Although HIV is still an incurable disease, it can be managed. HIV treatment can stop or reverse the replication of HIV in the body and subsequent disease progression. Current HIV medications, sometimes known as HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) or combination therapy, are designed to interrupt the replication of HIV at different points in the cycle of virus reproduction.

Medical providers look for indicators such as higher CD4+ counts and lower viral loads to measure the relative success of treatments. Many people living with HIV experience an increase in health and well-being that correlates with these medical indicators. Side effects from medications may impact quality of life to varying degrees depending on the individual.

Up until recently the term AIDS was used to describe the end stages of infection with HIV. It was categorized by the onset of a collection of diseases called opportunistic infections. The word syndrome is commonly used to describe a collection of diseases that have an unknown cause. The more accurate term used today is HIV disease, which refers directly to the believed cause of the symptoms. Then again, at the beginning of the epidemic, the federal government and public health officials used acronyms such as GRID (Gay Related Immune Disease) and even the tastefully named WOGS (Wrath Of God Syndrome) to describe HIV disease.