With Charlie Sheen talking about his HIV infection in public and coming clean about his past, there suddenly seems to be an increased buzz about AIDS and HIV on social media. Amidst all the tweets, opinions, dark jokes, warnings and panic inducing alarms, it's easy to lose track of genuine scientific facts. One of the risks of having 'half knowledge' is you blur the lines between HIV and AIDS. Here are a few well-established facts that help you know the difference between the two.

1. HIV is a virus while AIDS is a condition.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as the name suggests, is a virus. It attacks the body's immune system making the host more vulnerable to dangerous diseases. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a condition a person suffers when the HIV in his body has caused a certain amount of serious damage to the immune system.

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2. You can be infected with HIV and not have AIDS.

A person can be infected by HIV and not necessarily have AIDS. Even though no one knows why it is impossible to completely rid an infected person's body of HIV, and even though there was a time when being infected by HIV meant 'it was the end', thanks to progress in medical science, it is now possible to contain the growth of HIV. Many HIV-infected people live almost normal lives, by following proper medication. This means, not all HIV-infected people have AIDS but all AIDS patients have HIV.

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