What is life like with HIV?

Today, when people living with HIV are diagnosed early and take effective treatment, they can lead long and healthy lives, and have sexual relationships and children without fear of passing on the virus. And there are often few or no side effects.

People living with HIV who started treatment a long time ago (before modern advances in treatment) may have more health problems than someone who starts treatment today. That is partly because of the side effects of early HIV treatments—side effects that don’t exist with treatments available now.

One of the hardest parts of living with HIV is still ongoing stigma and discrimination, which can create barriers to optimal health care, as well as impact self-esteem. This is changing over time – but we still have a long way to go.

• Stopping stigma

Although there is no cure for HIV yet, effective treatments lower the level of the virus to the point where it cannot be detected. At this level, HIV can’t cause as much harm to the body, and it can’t be transmitted.

Life expectancy for people diagnosed with HIV has increased significantly, thanks to better treatments. A 20 year-old diagnosed with HIV in 1996 could expect to live to about age 39 while someone diagnosed with HIV today who is on treatment can expect to live past the age of 70 – and do so in good health.

There are many people living with HIV in Ontario who are now in their 80s and doing well.

The easiest thing to do to support people living with HIV is to understand what having HIV really means.

Today, HIV treatments can be as simple as one pill per day or a long-acting injection. There are often few or no side effects. When HIV is diagnosed promptly and treated effectively, a person can expect to live a long and healthy life, and can’t pass it on to their sexual partners.

The health conditions we live with don’t change who we are. HIV is no different.