART) soon after becoming infected. When a person living with HIV develops AIDS, their immune system becomes so weak that they are unable to fight off infections and cancers such as PCP (a type of pneumonia), KS (Kaposi sarcoma, a type of cancer that affects the skin and internal organs), wasting syndrome (involuntary weight loss), memory impairment, or tuberculosis.

A person living with HIV is diagnosed with AIDS even if they do not have one of these illnesses because their immune system declines, as measured by the amount of CD4 cells. However, it is critical to note that most persons infected with HIV will not acquire AIDS if they begin treatment soon after getting infected.

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What is HIV?

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HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that affects cells in the body that help the body fight infection, making the person more susceptible to other infections and disorders. It is communicated through contact with a person's HIV-positive bodily fluids, most commonly during unprotected sex (sex without a condom or HIV medicine to prevent or treat HIV) or through sharing injection drug equipment.

Is HIV Curable?

If HIV is not treated, it can progress to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The human body is incapable of eliminating HIV, and there is no effective HIV cure. Hence, unfortunately HIV persists for your entire life.

People with HIV, though, can live long and healthy lives by taking HIV medicine (known as antiretroviral therapy or ART) and preventing HIV transmission to their sexual partners. Furthermore, there are efficient strategies to avoid contracting HIV through sex or drug use, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). HIV, which was discovered in 1981, is the source of one of humanity's deadliest and longest-lasting epidemics.

How Do I Know If I Have HIV?

The only definite way to tell if you have HIV is to be tested. The testing process is quite straightforward. You can request an HIV test from your doctor. They are also available at many medical clinics, substance abuse programs, community health centres, and hospitals. A home testing kit can also be purchased at a drugstore or online.

Self-testing for HIV is also a possibility. Self-testing enables people to take an HIV test and receive their results in the privacy of their own home or another private location. A self-test kit can be purchased at a drugstore or online. Self-test kits are also available for free from some health departments or community-based organizations.

How Do You Get or Transmit HIV?

You can only obtain HIV if you come into direct contact with certain body fluids from an HIV-positive person with a detectable viral load. These fluids are as follows:

• Blood
• Semen and pre-seminal fluid
• Rectal fluids
• Vaginal fluids
• Breast milk

The HIV in these fluids must enter the bloodstream of an HIV-negative individual via a mucosal membrane (found in the rectum, vagina, mouth, or tip of the penis); open cuts or sores; or direct injection. People with HIV who take HIV medication as prescribed on a daily basis and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have virtually minimal chance of sexually transferring HIV to HIV-negative partners.

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Difference Between HIV and AIDS 

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In the case of HIV, the virus infiltrates the immune system, whereas, in the case of AIDS, the final stage of the spectrum of illnesses is produced by HIV infection. Patients with HIV will encounter mild issues; symptoms will be similar to flu, however, patients with AIDS will experience severe signs and symptoms, impairing their quality of life. A person with HIV may or may not have AIDS, but a person with AIDS will have HIV. HIV may be identified with a simple blood test; however, AIDS is a little more complicated. If you are infected with HIV, your immune system develops antibodies against the virus, which may be detected by a blood or saliva test, however, diagnosing AIDS requires a CD4 cell count. Nonetheless, because it is the ultimate stage of HIV, it can go untreated until it is too late.

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Things to Remember

• HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
• AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. 
• HIV causes AIDS, HIV spreads like any other virus and AIDS is a contractable disease.
• Fatigue, Fever, Severe Headaches, Swollen Lymph nodes are few of the symptoms along with flu-like conditions that mark the HIV infection.
•  HIV or AIDS is typically a sexually transmitted disease which finds its way into different hosts through bodily fluids such as semen, breast milk, rectal fluid, vaginal fluid, blood etc.
• HIV attacks the ‘disease/infection fighting’ cells in the body and if left untreated, develops AIDS making the host susceptible to other diseases or disorders; i.e., it deteriorates the Immune system of the host over time.
• HIV alone is incapable of killing the host, however, at its final stage i.e., AIDS, the host is killed by various complications and other diseases that it might acquire.
• HIV, though treatable at its primary stages, unfortunately does not have any cure and stays for the entire life period of the host.
• Hosts with HIV does not imply a sure case of AIDS. HIV, if not treated at early stages, advances into the deadly AIDS making the immune system of the host completely weak.