What HIV Does to the Body | And Should You Get Tested?
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into HIV, a retrovirus that targets the immune system, particularly CD4 cells. It discusses transmission through bodily fluids and varying risks associated with different sexual practices. The video also covers the importance of testing, prevention strategies like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in managing the disease. It emphasizes the significance of early detection and treatment, highlighting that with proper care, individuals with HIV can lead a healthy life.
Takeaways
- 😷 HIV is a serious sexually transmitted infection with no cure and can lead to death if untreated.
- 🌟 HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is a retrovirus that uses RNA instead of DNA and targets the immune system, specifically CD4 cells.
- 💉 HIV is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk, but not through casual contact.
- 🚫 The risk of HIV transmission varies with different forms of intercourse, with receptive anal intercourse being the highest risk.
- 👨❤️👨 Men who have sex with men are more likely to get HIV due to a higher likelihood of engaging in anal intercourse.
- 🔍 Females are more susceptible to HIV due to the larger surface area of the vaginal lining and potential for longer exposure to infected semen.
- 🩺 Nonsexual bloodborne exposure to HIV carries a different set of risks, such as through blood transfusions or needle sharing.
- 🤒 Early symptoms of HIV can be mild and flu-like, often going unnoticed and leading to further transmission.
- 🛡 Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can slow HIV progression significantly, helping maintain CD4 cell counts and prevent illness.
- 🛑 Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are preventive measures using antiretroviral therapy to reduce the risk of contracting HIV.
- 🧪 Regular HIV testing is crucial, especially for high-risk individuals, and the timing of testing is important for accuracy.
Q & A
What does HIV stand for and what type of virus is it?
-HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a type of virus known as a retrovirus, which uses RNA to encode its genetic information instead of DNA.
How does HIV primarily infect the human body?
-HIV primarily infects the human body by targeting specific white blood cells called CD4 cells, often referred to as helper T cells, which are crucial for the immune system's function.
What are the main routes of HIV transmission?
-The main routes of HIV transmission include unprotected sex, sharing needles with drug use, mother-to-child transmission through breastfeeding and childbirth, and through blood transfusions with infected blood.
Why is receptive anal intercourse considered the highest risk activity for HIV transmission?
-Receptive anal intercourse is considered the highest risk for HIV transmission because the mucosal lining of the anus and rectum is thinner and more prone to tears and abrasions, facilitating the virus's entry into the body.
How does the risk of HIV transmission compare between receptive anal intercourse and vaginal intercourse?
-The risk of HIV transmission is higher in receptive anal intercourse compared to vaginal intercourse due to the thinner mucosal lining in the rectum and the larger surface area of the vaginal lining that can be exposed to the virus.
What is the estimated risk of HIV transmission through receptive penile-vaginal intercourse?
-The estimated risk of HIV transmission through receptive penile-vaginal intercourse is one transmission per 1,250 sex acts.
How does the risk of HIV transmission from nonsexual bloodborne exposure compare to sexual exposure?
-The risk of HIV transmission from nonsexual bloodborne exposure, such as a blood transfusion with infected blood or needle sharing with injection drug use, is generally lower than the highest risks associated with sexual exposure, but still significant.
What is the significance of the 'acute phase' of HIV infection?
-The acute phase of HIV infection is significant because it is when people have a higher viral load and tend to shed more of the virus, making them more likely to spread the infection.
What is the purpose of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in treating HIV?
-The purpose of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is to dramatically slow the progression of HIV by reducing the amount of virus in the body to a very low level, which helps maintain CD4 cell counts and prevents illness.
What is the concept of 'undetectable viral load' and its significance in HIV transmission?
-An 'undetectable viral load' means that the amount of HIV in the body is so low that a test cannot detect it. Studies have shown that there is virtually no risk of transmission through all forms of intercourse if a person has an undetectable viral load.
What are the differences between pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)?
-Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is initiated prior to exposure and used for people continually at high risk of getting HIV, while post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is taken within 72 hours of a high-risk exposure to prevent contracting HIV.
Who should consider getting tested for HIV?
-Anyone with a known exposure to HIV, those showing signs and symptoms consistent with HIV, individuals as a routine screening during pregnancy, and healthcare workers after an accidental needle stick should consider getting tested for HIV.
Why is it important to wait for the right time to get tested for HIV after a high-risk exposure?
