The full effects of AIDS may not appear until 5 to 10 years after you are first infected with HIV. Although AIDS is a fatal disease, life expectancy has increased as new treatments are developed.

If you are in a high-risk group but have not tested positively for HIV, see your doctor regularly. He or she will examine you for signs of HIV-associated infections and will recommend how often your blood should be tested for HIV infection.

If you are HIV positive:

• Discuss your treatment with your healthcare provider.
• See your doctor on a regular schedule to keep up to date on new treatments.
• Contact a local AIDS support network. Your doctor should be able to help you find one.

Call or see your doctor if:

• You have new or persistent symptoms.
• You notice a change in body function that concerns you.
• You are having side effects from your medicine.
   

To prevent becoming infected, ask any new sexual partner about his or her sexual history. Be careful to practice safe sex, use latex or polyurethane condoms, and seek HIV testing. Do not share IV needles.

If you are HIV positive, you can help prevent spreading the virus if you:

• Practice safe sex: Avoid exposure to blood, vaginal secretions, semen, and other sexual secretions during foreplay and intercourse. Carefully use latex or polyurethane condoms for every oral, vaginal, or anal sexual activity.
• Ask sexual partners to be tested for HIV.
• Tell your doctors that you are HIV positive. (Discuss any concerns you may have about confidentiality with your doctor.)

In addition:

• Do not share needles for drug use, tattooing, or body piercing.
• Do not donate blood, plasma, or semen.
• Do not plan to donate organs, such as corneas. (If you were previously planning to donate organs, have that statement removed from your driver's license.)

To avoid passing HIV to a baby, women should talk to their doctors before becoming pregnant.

Antiretroviral drugs may be used to prevent HIV infection if you have been exposed to HIV through sexual intercourse, sexual assault, injection drug use, or an accident. The treatment must be started no more than 72 hours after a high-risk exposure to someone known to be HIV-infected. The treatment lasts 28 days. This preventive treatment is not recommended for people who are often at risk of exposure to HIV, like those who have HIV-infected sex partners and rarely use condoms, or injection drug users who often share equipment.