Question
Do I have ‘AIDS’?
18 April 2011. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Living with HIV long-term.
Is the diagnosis of AIDS now become redundant as the drugs are so good? I have a CD4 count of 90 and according to everything I read I have AIDS – but my consultant says otherwise. I am thinking he is comforting me and not wanting to tell me the truth which is difficult to swallow.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
The term AIDS is not commonly used in HIV treatment anymore. In the past people with a CD4 count below 200 were said to have AIDS.
Today very few people use this term. HIV treatment is very effective today and few people who start treatment with a CD4 count below 200 often end up with a higher CD4 count. In the UK doctors do not really use this term anymore.
This answer was updated in February 2016 from a question first posted on 18 April 2011.
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