-It is important to wait for the right time to get tested for HIV after a high-risk exposure because tests like the fourth-generation HIV test cannot detect the virus until about 15 to 20 days post-exposure, ensuring better accuracy.
Outlines
😷 Understanding HIV and Its Transmission
This paragraph introduces HIV as a severe sexually transmitted infection that lacks a cure and can lead to death if untreated. It explains that HIV is a retrovirus that targets the immune system, specifically CD4 cells, which are crucial for immune function. The script discusses various modes of HIV transmission, including unprotected sex and sharing needles, and emphasizes that HIV cannot be spread through casual contact. It also outlines the different risks associated with various forms of intercourse, highlighting that receptive anal intercourse carries the highest risk due to the vulnerability of the rectal lining. The paragraph concludes with the importance of understanding HIV prevention strategies and treatment options.
📉 Risk Assessment and HIV Testing
The second paragraph delves into the risk assessment of contracting HIV, emphasizing that the odds of transmission vary significantly based on the type of sexual activity. It discusses the concept of discordant couples and the risk estimates associated with different sexual practices. The paragraph also highlights the importance of considering the acute phase of HIV, during which individuals have a higher viral load and are more infectious. It introduces 'Let's Get Checked,' a virtual care company offering at-home testing kits for HIV and other health conditions, such as kidney function tests, which are crucial for early detection and management of chronic kidney disease.
💊 HIV Treatment and Prevention Strategies
This paragraph focuses on the progression of HIV infection, from the initial infection to the development of AIDS when CD4 cell counts fall below 200 cells per microliter. It explains the importance of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in managing HIV, which can slow disease progression and reduce viral load to undetectable levels, thereby minimizing transmission risks. The script also introduces pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as prevention strategies for those at high risk of contracting HIV. It underscores the importance of testing for HIV, especially for individuals with known exposure or symptoms, and the necessity of timely testing for accurate results.
🛡️ HIV Prevention and the Importance of Early Treatment
The final paragraph emphasizes the importance of HIV prevention through safe sex practices, sterile needle use, and pre-exposure prophylaxis for high-risk individuals. It stresses the significance of seeking treatment for HIV as early as possible to maintain a long and healthy life, even without a current cure. The paragraph also discusses the appropriate timing for HIV testing to ensure accuracy and concludes with a reminder to viewers to explore additional information on sexually transmitted infections and other health topics through the provided resources.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡HIV
💡Retroviruses
💡CD4 Cells
💡Transmission
💡Prevention
💡Treatment
💡Viral Load
💡AIDS
💡Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
💡Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)
💡Testing
Highlights
HIV is a sexually transmitted infection without a cure that can lead to death if untreated.
HIV, a retrovirus, uses RNA and targets the immune system, specifically CD4 cells.
HIV is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.
HIV cannot be spread through casual contact like shaking hands or hugging.
Receptive anal intercourse has the highest risk for HIV transmission.
The risk of HIV transmission varies with different forms of intercourse and behaviors.
Certain populations, such as men who have sex with men, are at higher risk of contracting HIV.
The acute phase of HIV is characterized by high viral load and increased transmission risk.
HIV testing is crucial for early detection and treatment initiation.
Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) can slow HIV progression and maintain CD4 cell levels.
An undetectable viral load through ART significantly reduces HIV transmission risk.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are preventive strategies using anti-retroviral therapy.
PrEP is for individuals at high risk of HIV, while PEP is taken after potential exposure.
HIV testing should be considered for anyone with known exposure or consistent symptoms.
The timing of HIV testing is important for accuracy, with a window period after exposure.
Safe sex practices, sterile needles, and screening are essential in HIV prevention.
HIV treatment, when initiated early, allows for a long and healthy life.
Let's Get Checked offers virtual care and at-home testing for HIV and other health concerns.
March is National Kidney Month, highlighting the importance of kidney health and testing.
