HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a devastating diagnosis and illness. People who have contracted the illness have several factors with which they must struggle. Having come into contact with infected blood or bodily fluids the infection has made its way into the blood stream of the person and is now attacking the immune system.

From the beginning of the infection through to late stages of HIV people must face questions and find their own answers. The fear of what if I am HIV infected however has lessened over the years as medicine and science has found new ways to treat the infection and lengthen the lives of those affected.

If you believe you have been exposed to the virus it is very important to see your doctor within the first 48 to 72 hours. This is considered an emergency situation and if your doctor cant fit you into their office schedule make your way to the emergency room where you and the physician can determine if you are a candidate for early Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) to potentially stop the virus before you become actively infected.

The doctor may recommend a 28 day course of HAART followed by 3 follow up blood tests to determine if you are positive of the HIV virus. If you remain negative at the six month check you will be declared clear.

You should also understand that it is only your doctor who can diagnose HIV and sitting home wondering and worrying wont answer your questions. If you are feeling ill dont assume its HIV. You may have gotten the flu right after what you thought was an exposure. Do NOT guess. Guessing will hurt your chances of better treatment and may expose another person to the disease. Instead see your doctor for a simple blood test to answer your questions.

If you do become infected with the HIV virus it is very important to take excellent care of your health. Researchers have found that those people who have good nutrition, take their vitamins, dont smoke, drink or do recreational drugs will have an increased amount of time before the virus destroys enough of the immune system that they develop symptoms of latter stages of HIV.

Some doctors recommend starting HAART before you have symptoms of HIV while others wait, using your blood tests and other physical examination findings to determine when is the best time to start the anti-retroviral medications that you will continue to take. These drugs were designed to help your immune system fight infection as well as your body fight the effects of the HIV virus.

You may also want to investigate other complementary medicine therapies to help support your immune system and fight the side effects of the medication such as nausea, headaches, night sweats and fevers. Many have found relief using Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture to alleviate these side effects.

Another consideration as you consider what if I am HIV infected is that HIV doesnt mean you have AIDS. It does mean you have the virus in your body and will carry that virus for the remainder of your life. It also means you can easily transmit the virus to others if they are exposed to your blood, saliva, vaginal fluid or semen. Even if you feel fine and have no symptoms you can still infect other people. And you can become infected again yourself. There is not just one HIV virus but rather the virus has been mutating and changing over the years with each new person it infects. So although you may have one strain of the virus if you become exposed to another person with HIV you can get another infection of the same virus just another strain. This makes getting treated successfully even more complicated and challenging.