What does it mean if your CD4 count is 200 or less?

What does it mean if your CD4 count is 200 or less?

Effective HIV treatment (ART) is now widely available even if access to some tests (like viral load) is sometimes more difficult. Answers to each of your questions are below. A CD4 count of 200 or less is a sign that HIV is more advanced. This means it is more important to start ART.

What does a CD4 count mean for HIV?

The CD4 count is like a snapshot of how well your immune system is functioning. CD4 cells (also known as CD4+ T cells) are white blood cells that fight infection. The more you have, the better. These are the cells that the HIV virus kills.

How many CD4 cells per cubic millimeter of blood?

CD4 cells help to organize your body’s defenses against disease. Doctors can take a sample of your blood and count the number of CD4 cells. Healthy adults and teenagers usually have a CD4 count of at least 800 cells per CUBIC MILLIMETER of blood (a cubic millimeter is a very small amount, roughly one small drop). What Does HIV Do to CD4 Counts?

What does the dotted line on a CD4 mean?

Each point on the dotted line shows an individual (absolute) CD4 count. The solid line shows the average of these results. This example shows that the trend is for the CD4 count to fall over time.

What does it mean to have a CD4 count?

The CD4 count is like a snapshot of how well your immune system is functioning. CD4 cells (also known as CD4+ T cells) are white blood cells that fight infection.

What does it mean to have a T cell count?

T cell count is also called T lymphocyte or CD4 T lymphocytes or CD4 cells (T-helper cells) count. T cell (CD4 cell) count measures the number of these cells in the blood and, in conjunction with an HIV viral load test, help assess the status of the immune system in a person who has been diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Each point on the dotted line shows an individual (absolute) CD4 count. The solid line shows the average of these results. This example shows that the trend is for the CD4 count to fall over time.

What causes a decrease in the CD4 cell count?

HIV kills CD4 cells, so if an HIV infection is not treated, the number of CD4 cells will decrease as HIV infection progresses. The CD4 count also tends to be lower in the morning and higher in the evening. Acute illnesses, such as pneumonia, influenza, or herpes simplex virus infection, can cause the CD4 count to decline temporarily.