Transcripts
HIV is arguably one of the worst
sexually transmitted infections and this
is because there is no cure and if left
untreated it can lead to death So today
we're going to talk about what this
virus does to a person once it gets
inside the body we'll also discuss how
you get HIV in a little bit of a
different way meaning we are going to
cover how different forms of intercourse
have different levels of risk for
transmitting the infection and why
certain people are more at risk of
getting HIV including males versus
females and of course cover the
effectiveness of current treatment
options prevention strategies including
prep and who should consider getting
tested for HIV it's definitely going to
be an interesting one so let's do
this HIV stands for human imuno
deficiency virus and it belongs to a
class of viruses known as retroviruses
retroviruses use RNA to encode their
genetic information rather than DNA and
this retrovirus actually targets our
immune system specifically white blood
cells called CD4 cells often referred to
as helper tea cells and we're going to
get into why infecting these white blood
cells is so critical with HIV in just a
minute but how do we get HIV well many
of you have probably heard that HIV is
transmitted through contact with
infected bodily fluids such as blood
semen vaginal fluids and breast milk
which means this can happen during
unprotected sex sharing needles with
drug use from mother to child with
breastfeeding and during childbirth and
through blood transfusions with infected
blood however it is also important to
note that HIV cannot be spread through
casual contact like shaking hands
hugging kissing or sharing utensils but
what would your odds be if you did have
non-casual contact with someone that is
infected with HIV or in other words you
had intercourse with someone with HIV or
came in contact with some of these
infected bodily fluids well here are
some interesting estimates or odds based
on modeling studies with discordant
couples and as an FYI a discordant
couple is a pair of long-term sexual
partners in which one has a sexually
transmitted infection but the other does
not and I'm going to list these from
highest risk to lowest risk and Topping
the list for the highest risk is
receptive anal intercourse with the risk
being one transmission per 72 sex acts
so in other words it was estimated that
the risk of getting HIV for the
non-infected individual that
participated in receptive anal
intercourse was one out of 72 now the
reason why re seep anal intercourse is
the highest risk is due to the nature of
the anus and the rectum the mucosal
lining is thinner and more prone to
tears and abrasions which can facilitate
the virus's entry into the body this
also explains why men that have
intercourse with men are more likely to
get HIV it doesn't mean they are the
only people that contract HIV in this
way it's just that they have a higher
likelihood of participating in anal
intercourse and therefore increases
their risk insertive anal intercourse
was next as far as risk with one
transmission per 9900 100 sex acts so
less risky than receptive as the skin of
the penis is thicker and more durable
than the mucosal lining of the rectum
but this is still more risky than
vaginal intercourse as receptive penile
vaginal intercourse was one transmission
per 1250 seacs whereas insertive penile
vaginal intercourse was one transmission
per 2500 sex a meaning that a
non-infected female is more likely to
get it from an infected male than a
non-infected male is to get it from an
infected female
females having a higher risk likely has
to do with the larger surface area of
the vaginal lining that can be exposed
to the virus and also due to infected
semen potentially staying in the vaginal
Canal for an extended period of time
therefore increasing the exposure time
to the virus and lastly receptive or
insertive penile oral intercourse was
about 0o to four Transmissions per
10,000 sex acts and as an FYI female
Toof female sexual transmission of HIV
is very rarely reported I think it is
also worth mentioning the risk of
getting HIV from nonsexual bloodborne
exposure a blood transfusion with
infected blood for example the risk was
n out of 10 needle sharing with
injection drug use was 1 out of 150
percutaneous needle sticks which could
be like an accidental needle stick that
can occur with healthcare workers was
one out of 435 and mucous membrane
exposure to blood like splashes to the
eye was one out of a thousand now it is
definitely interesting to see some of
those numbers however I do think we need
to go back to the numbers or the
estimates that we discussed with sexual
exposure because the risk of Contracting
HIV is likely a bit higher for other
populations of people for a number of
reasons one remember I mentioned that
these estimates were from modeled
studies from discordant couples
monogamous couples that had a known
infected partner some of whom were
likely receiving treatment for HIV which
we're going to learn reduces the risk of
spreading the infection and two people
that are not in monogamous relationships
and have multiple sex partners have a
higher likelihood of encountering those
that have HIV and many of these people
don't even know that they have HIV and
if someone is in the acute phase of HIV
this is significant because the acute
early phase of HIV is when people have a
higher viral load and tend to shed more
of the virus and therefore can more
easily spread the infection and the
third point I want to make is whether
your odds of Contracting HIV are 2% or
3% with certain types of intercourse
that is only part of the risk assessment
you have to go further with this because
some might view those numbers and say
