A symptom free period can last for many months to over 10 years
About
The acronym “HIV” stands for “Human Immunodeficiency Virus”.
These words are a medical term that refers to a virus that only affects humans which attacks and weakens the immune system.
Symptoms
Once infected, most people typically do not exhibit symptoms.
A symptom free period can last for many months to over 10 years
Fatigue
Headache
Fever
Enlarged Lymph Nodes
Unexplained Weight Loss
Night Sweats
Bruising Easily
Diarrhea
Sore Throat
Nausea/Vomiting
Muscle Aches
Unexplained Bleeding
Yeast Infections
Recurring Rashes
Short Term Memory Issues
Herpes Infection Sores (genital and mouth)
They can feel like the flu, with muscle aches, fatigue, or a slight fever
You could also lose weight or have diarrhea
Contagion
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
It’s passed through body fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk
You can get it by having vaginal or anal intercourse with an infected person without a condom, or by sharing a needle with someone who is infected
An infected mother can also transmit HIV to her baby during the pregnancy or breastfeeding
In rare cases, HIV can be transmitted through blood transfusions and organ transplantation
Also rare, is hospital transmission of HIV, as a person can be infected in a hospital setting through accidental needle pricks or through contact with bodily fluids from an infected person
You can’t get HIV from saliva or by kissing.
Treatment
A combination of drugs can control the virus effectively.
There is a class of drugs called anti-HIV drugs which are designed to block the virus.
Patients are typically treated with a combination of several of these drugs to help avoid the infection becoming resistant to a particular anti-HIV drug.
Consequences
HIV can take years to destroy your immune system.
The immune system does not fight off the infection and to this point in science, an HIV infected person will have it for the rest of their life.
The virus can hide in your cells attacking your immune system cells, also called T-cells. T-cells are an essential component of the human immune system and your body must have these cells in order to fight off diseases and infections. The HIV cells infiltrate T-cells, making copies of itself and then kills the T-cells
Past a certain point, your body loses its ability to fight off infections.
At this stage it is called the AIDS virus. AIDS stands for “Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome”.
There’s no cure for HIV, but powerful drugs can help people with HIV live long lives.
Medical examination
The only sure way to tell if you’ve been infected is to get your saliva or blood tested
The antibodies of the virus will show up during this testing. However, it can be several months for these antibodies to be detectable with testing.
New testing technology is available that tests for the HIV antigen, which is a protein the virus produces as soon as infection happens.
Tests include a viral load test, CD4 count and drug resistance test. The CD4 count test determines how many CD4 cells a person has. It can be anywhere from 500 to over 1000 in healthy people. In HIV/AIDS patients, it can be in the low hundreds. The viral load test is used to determine how much of the virus is present in the blood. The drug resistance test is used to determine what particular strain of HIV a patient has. This helps determine the appropriate drugs for treatment. Depending on your health and symptoms, other tests may be ordered to check for other STD’s, other infections and organ damage.
Prevention:
You can protect yourself by avoiding high risk activities, including unprotected sexual activity with persons who may be infected or sharing needles
