Fiducia TogetherHIV
Also called Human immunodeficiency virus
A manageable long-term condition with a normal life expectancy. On effective treatment, it cannot be passed on.
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.
What it is
The most useful sentence about HIV in 2026 is one many people still have not heard: undetectable equals untransmittable. Somebody on effective treatment with an undetectable viral load cannot pass HIV on sexually. That is not optimism, it is the settled conclusion of large studies including PARTNER and PARTNER2.
HIV attacks the immune system. Untreated, it progresses to AIDS. Treated, it is a once-daily tablet and a normal life expectancy.
Around 107,000 people live with HIV in the UK. Most are diagnosed and on treatment. The remaining problem is late diagnosis, which is what still causes serious illness.
Signs you might notice
A flu-like illness a few weeks after infection in many people, easily mistaken for anything else.
Then often years of nothing.
Later, without treatment: weight loss, night sweats, recurrent infections, thrush, shingles.
The only reliable way to know is a test. They are free, quick, and available by post.
How it can affect day-to-day life
Stigma now does more damage than the virus does. People delay testing because of what a positive result might mean socially, and late diagnosis is the main driver of avoidable harm.
In care settings, the persistence of outdated infection control practices is both unnecessary and humiliating. HIV is not transmitted by ordinary contact, sharing crockery, or personal care. Standard precautions are the correct response, applied to everybody equally.
Ageing with HIV is now the main clinical question: heart, bone and kidney health need attention alongside the virus.
Supporting someone well
Treat confidentiality as absolute. Someone's HIV status is theirs to share, and disclosure without consent is a serious breach.
Support adherence practically. Once-daily treatment works when it is taken daily.
Apply standard precautions to everyone, not special measures to one person. Anything else is discrimination dressed as safety.
Check drug interactions before any new medicine. HIV treatment interacts with a surprisingly wide range, including some over-the-counter and herbal products.
Encourage testing widely and without drama. Normalising the test is the thing that reduces late diagnosis.
In a service, Fiducia Together applies role-based access to clinical records, so a status is visible to the people who clinically need it and to nobody else.
Where to get help
Free, confidential testing is available at sexual health clinics, from many GPs, and by post through the NHS.
Terrence Higgins Trust run a free helpline on 0808 802 1221.
PrEP, which prevents HIV, is available free on the NHS through sexual health services.
Tools we make that might help
These are our own products. We have put them here because they do something specific for this condition, not because every page needs a list.
Fiducia Together
Role-based access to clinical records, so a status reaches only the people who clinically need it.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.