I'll take those odds but let's say there
is this scenario where you have a 2 to
3% chance of catching the common cold
and a two to 3% chance of catching HIV
I'm not saying the odds of catching a
cold and HIV are the exact same in
reality it's just to illustrate this
point on risk but in this example the
odds of catching either illness are the
same but what is the weight of the
consequences if you hit those 2 to 3%
odds you catch the cold it's going to
bother you for one to two weeks you
catch HIV as of today with the current
Treatment available that's going to
change your life a little bit later on
in the video we're going to talk about
the importance of testing and who should
consider getting tested for HIV and one
place you can use for many of your
testing needs is the sponsor of today's
video let's get checked let's get
checked is a virtual care company that
helps people manage their health from
home and one of the ways they do this is
by sending you a test kit once you Reed
the test kit you gather the specimen at
your house ship it back to them with the
provided prepaid shipping label and they
send you the results in approximately 2
to five business days let's get checked
offers a variety of different tests
including HIV testing but just in case
you didn't know March is actually
National Kidney month so in the spirit
of this let's get checked as promoting
their kidney test and if you've watched
our channel before you likely know how
important the kidneys are as they
control a number of important processes
such as managing water and electrolyte
balance maintaining pH releasing certain
hormones and excreting waste products
from the body and something interesting
to note is that the CDC estimates that
one in seven American adults have
chronic kidney disease which in the
early stages will have no symptoms at
all the kidney test from let's get
checked can help you learn more about
your kidney function as it measures your
Rhea creatinin and estimated glomular
filtration rate which are all important
markers for kidney function I order
kidney function tests on all of my
patients at least once a year during
their annual physicals but it is
definitely recommended that people get
kidney testing done if they have
diabetes high blood pressure heart
disease and or a history of kidney
disease so if you're interested visit
the link in the description and use our
coupon code ioha 25 to get 25% off your
test we'll also include that information
in the description below so coming back
to what happens when someone first gets
infected with HIV well as we've already
hinted many people don't know that they
have been infected with HIV in the first
place one of the reasons for this is
that many people can be asymptomatic or
when people do get symptoms they can be
mild or mimic other illnesses so that
the person often often won't seek
medical attention and again remember
this is when the person has a higher
viral load and can more easily spread
the virus when people do experience
symptoms it often feels like a flu like
illness with some of the most common
symptoms being fever headache sore
throat muscle aches and fatigue but some
can also experience a rash diarrhea
weight loss and even ulcerations of the
skin and mucous membranes these symptoms
usually appear 2 to four weeks after
exposure and for most the symptoms
typically resolve on their own but there
are some people where the symptoms get
bad enough that they will seek medical
attention and can even be hospitalized
and from one perspective that could be
kind of a good thing because this
increases the likelihood of early
detection in treatment now another thing
that I mentioned earlier that is very
important to our discussion is that HIV
mainly targets a white blood cell called
a CD4 or helper T cell CD4 cells serve
as the major Regulators of virtually all
immune functions you could kind of in a
way think of these as the bosses of the
the immune system and in the absence of
these cells the remainder of the immune
system is almost paralyzed so during the
next few months after initial infection
many of these CD4 cells are being
attacked and killed but in the early
stages of HIV the body can replace many
of these killed CD4 cells however this
can only go on for so long also during
early infection other immune cells will
produce antibodies to the virus which is
the basis of some of the HIV tests then
at about 6 months a person will reach
what is known as the viral set point
which is when the plasma virus
concentration reaches this steady state
level you can kind of think of this as
an equilibrium where the viral levels
are staying about the same and are not
as high as they were during the initial
acute phase of the infection and this is
the point where one enters into the
stage of chronic HIV during chronic HIV
most individuals have few to no symptoms
but what is happening within the body is
that the CD4 cells are declining and
once the CD4 cells get to to a level
less than 200 cells per microl and as a
reference normal CD4 levels range from
about 500 to, 1400 cells per microliter
but again once the CD4 cells get below
200 cells per microliter that is when a
person develops AIDS or acquired immuno
deficiency syndrome and this is what
makes HIV develop into a deadly
condition because once you get CD4 cells
below 200 cells per microliter the body
can't Mount much of an immune response
leaving the body unprotected against
other opportunistic infections in a way
HIV never directly kills anyone it is
the infections that they can get once
their CD4 count gets too low on average
it takes about 8 to 10 years for
someone's CD4 levels to get below 200
cells per microl or to develop AIDS but
