Health Topic

Living with HIV

Infection with HIV is serious, but the outlook is improving. Discover the many things you can do to help ensure you have a longer, healthier life.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Living with HIV

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It harms your immune system by destroying a type of white blood cell that helps your body fight infection.

AIDS is the final stage of infection with HIV. It happens when the body's immune system is badly damaged because of the virus. Not everyone with HIV develops AIDS.

There is no cure for HIV, but there are many medicines to treat both HIV infection and the health problems and infections (called opportunistic infections, or OIs) that come with it. The medicines allow people with HIV to have long, healthy lives.

IIf you have HIV, you can help yourself by:

  • Getting medical care as soon as you find out that you have HIV. You should find a health care provider who has experience in treating HIV.
  • Taking your medicines every day.
  • Letting your provider know if you get any new symptoms or health problems.
  • Keeping up with your regular medical and dental care.This includes staying up to date with your recommended health screenings and vaccinations. Your provider can let you know which ones you need.
  • Managing stress and getting support, such as from support groups, therapists, and social service organizations
  • Trying to live a healthy lifestyle, including:
  • Eating healthy foods.This can give your body the energy it needs to fight HIV and other infections. It can help you manage HIV symptoms and medicine side effects. It may also improve absorption of your HIV medicines.
  • Getting regular physical activity. This can strengthen your body and immune system. It may also reduce the risk of depression.
  • Getting enough sleep. Sleep is important for your physical strength and mental health.
  • Not smoking. People with HIV who smoke have a higher risk of developing conditions such as certain cancers and infections. Smoking can also interfere with your medicines. Talk to your provider if you need help quitting smoking.
  • Avoiding heavy drinking or taking illegal drugs. They can damage your liver, which means your HIV medicine may not work as well. They can also make it harder for your body to fight infections.
  • Protecting yourself from OIs. Talk to your provider about medicines and vaccines that prevent certain OIs. Also, be careful to avoid exposure to contaminated food and water.

It is also important to reduce the risk of spreading HIV to other people. You should tell your sex partners that you have HIV and always use latex condoms. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.

It sits within Immune System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Living with HIV

631 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Prevention and Risk Factors

Living With

Related Issues

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under HIV Infections. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Living with HIV, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.