Healthier Scotland. Scottish Government

HIV symptoms, effects and how it's caught

Signs and symptoms of HIV

HIV is impossible to spot without a blood test.

This is because the main symptom of HIV - an inability to fight off other infections - can have many other causes.

If you or your partner think you may have been infected with HIV, it is important for both of you to get tested.

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When will HIV symptoms show up?

The course of an HIV infection varies from person to person.

HIV can lie dormant (inactive) for months or even years before health problems begin. However, the person with HIV can still pass on the virus to other people during this time.

If the infection is discovered early, modern medicines can help the person with HIV stay well and lead a healthy life for many years.

This is why it's important for anyone who has been at risk of catching HIV to get tested.

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How is HIV caught?

HIV is an infection found in blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal fluid. You can only get HIV from someone who already has the virus and only if any of these body fluids get into your bloodstream.

HIV can enter the bloodstream through direct blood-to-blood contact or during unprotected sex. It can also be passed from an infected mother to her child.

You can't get HIV through:

• sharing food, cooking or eating utensils
• kissing, shaking hands or hugging
• using the toilet.

Most people with HIV in the UK catch the infection through unprotected sex or by sharing needles used to inject illegal drugs.

A smaller number catch HIV from their mother or in a hospital setting abroad where needles and other equipment was used on more than one person and not cleaned properly.

Others may have caught the infection through blood transfusions given before 1984 (all UK blood products are now screened for HIV and are therefore safe).

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What health problems does HIV cause?

HIV - the Human Immunodeficiency Virus - is a disease of the immune system. It weakens the body's ability to fight off other diseases and infections. When this happens, the person is said to have developed AIDS.

Eventually, the virus weakens the immune system so much that the person dies, often from complications caused by relatively minor bugs such as the common cold.

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HIV and pregnancy

HIV can be passed from a mother to her child before birth. However, medicines are available that help to prevent this from happening.

This is why all pregnant mothers in the UK are screened for HIV early in pregnancy (unless they ask not to be).

The sooner treatment starts, the better the chances are of preventing the baby from catching the virus and the better it will be for the health of the mother.

Read more about HIV treatment and pregnancy

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How to avoid HIV infection

The best way to prevent all sexually transmitted infections including gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV, is to practise safer sex.

This means using a condom for vaginal or anal sex and a dam or condom for oral sex.

Read more about better, safer sex

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