Being diagnosed with HIV doesn’t have to be the end of your sex life. Plenty of men and women continue to have satisfying and safe sex lives even after what sometimes seems like a game changing diagnosis. If you follow just a few, important precautions, you can continue to have a great sex life after that positive HIV test.

Most importantly, tell your partner (or partners) that you have HIV

Informing your partner of your Informing your partner of HIV positive status is the most important thing that you can do. Consent before and during sexual encounters is key, and your partner has to know what exactly they are consenting to so that they can make an informed decision about their own safety (as well as yours). In fact, in some states, not informing a partner that you are HIV positive before you are sexually involved is illegal (sometimes leading to potential jail time). That said, this can be an extremely difficult conversation to have. Speak with your HIV doctor if you have questions on how to start it.

If you are in a monogamous and/or long term relationship, make sure your partner is tested

Taking an HIV test once a year is the usual standard, regardless of whether someone is knowingly sexually involved with an HIV positive person. Every sexually active person should be tested once a year, but this is even more important for anyone sexually involved with someone that is HIV positive. Go with them to help them feel more at ease. It can be especially scary as they are knowingly taking on a slightly increased risk of infection.

Take your medications and consider PrEP for your partner

Even if you are asymptomatic, you should always take your antiviral medication in the hopes that your viral load will one day be undetectable by blood. This makes risk of infection significantly less. Also, people who are at greater risk for HIV infection should work with a doctor to start on PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). This daily, oral medication helps reduce the likelihood of contracting HIV.

Always wear a condom during sexual activity

The best way to prevent HIV infection is to wear a condom every time you have intercourse, even if HIV isn’t currently detectable in your blood (according to a recent survey, some people with HIV did not believe this to be true. According to many doctors, it is still possible to transmit HIV with a non-detectable viral load). HIV infection can still be present in genital fluid, both male and female, and able to be passed on to your partner. This should include all type of sexual activity – vaginal, anal and oral. Latex condoms provide the best protection.

Although being diagnosed with HIV can mean major changes in many facets of your life, with a few alterations your sex life can remain just as active as you want it to be. A positive HIV test doesn’t have to be the end of your sex life.

Check out this post for more informations: https://anpei.ca/detect-hiv-symptoms

Immuno suppression is the name given to the fall of the defenses of our immune system, which is responsible for protecting us from infections caused by germs such as viruses, bacteria and fungi. HIV acts infecting and destroying lymphocytes, cells that are part of our immune system – being one of the main HIV Symptoms. This destruction process is very slow and gradual, allowing patients remain asymptomatic for many years. This means that people can be infected with HIV for a long time without necessarily develop AIDS disease.

A patient is only considered as AIDS carrier when the HIV virus has attacked and destroyed such a large amount of lymphocytes that the immune system already is weakened sometimes the person does not have any HIV Symptoms. With few viable lymphocytes, the body becomes more vulnerable to infection, being susceptible to various types of viruses, bacteria, fungi and even tumors.

The true facts about HIV

In fact, the HIV virus itself causes few symptoms. The severity of the disease is the so-called opportunistic infections, which are those that take advantage of the weakness of the immune system to develop. However, HIV may in some cases also cause symptoms. Soon after infection with the virus we can have a table called acute HIV infection, which has nothing to do with AIDS. It is a similar picture to any common virus, which occurs for a body’s reaction to the presence of a new virus.

 ACUTE INFECTION BY HIV

We called acute HIV infection, the viral infection frame that comes days after the patient has been infected by the virus. A lot of signs and symptoms may be associated with acute HIV infection. Many of these symptoms are nonspecific and also occur in other infections, particularly respiratory infections by other viruses such as colds, flu, mononucleosis, etc.

Most patients with HIV contaminates that develops symptoms of acute infection. The problem is that the picture is so non-specific, and in some cases so light that most patients do not remember to have had it.

HIV Symptoms

Some signs and symptoms of HIV

• The most common symptom of acute HIV infection is fever (38 ° C to 40 ° C), occurring in over 80% of cases.
• Pharyngitis without increasing the tonsils and without the presence of pus (read: SORE THROAT – PHARYNGITIS and tonsillitis).
• Red spots on the skin (rash) occurring 48 to 72 hours after the onset of fever and may last between 5 and 8 days. This rash usually appears as rounded lesions smaller than 1 cm, reddish, with a slight relief and distributed throughout the body, especially the chest, neck and face. They can also affect the soles of the feet and palms.
• Enlarged lymph nodes (buboes) mainly in the armpits and neck.
• joint, muscle pain and headache (read: HEADACHE – MIGRAINE, tension headache and GRAVITY SIGNALS)
• In 10% of cases there may also be enlargement of the liver and / or spleen, oral ulcers, anal or genital, diarrhea and vomiting (which may lead to weight loss of up to five kilograms).
• The ulcers may be related to virus entry point mucous membranes, similar to what occurs in syphilis (read: syphilis symptoms). Oral ulcers indicate contamination by active oral sex and anal ulcers for passive anal sex. Similarly, there may be vaginal and penile ulcers as common symptoms of HIV.

