AIDS is not a disease. It is a syndrome associated with the loss of immune function caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Only those who are infected with HIV will develop AIDS. This  syndrome has no other known cause. Common sexually transmitted infections such as herpes do not cause HIV or AIDS.

When a person is diagnosed with AIDS, it is usually following a long period of HIV infection. Many people, however, are not diagnosed with HIV until they have progressed to AIDS. At this point, the virus that causes AIDS has already weakened the person’s immune system. The body has become vulnerable to cancers and infections of all sorts. AIDS symptoms can be similar to those experienced by people with HIV infection. They include fevers, night sweats, swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss. However, in a person with AIDS, the immune system is often more depleted and even less able to resist infection than it is with HIV infection alone.

A person also is considered to have AIDS if he or she is suffering from HIV as well as an AIDSdefining condition. An example of such a condition is tuberculosis (TB), an airborne infection  that usually affects the lungs, but that can affect other parts of the body, too. Because HIV affects the body’s ability to fight off diseases, TB can be more dangerous and harder to fight off than it is for a healthy person, but tuberculosis is one of the few opportunistic infections that can be cured with medication. When infected people are not diagnosed with TB early or if they do not follow their `treatment plan properly, tuberculosis can speed up the progression of HIV to AIDS. TB is one of the leading killers of people with AIDS around the world.

The progression from HIV to AIDS is not completely understood, and in some cases it can take years. The CDC reports that there are tests showing a strong connection between the levels of HIV in the blood, the lowering of CD4+ T-cell counts, and the development of AIDS. Scientists believe that if the amount of HIV in the blood is reduced, it can slow down the destruction of the immune system and the onset of AIDS.

On average, HIV weakens the immune system for about 10 years before AIDS develops. This period can be shorter or longer, depending on a person’s general health, lifestyle, and willingness or ability to follow prescribed therapies. If a person infected with HIV is generally in good health and actively maintains treatment, AIDS can take longer to develop. However, if an HIV-infected person has many infections or does not consistently follow treatment, AIDS can develop sooner. It is important to be diagnosed early so that treatment can begin as soon as possible.

HIV-infected people who suspect that they may have TB should be tested for it. Because TB is easy to spread to others, people with both HIV and tuberculosis should follow the standard guidelines involving safer sex, clean needles, and other exposures.

Even before a person is aware of any symptoms, he or she can transmit the virus to others. That person even may have been exposed to HIV 10 years before being diagnosed with the virus! Because the  virus can be present but silent, because HIV infection can spread easily, and because early treatment might mean a longer period without symptoms, early diagnosis is very important. To see if you have been exposed to HIV, doctors will usually perform the HIV ELISA/Western blot test. This test is done in two steps. The first step, the HIV ELISA test, shows whether an HIV antibody is present in your bloodstream. The HIV antibody is found only in people whose immune system created it to fight HIV (the antigen). If the HIV ELISA test is positive, the Western blot is used to doublecheck the result. Confirmation is necessary partly because there are other conditions (for example, lupus, Lyme disease, and syphilis) that can produce a false positive result on the ELISA test. If a Western blot also comes out positive, the diagnosis is HIV infection.

Even if both the ELISA and Western Blot tests are negative, you may still be infected with HIV. Further tests, such as the CD4+ T-cell count or the platelet count, might be done. These tests are recommended especially if you are considered to be in a high-risk group or if you have symptoms of the virus. For example, if your immune system is impaired by drug or alcohol use, it can take much longer for your body to make antibodies to the virus. Therefore, more time is needed to see if HIV antibodies show up in your bloodstream. When someone suspected of carrying HIV receives a negative test result, he or she should be tested again every three months for one year. This retesting is important, because sometimes HIV-related symptoms are observed long before a test shows the presence of the HIV antibody.

If you have symptoms of HIV infection, but test negative for HIV-1 (the virus type more common in the United States), you should be tested for HIV-2. Although the overall number of cases of HIV-2 in the U.S. is low compared with cases of HIV-1, the CDC believe that routine testing for both types of HIV could help control the spread of the infection.

If you test positive for the HIV antibody, a doctor might order another test to determine your viral load, or viral burden. This term refers to the actual amount of HIV circulating in your bloodstream. It is an important measure, because a higher viral load can mean more severe symptoms or a faster progression to the next stage of infection. An HIV RNA viral load test determines the number of HIV copies found in a milliliter of blood. The same test might be done again and again over time to see whether there are any changes in viral load in relation to symptoms. The results of this test can help your doctor give you advice about whether or when to start treatment. If you are already on a particular drug therapy, the test can determine when to adjust the therapy.

The tests described next can indicate whether your immune system is being suppressed, which means that something is keeping it from working properly. Often, these tests are used to monitor the progress of HIV infection or AIDS. Sometimes, the tests are given to help confirm an initial diagnosis of HIV infection.

CD4+ T-cell count:

CBC (complete blood count) or WBC (white blood cell count):

Platelet count:

Skin test anergy:

People often ignore the important of HIV home tests. There is a common misconception among people that HIV and Aids only attack specific patients and show specific symptoms of HIV. The HIV statistics reveal that people of any age, race, sexual preference, background or lifestyle can affected this disease while some people still believe that the disease only attack people in prostitutes, homosexuals, and drug users.

Many people have misunderstanding of this disease that the symptoms only appear when someone gets infected. That is why most people HIV testing if the symptoms begin to show. Being sick continuously is do not means that someone get infected to this disease. It is important to know that many people do not show the symptoms at all for months or even years. HIV Symptoms do have numerous kinds which seem different each other. While diseases such as herpes and gonorrhea have specific symptoms, HIV is an immune deficiency which has no specific symptoms. This condition is leading to wrong diagnose which makes people more susceptible to other illnesses. People often think that a cold or flu is often a symptom of HIV.