this is for untreated individuals and
while there's no current cure for HIV
treatment called anti-retroviral therapy
or art can be very effective and
dramatically slow the disease's
progression AR T involves taking a
combination of HIV medications every day
and someone would need to take these
medications indefinitely these
medications should be initiated as soon
as possible and if taken as prescribed
art can reduce the amount of HIV in the
body decreasing that viral load to a
very low level which helps maintain
those CD4 cells and prevents illness HIV
medications have the potential to
decrease viral load so much that a test
can't even detect it this is referred to
as undetectable viral load and if
someone is able to get to this point
Studies have shown that there is
virtually no risk of transmission
through all forms of intercourse and
even greatly reduces the risk during
pregnancy labor and delivery if a mother
is infected with HIV now some of you may
have heard of prep and pep prep refers
to pre-exposure prophylaxis and pep
refers to postexposure prophylaxis both
are ways of using anti-retroviral
therapy to help prevent Contracting HIV
but with different strategies prep as
the name implies would be initiated
prior to exposure and would be used for
people that are continually at high risk
of getting HIV multiple and frequent sex
partners especially if this is
unprotected IV drug users or someone
that has a monogamous partner that has
known HIV and could be even receiving
treatment for this but maybe they
haven't quite got their viral load to
that undetectable state yet and someone
who is taking prep would take it
continually once it was initiated until
there's a change in those high-risk
behaviors or situations pep Oregon
postexposure prophylaxis would need to
be taken within 72 hours of a high-risk
exposure and there are various
situations that could be considered high
risk known contact with infected blood
or bodily fluids and certain situations
of unprotected intercourse with someone
that had known HIV or even an unknown
HIV status but I think it is important
to note that risk does need to be
assessed accurately so anyone
considering either prep or pep would
want to discuss this with their
Healthcare provider so who should be
tested for HIV well anyone with a known
exposure or that has signs and symptoms
consistent with HIV should be tested it
is also recommended as a routine
screening during pregnancy and
healthcare workers that say had an
accidental needle stick should also be
tested and as you can probably tell
there's a story coming along with this
because when I was in my clinical year
and I was doing a laceration repair on a
patient I was an idiot face and grabbed
the Sutra needle with my hand to place
it in the driver and I accidentally
poked my finger so I was was tested for
a handful of bloodborne pathogens and
Luckily everything came back negative
now hopefully it goes without saying
that if someone had a fever and a sore
throat that they don't necessarily just
need to rush in and get tested as you
may recall those are some of the
possible symptoms that can occur during
early HIV but it is more nuanced than
this a medical provider would ask about
other possible symptoms recent sexual
encounters and address other risk
factors before just jumping to the HIV
test however because HIV can be
asymptomatic it is reasonable and even
recommended that people that are healthy
and have very little risk factors for
HIV get tested at least once in their
lifetime and then any further or
consistent testing would be on a case-by
casee basis say like for individuals
with higher risk behaviors again
multiple sex partners Andor unprotected
sex with an unknown individual injection
drug use or if you have a partner that
has HIV now this doesn't cover every
possible reason to get tested but
frankly there are so many companies now
that offer HIV testing that you could
pay for out of pocket and get tested
whenever you want but something else to
keep in mind is the timing of the test
for example if I have a patient come in
and it's five or six days after they've
had a high-risk sexual encounter and
they are requesting HIV testing this
actually isn't a great time to be tested
because one of the most commonly used
tests is the fourth generation HIV test
which is a combo antibody antigen test
but this cannot detect protect HIV until
about 15 to 20 days after exposure so
for better accuracy one would need to
wait until that time and unfortunately
this can create some anxiety which
brings us to the idea that overall doing
your best to prevent HIV transmission is
the key safe sex practices using sterile
needles universal precautions screening
when appropriate and for those at high
risk pre-exposure prophylaxis or prep is
a possible option to help reduce the
risk of getting HIV and lastly if you or
someone you know has HIV and is not
currently being treated for it please do
not hesitate to get in touch with a
healthcare provider to look into
initiating treatment the earlier the
treatment is initiated the better and
one can definitely still live a long
healthy life with proper and consistent
treatment so hopefully this gave you
some new and useful information about
HIV and if you want to learn more about
other sexually transmitted infections
you can check out our chyia and goria
videos we'll put those somewhere over
here on the screen and thank you for for
supporting our Channel let us know what
you thought of this video in the
comments and if you're interested in
let's get checked in their kidney and
STI tests that link is in the
description below and we'll see you in
the next video
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