 

 

 When you read or hear about sexually transmitted disease (STD) or HIV, HIV Symptoms, HIV test or HIV PEP, one question comes in your mind that what is STD. A Sexually Transmitted Disease is an illness caused by pathogens like bacteria or virus. Some examples of STDs are HIV, chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea virus. HIV is Human immune deficiency virus. HIV Symptoms are spread by oral, genetic or anal sexual contact.

Early signs of an HIV infection

In the beginning stages of an infection, many people will develop less or no signs of HIV symptoms. This is, perhaps, reasons why 20% of the 1.2 million Americans suffering with HIV today go undiagnosed before HIV test. They either don’t think they have been infected or will only act when apparent signs appear.

However, in most situations, symptoms like that of flu will develop within eight to 14 days of a contact.

This situation is commonly referred to as acute retroviral syndrome, or ARS (also known as acute seroconversion syndrome or seroconversion infection). (Find more information in this site : http://www.shimclinic.com/singapore/hiv )

ARS can often present with the following symptoms, they range from mild to severe:

• High Fever
• Fatigue
• Severe Headache
• Pharyngitis (sore throat)
• Muscular and joint aches and pain

• Arthralgia (joint pain)
• Swollen lymph glands

Usually, these HIV symptoms will be followed by a morbilliform rash. Moreover, 30% of the patents will likely face short term nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. These HIV symptoms require HIV test and then treatment by HIV PEP.

Most of these HIV symptoms are an outcome of the body’s defense response as HIV rapidly distributes from the infected area to lymphoid tissues, activating an inflammatory response.

It can persist for almost four months until such time as the defense system begins to take control of viral duplication.

While HIV will still duplicate during this later, continual stage of infection, it generally does so at a low level until the HIV virus load is stabilized. Click here.

Confirming an HIV Infection

An HIV infection can be confirmed by HIV test. Before HIV test, few things need to be confirmed:

• You need to know how HIV is transmitted
• Be aware of any possible exposure that might have occurred
• Distinguish the possible HIV symptoms
• Take an HIV test

 

HIV viral load test should be taken can for the symptomatology is suggestive of an ARS diagnosis. If the person has a negative or indeterminate antibody outcome but an increase viral load, he can be taken as infected.

Benefits of Early Detection

Before taking HIV test, distinguishing the symptoms of ARS is important as it provides a person the opportunity for early discovery. This not only ensure that HIV is not transferred to others, but provides benefits in the way of early treatment.

HIV PEP is the best therapy. Different studies have shown that the early initiation of antiretroviral therapy associates to a less risk of both HIV symptoms and AIDS defining infection. By contrast, delaying HIV test until a patient’s CD4 count drops to 350 cells/mL, it is connected with not just more unfavorable clinical events.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) involves taking anti HIV medicines as soon as possible. HIV PEP needs to be taken within 3 days after you may have been exposed to. HIV PEP is the use of antiretroviral drugs after a one high risk event to stop HIV symptoms and stop HIV from replicating and spreading through your body.

The continuous comparison between men and women is evident everywhere. In both men and women the HIV symptoms are quite similar. Some persons may show similar symptoms to others regardless of gender and then another person may show completely different symptoms. Also visit our other article here for more information. It is all dependent on the specific person and their own health. Signs and symptoms of HIV in men can range from the general flu like symptoms to weight loss, dementia and fatigue.

 

How to Spot Early Symptoms in Men

The only difference for men in HIV symptoms will be the vaginal and menstrual changes that women go through. Even in the same gender no two persons will have the same reaction to the infection of HIV. The general pattern of symptoms for men will be:

• Acute illness – this is not a definite symptom and will most likely happen 1-2 weeks after the infection and the symptoms may include sickness, chills and fever.
• Asymptomatic period – also referred to as the latency stage which can be as much as 10 years where there are no symptoms.
• Advanced infection – the immune system becomes very weak and a person will become vulnerable to many illnesses.

Flu-Like Illness

The first symptom of HIV in men as well as other persons is a very severe flu which is also called the sero-conversion illness. Sero-conversion is the term which refers to when a person’s status changes from HIV negative to HIV positive. The symptoms in this stage may vary from person to person but the general symptoms include:

• Chills and sweats
• Rapid weight loss
• Severe headaches
• Fever with a temperature that is over 100 degree Fahrenheit
• Fatigue
• Severe muscle ache

 

Ulcers & Skin Conditions

For men skin problems can occur in any stage of HIV– later or early. Some of these skin problems include:

• Skin problems may develop on the neck, face torso/chest or the palms of the hands
• Rashes may develop on the anus, penis or groin (the moist areas)
• The rashes may be minor and painless or itchy
• Ulcers may develop in the mouth or throat which make eating difficult

If a man does not display the symptoms of HIV then he cannot assume that he is HIV negative. A test should always be done if a person has been in a situation which is high risk for HIV contraction. In some cases it has been shown that the symptoms are more aggressive in women than men. For the advanced stage men will experience recurrent colds and flu, fungal infections and confusion or impaired motor skills. The fungal infections can be nail infections which will not go away and will not respond to over counter medication. In the last stage of HIV the body’s immune system becomes weakened and compromised and simple infections such as colds which the body would have usually been able to fight off it can’t anymore. If you need more information you can visit this link https://www.dred.com/uk/what-are-the-hiv-symptoms-in-men.html for more information.Most symptoms are the same for both men and women with the exception of any genital related symptoms however in whichever case tests are more accurate than reading from symptoms.