How long do people live with HIV /AIDS?

what is the average life span of somebody who has contracted HIV and developed Aids as i have this argument all the time with friends

I've heard the average is 15 years.

i heard that when you have AIDS it can take about 10 years for it to set in and kill you, but i think it varies depending on the persons immune system and white blood cell count

people can live a reasonably normal life span with the combination drugs available
x x x x-

there's a whole load of drugs now that can control the condition and medical science is improving all the time. I guess life span would also be affected by how early a diagnoses is made.

It used to be something like 10 years - but now they're living much longer.

As long as the person does things to stay healthy (exercise, eating good foods, and take anti viral medications) they can live a pretty long life.

It's hard to put an actual number on it though. Every case is different. Most people with HIV/AIDS die from some complication as a result of being immune deficient like pneumonia or something like that.

Take care.

It depends. It can take one person a couple of days/months with aids before he dies, or it can take up to severl years. People with aids get sick with TB, or anything, and then his body can not fight it. Eventually he will die. I heard of people who died in one month, and other who lived for 10 more years.

When you have HIV you have to take care that you don't get run down, you get tablets for it and you still live your life like a normal person. You have to be careful not to eat too much sugars or anything else that is not good for you, you have to eat foods that will build up your immune system but you can live for ages.

Aids, not very long, it is a terrible way to die, sores in the mouth, thin, running tummy and pain all the way. I feel very sorry for people who have Aids.

This is actually more complex than the answers here suggest. I recommend you do your research elsewhere and get the facts.

It varies. The major factor is how people take care of themselves. Since the introduction of the "cocktail" people are living a lot longer. In the 80 a HIV diagnosis was a death sentence, a couple of years once diagnosed. Now people that have been infected are living 20-25 years, and the news predictions that I read yesterday was that people will be living 30 year plus.

One of my closest friends has been HIV+ for 24 years, and still does not have an AIDS diagnoses. But what we are seeing are complications from the medications, heart failure, liver, kidney and respiratory problems.

And hopefully with research and more medications these numbers will change for the better soon.