What is HIV? 

When someone has the HIV virus in their body we say that they are ‘living with HIV.’  

You cannot tell that someone is living with HIV just by the way they look. Most people do not feel any symptoms. Some people feel like they have flu at the start but these symptoms usually go away after a few days or weeks. 

What is it like for siblings if their brother or sister has HIV?

Lots of siblings have very good relationships with their brothers and sisters who have HIV. They often don’t think of them as being any different to them. However, it can be hard for families to talk to each other about HIV. 

People who are living with HIV can sometimes feel scared, angry, or unhappy about HIV.  

Lots of people don’t know the real facts about HIV and so they sometimes treat people living with HIV unfairly. If someone in the family is living with HIV this is often not shared with people outside of the family because of worries about what other people will think about it.  

People living with HIV may feel afraid that other people at school or work could find out and start treating them differently.  

But siblings with HIV should not be treated any differently to anyone else. It’s best to try and talk to your sibling about HIV and let them know that you love them. What helps someone who is living with HIV is to treat them just like anyone else. 

How do people get HIV?

HIV cannot be passed on through kissing, holding hands, hugging or sharing a drink or food. It cannot be passed on by spitting, coughing or sneezing, toilet seats, swimming pools or utensils such as knives and forks. There is no risk to siblings.  

Pregnant women living with HIV can have lots of medical help to try to stop HIV being passed to their baby. This is why most women with HIV do not pass on HIV to their baby. However, a small number of babies do have HIV. This happens because their mothers have HIV and passed the virus to them before they were born, or during birth or breastfeeding.  

HIV is not the same as AIDS 

HIV is not the same thing as AIDS.  When someone has AIDS they will have a few different things that make them feel ill, not just one. If someone is taking their HIV medicine to stay healthy, they will not develop illnesses connected to AIDS.  

Is there a cure for HIV? 

There is no cure for HIV yet, but scientists are working hard every day to find one. As long as someone finds out that they have it and takes their medicine regularly, they can go to school, have hobbies, do sports, work, have a family of their own and live a full life. 

What treatment is there?

Most people who are living with HIV will take medicine that makes the HIV virus ‘switch off’. This means that although they still have the virus in their body, they are healthy and can live a long life, just like anyone else.  

Someone who is taking their HIV medicine and has very low levels of HIV in their body does not usually take any longer to recover from illnesses like colds and flu. They will get better just as quickly as someone without HIV. 

This information has been approved by Chiva, March 2025