You cannot tell by looking at someone whether he or she is infected with HIV or has AIDS. The only way to know your HIV status for sure is to be tested for HIV.Ĭan I tell whether someone has HIV or AIDS?
Even if you look and feel healthy, you may be infected. Soon after infection, some people may develop mild, temporary flu-like symptoms, or persistently swollen glands. Only when someone with HIV begins to experience one or more of these conditions or loses a significant amount of immune cells are they diagnosed with AIDS.
When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and then resides and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells-the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.ĪIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.Īs HIV grows in an infected person, it damages or kills specific immune cells, weakening the immune system and leaving the person vulnerable to infections and illnesses ranging from pneumonia to cancer.
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.
