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HIV in Women
URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/hivinwomen.html

HIV in Women

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Basics

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  • Start Here
  • Diagnosis and Tests
  • Prevention and Risk Factors

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Research

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Summary

What is 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. This puts you at risk for other infections and diseases.

How does HIV spread?

HIV can spread in different ways:

  • By having unprotected vaginal or anal sex with a person who has HIV. "Unprotected" means not using condoms or medicine to treat or prevent HIV. This is the most common way it spreads.
    • Anal sex is the riskiest type of sex for getting or spreading HIV. The rectum's lining is thin and may allow HIV to enter the body during anal sex.
    • During vaginal sex, HIV can enter the body through the delicate tissue that lines the vagina and cervix.
  • Rarely, through oral sex with a person who has HIV.
  • By sharing drug needles.
  • Through contact with the blood of a person who has HIV.
  • From mother to fetus during pregnancy.
  • From mother to baby during childbirth, or breastfeeding.

How does HIV affect women differently from men?

About one in four people in the United States who have HIV are women. Women who have HIV have some different problems than men:

  • Complications such as
    • Repeated vaginal yeast infections
    • Bacterial vaginosis
    • Severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
    • A higher risk of cervical cancer
    • Menstrual cycle problems
    • A higher risk of osteoporosis
    • A higher risk of heart disease, especially heart attacks
    • Entering menopause younger or having more severe hot flashes
  • Different, sometimes more severe, side effects from the medicines that treat HIV
  • Drug interactions between some HIV medicines and hormonal birth control
  • The risk of giving HIV to their fetus while pregnant
  • The risk of giving HIV to their baby during childbirth or breastfeeding

Are there treatments for HIV?

There is no cure, but there are many medicines to treat both HIV infection and the infections and cancers that come with it. People who get early treatment can live longer and healthier lives.

Start Here

  • Women and HIV (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
  • Women and HIV: Get the Facts on HIV Testing, Prevention, and Treatment Easy-to-Read (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

  • HIV Testing (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

  • HIV and Women From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health, Office of AIDS Research) Also in Spanish
  • HIV Prevention (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Specifics

  • HIV and Pregnancy: MedlinePlus Health Topic From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

  • ClinicalTrials.gov: HIV in Women From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

  • Article: Cost-effectiveness analysis of a community-based model for delivery of antiretroviral therapy...
  • Article: Non-communicable disease (NCD) risk among people living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal,...
  • Article: Early findings from the integration of hypertension care into differentiated service...
  • HIV in Women -- see more articles

Find an Expert

  • Clinicalinfo: Information on HIV/AIDS Treatment, Prevention, and Research From the National Institutes of Health (HIV.gov; National Institutes of Health, Office of AIDS Research) Also in Spanish
  • HIV.gov From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health, Office of AIDS Research)
  • HIVinfo From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health, Office of AIDS Research)
  • How to Find Find an Ob-Gyn (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

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HIV/AIDS in Women

Related Health Topics

  • HIV
  • HIV and Pregnancy
  • HIV Medicines
  • HIV: PrEP and PEP
  • Living with HIV

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on HIV in Women is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Other Languages

Find health information in languages other than English on HIV in Women

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