HIV and AIDS

One of the most basic truths about HIV is that gender, age, race and economic status are irrelevant when it comes to vulnerability to HIV. Anyone can become infected. The HIV epidemic is going to be with us for a long time to come.

 

HIV invades and destroys the immune system, which protects the body from infection. This means that a person who carries the HIV virus is prone to many different illnesses and may die from diseases that are harmless to healthy people.

In the UK, new cases of HIV are now more prevalent among heterosexuals. Getting tested for HIV is a smart thing to do. Yet many people refuse to get tested. They find the idea of getting tested so frightening they just don't want to do it, even though they will often continue to be stressed and worried about whether they're infected. Others think of testing as unnecessary because they want to believe that HIV is something that won't touch them.

Intravenous drug users and people with many different partners are particularly at risk from HIV. The virus is found in bodily fluids such as blood, sperm and vaginal secretions, and can pass through little scratches that may occur during sexual intercourse.

 

Although the symptoms of HIV vary, they do include:

 

Fever
Diarrhoea
Sweating at night
Loss of weight
Swollen glands


There is no cure for HIV and AIDS, but the earlier the diagnosis is made, the easier it is for the doctors to help. Today, efficient treatments exist that increase quality of life and prolong life itself. Anyone who is infected with HIV should only have safe sex using barrier protection and inform all previous partners about their infection.

 

We can now offer a HIV test and results while you wait.