Does fully blown Transfer as HIV

[Guest]

Hi ok so I probably sound really stuoid right now but i have limited intelligence anyway so I need to ask

I am neg and plan to stay that way for a while and am getting back on PrEP but have to ask a hypothetical. 

If I (or anyone) either knowingky or unknowingly had sex with someone who was fully blown. Would they get HIV like everyone else or do they automatically become fully blown. Its a question that has plagued me since I started this site and cant get a straight answer from anyone I have asked 

Hope I don't sound too thick

[Knotlocked]

Even if you had sex with someone with an HVL or is "fully blown," you're not necessarily guaranteed to catch it - it's dependent on alot of different factors that are far from precise. But even if you did, you wouldn't become "fully blown." It's like any other virus, it builds up over time.

[cub84]

"Full blown" is a term used in reference to an AIDS diagnosis, as in someone having "full blown AIDS" its not an actual medical term. An AIDS diagnosis is typically made when an individual that is HIV-positive registers a CD4 count of less than 200 copies. CD4 is one of the main proteins of immune system white blood cells (also called T-cells), and is one of the main things that HIV attacks.

Having sex with someone that is "full-blown" implies an acute HIV infection that has progressed to AIDS, that is the individual has a low CD4 count.

The issue that matters for transmission is the HIV-positive individual's viral load, i.e the number of copies of HIV that can be detected per milimetre of blood. This is the basis behind the U=U campaign, this is based on a number of studies that have shown there are no known HIV infections that have involved an HIV-positive partner that has an undetectable viral load (which is typically defined as less than 200 copies per milimetre).

It is often, but not always the case, that someone with a low CD4 count, and thus "full blown" is likely to have a high viral load. However, an individual with a high viral load and a low CD4 count that starts treatment can quite quickly reduce their viral load but it will take much longer for their CD4 to recover, but also once you have dipped below a CD4 of 200 you will always retain the diagnosis of being an AIDS patient even if your CD4 recovers to much higher levels.

Edited September 9, 2022 by cub84

[cub84]

You would not become "full-blown" as a result of having sex with some that is "full-blown", you may (but may not) become HIV-positive. You would only become "full blown" if your CD4 counts reached less than 200. Assuming that you became HIV-positive after sex with someone that is "full-blow", but you accessed and took modern anti-retrovial drugs as prescribed then it is unlikely that you would become "full-blown" yourself.

Some individuals have a strain of HIV (i.e. a specific variation) that is resistant to certain medications, but there are very few individuals that have wide resistance. It is most likely that even if you have sex with someone that is "full-blown" that there are medications that will treat your HIV infection and ensure you do not become "full-blown".

[Hairypiglet]

The question has been answered. 

[VersGuyAnon]

Not knowing something doesn't make you (sound) stupid. The fact something is on your mind and you want to clarify your thoughts suggests otherwise. I say it's always good to ask, if there's something weighing on your mind, especially if it relates to health. 

[leatherpunk16]

The disease would be considered far more dangerous if, when transmitted, the recipient just picked up where the last host left off. I don't know of any virus that operates that fast. I suppose I should be quiet, lest it be a challenge for the bugs to step up their game. Lol

[beanna]

Ah.but how  does one take into account when different strains are passed on and that the possibility of one or more of those strains

Becomes more   dominant and aggressive

 

[BootmanLA]

32 minutes ago, beanna said:

Ah.but how  does one take into account when different strains are passed on and that the possibility of one or more of those strains

Becomes more   dominant and aggressive

 

In terms of the original question, one still does not become "full blown" immediately upon infection by a dominant/aggressive strain of HIV. One still would pass through the normal stages of infection, initially high viral load, that coming down after a month or so, then settling into a steady level where one is infectious but still fighting to keep the viral level under control. (This is assuming no medication; going on meds should reduce the level of almost all HIV+ persons to undetectable, even if it takes a bit of trial and error to make sure that the specific strain one has isn't resistant to a particular medication.)

[ErosWired]

To add to the explanations above, AIDS, or “full-blown” HIV infection, is considered ‘late stage’ HIV infection. You can consider that in a similar light as “late stage” cancer - one doesn’t start out with stage 4 lung cancer, the disease process progresses to that state. The same is true with untreated HIV infection. The disease process gradually erodes and destroys the immune system until it reaches a state in which it is no longer capable of resisting certain opportunistic infections. At that point, one is then diagnosed with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. You don’t get AIDS the moment you get HIV, you have to progress to it. And the HIV doesn’t kill you directly, by the way - it just opens the door for the killers to get into your body and makes sure you can’t resist them.

[Diesel]

On 9/9/2022 at 11:40 PM, IrishKinkSlut said:

Hi ok so I probably sound really stuoid right now but i have limited intelligence anyway so I need to ask

I am neg and plan to stay that way for a while and am getting back on PrEP but have to ask a hypothetical. 

If I (or anyone) either knowingky or unknowingly had sex with someone who was fully blown. Would they get HIV like everyone else or do they automatically become fully blown. Its a question that has plagued me since I started this site and cant get a straight answer from anyone I have asked 

Hope I don't sound too thick

You are not stupid & the question you asked was perfectly reasonable.

We are mostly here to enjoy our community for mutual enjoyment, but sharing knowledge. It’s great when people can provide help and answers, as often occurs based on shared knowledge or direct experience.

There is absolutely no shame at all in asking questions & doing so does NOT make you thick. 🤗

[BootmanLA]

11 hours ago, Diesel said:

You are not stupid & the question you asked was perfectly reasonable.

We are mostly here to enjoy our community for mutual enjoyment, but sharing knowledge. It’s great when people can provide help and answers, as often occurs based on shared knowledge or direct experience.

There is absolutely no shame at all in asking questions & doing so does NOT make you thick. 🤗

Diesel - thank you for catching that point!

There is a very large gap between "stupid" and "uneducated", especially if the latter refers to a specific topic. Stupid is hard to overcome - it implies a lack of ability to learn, whereas "uneducated" is the condition we're ALL in, to start with. Some people are farther along the educational path, for a particular topic than others, but that doesn't mean those farther back are stupid in the least.

I would never consider myself "stupid" in almost any area - that is, I think with work I could learn almost anything - but there are huge swaths of knowledge about which I'm very poorly educated. As it becomes important for me to make a decision in that area, I either try to learn enough to make that decision, or (increasingly, as I get older) I ask questions of others, and seek their advice - as the OP did here. 

[Guest]

It's been answered well here, but I would add that there is never anything stupid about asking an intelligent question to which you don't know the answer. It's only politicians who think they know everything!

I'd only add that I'd signpost you to either the THT website ([think before following links] https://www.tht.org.uk/hiv-and-sexual-health) or AIDS Map ([think before following links] https://www.aidsmap.com/) as these have really well researched, up to date and informative websites which you can peruse when you need to. They give information about what HIV / AIDS is, how it is transmitted and what you can do to prevent transmission.

[rawTOP]

As mentioned above “Full blown” is not a medical term. I’d say it’s most commonly used for guys who have progressed to AIDS and look “AIDSy”. Most of those guys are on meds (or they’d be dead). So sex with them is actually really safe since they’re undetectable and can’t infect you. 

The most dangerous guys are guys whose last test was neg and don’t know they’re poz. Which is the opposite of “full blown”. 

[pussyboy82]

Excellent point rawTOP.

I don't think any question is stupid. It's better to ask questions than assume what one thinks is correct based on no or little understanding of a subject.