HIV/AIDS and Your Lungs

If you have HIV or AIDS – especially if you’re not staying on top of treatment – your weakened immune system makes you more prone to infection and illness. Some of these conditions affect your lungs. 

This upper airway infection is very common in people with HIV. Bronchitis causes inflammation in the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. When you have it, you wheeze, cough, feel chest pain, and struggle to breathe.

You may come into contact with a fungus called Cryptococcus neoformans through bird droppings or unwashed fruit. You can also get this fungal infection from someone else who has it. When it’s in your lungs, you’ll have a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and a fever. It can also spread to your brain, urinary tract, skin, and bones, causing other symptoms.

A fungus called histoplasma found in bird or bat poop causes this infection. When it gets into your lungs, you get flu-like or pneumonia-like symptoms such as fever, aches, fatigue, coughing, and chills. A more severe form of the disease can happen if you have a very weak immune system.

You get this infection from a bacteria related to tuberculosis. Most people come into contact with it at some point, but it typically only causes illness in those with weakened immune systems. Most people with HIV who get MAC have a fever, sweats, weight loss, and anemia.

An infection in one lung (pneumonia) or both lungs (double pneumonia) causes coughing with mucus, fever, chills, and trouble breathing. You can get pneumonia from bacteria, a virus, or a fungus.

This specific type of pneumonia is caused by a fungus called Pneumocystis jirovecii. Most people who get this type of pneumonia have weakened immune systems. It gives you a high fever, chills, and a dry cough.

Tuberculosis (TB) most commonly affects the lungs. It’s a serious infection spread from person to person through the air. It causes weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats. You may feel chest pain, cough a lot, and even cough up blood. You need medicine to treat it.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term for a group of diseases that cause breathing problems and block airflow in and out of the lungs. It makes you cough frequently, wheeze, and have trouble taking a deep breath. You may also have a lot of mucus in your chest. Studies have shown that people with HIV are at an increased risk of COPD, whether or not they smoke. 

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers for people living with HIV. Though the reason why isn’t entirely clear, experts say it’s likely the triple threat of chronic inflammation, damage to the immune system, and higher smoking rates among people with HIV.