HIV can be hard to diagnose, if you think you might have contracted hiv you should ge test as soon as possible. Symptoms often can take a long time to develop after the intial exposure to HIV, but common symptoms of AIDS include thrush or chronic yeast infections, skin discoloration, easy bruising, nausea, vommiting, and exhaustion. As your bodies immune system begins to be broken down more advance symptoms are simply more severe opportunistic infections. This includes chronic infections that don’t regularly happen in healthy indivduals and even some cancers. HIV tests are used to confirm the presence of anti HIV cells in your blood or saliva and not the actual virus. Advanced opportunistic infections begin to become prevalent as the immune systems CD4 cells drop below 200. HIV/AIDS transmission happens when infected bodily fluids enter your body. The most common occurances happen during sexual intercourse and the sharing of needles. Its always essential to practice safer sex, and always use condoms. Condoms are an effective method for preventing the transmission of HIV and prevents other STDs as well. Practicing safe sex means using a condom every time. If you use drugs that are injected, always use clean needles and never share them. Being vocal is an important aspect in preventing HIV transmission, the best thing we can do as a society is make sure that everyone is informed about the disease and how it is transmitted. Its important to get tested for HIV even if you think you are not infected, and if you are sexually active you should be routinely screened. Free HIV testing is often available, and some clinics perodically offer free HIV testing. Getting a HIV test is easy, with the advent of rapid result test you can get screened and get your results within 30 minutes typically. The test is performed by taking a sample of saliva and does not even require blood to be drawn.

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