HIV & AIDS – signs, symptoms, causes,transmission,pathology and treatment

 

HIV:

HIV means Human immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus which is responsible for human severe disease, named AIDS. The virus weakens a person’s Disease resistance ability

AIDS: 

AIDS means acquired immune deficiency syndrome. People with HIV and when their CD4 count is less than 200. CD4 (T-cell) count is determined by a blood test in a doctor’s office and when they develop certain infections or cancers are said to have AIDS.

AIDS means acquired immune deficiency syndrome. People with HIV and when their CD4 count is less than 200. CD4 (T-cell) count is determined by a blood test in a doctor’s office and when they develop certain infections or cancers are said to have AIDS.

AIDS means acquired immune deficiency syndrome. People with HIV and when their CD4 count is less than 200. CD4 (T-cell) count is determined by a blood test in a doctor’s office and when they develop certain infections or cancers are said to have AIDS.

But people Having HIV does not always mean that they have AIDS.It may be taken many years for people to develop AIDS after bearing HIV. HIV & AIDS are not curable. Now medications available by which normal life is possible with minimal interruption in quality of life. Today there are many ways to help people stay healthy and live longer.

HIV symptoms:

The symptoms of HIV AIDS differ, depending on the phase of infection.

Acute HIV (Primary infection)

The maximum part of people infected by HIV by developing a flu-like illness within a month or two after the virus enters the body. This illness, known as acute or primary HIV infection. It may last for a few weeks. It’s Possible signs and symptoms are given below:

• Headache
• Fever
• Rash
• Muscle aches and joint pain
• Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck
• Sore throat

Though the symptoms of primary HIV infection may be mild enough without any notice.

At this time the amount of virus in the bloodstream is particularly high. That is why, HIV infection disseminates more quickly during primary infection than during the next stage of infection.

Chronic HIV (Clinical latent infection)

During clinical latent HIV, insistent swelling of lymph nodes occurs in some people. Beside this, there is no specific sign and symptom. It affect the white blood cells.

Generally, Clinical latent infection stands around 10 years  if antiretroviral therapy is not taken. But receiving antiretroviral medications, This phase can be lasted for decades.

Early Symptom of HIV Infection

Since this type of virus multiply and destroy immune cells continously. The patient may develop mild infections or chronic signs and symptoms such as:

• Fatigue
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Weight loss
• Shingles
• Oral yeast infection

Symptoms of HIV in Men

1st Stage Symptoms of HIV in Men (Acute Retroviral Syndrome)

Flu like symptoms are occurred, when a body is infected by HIV for the first time. This stage is also called ARS ( Acute Retroviral Syndrome). The symptoms of first stage of HIV infections includes:

• Headache
• Swollen Glands
• Muscle pain
• Fiver
• Rashes
• Sore throat

The common reasons for Acute Retroviral Syndrome are as follows:

• Unprotected vaginal and anal sex
• Using used syringes and needles
• Contaminated Blood Transfusion

2nd Stage Symptoms of HIV in Men (Asymptomatic Stage)

The second stage is also known as silent phase, which can long for many years together. This is the most dangerous stage as the person because he do not know that he is infected with HIV and will carry on his routine for many years. But sometimes  some symptoms such as swollen & painless lymph gland are noticed in infected men.

3rd Stage Symptoms of AIDS 

If in the first and second stage HIV is not treated, it develop into severe which is 3rd and the final stage of HIV infection, that is called AIDS ( Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In this stage HIV damage the immune system totally as a result body becomes vulnerable to any opportunistic infection. According toa study report of  WHO, the increase of infection from HIV to AIDS takes about 10-15 years and even more. The symptoms of AIDS are as follows:

• Quick weight loss
• Fatigue and weakness
• Repeated fever
• Memory loss
• Depression
• Excessive night sweat
• Continuous swollen lymph glands
• Frequent diarrhoea for more than a week
• Patches on skin, and in the month and nose
• Neurological issues

From these symptoms, body get very easily infected from different opportunistic infections such as Tuberculosis, etc

HIV symptoms in women

General common HIV Symptoms in women are as follows:

Besides the above mentioned symptoms of HIV , there are some specific symptoms are noticed in women. These symptoms may surface anytime after the exposure to the virus or even several years later. The symptoms are as follows:

• Sudden, unexplained weight loss.
• Frequent low-grade fevers and/or night sweats.
• Lack of energy or severe fatigue.
• Swollen lymph nodes.
• Frequent oral yeast infections.
• Short-term amnesia.
• Skin rashes or flaky skin that is difficult to heal.
• Pneumonia.
• Painful swallowing.
• Coma.
  

how is HIV transmitted 

1. SEXUAL TRANSMISSION

There are different kinds of sex and they have different risks for HIV transmission, anal sex is the most risky, followed by vaginal sex. Oral sex is also risk, but the risk is greatly reduced. Generally HIV is exsist  in sexual fluids – semen, pre-ejaculatory fluid, vaginal fluids and anal mucus and this is why it can be transmitted during sex. Though HIV transmission depents on a number of factors, and these are quite complex.

2. BLOOD-TO-BLOOD TRANSMISSION

HIV also present in blood and it is another transmission way of HIV. In this way, HIV transmitted by sharing injecting equipment when taking intravenous drugs, or anything else that can expose someone to someone else’s blood.

3. MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION

HIV may be passed from  mother to her child through pregnancy, either during birth or breast milk.  In the UK, Mother-to-baby transmission in pregnancy is extremely uncommon, because doctors work with pregnant women to reduce the risk of this happening.

 

Pathology of HIV

HIV infection progresses through a series of steps or stages before it turns into AIDS. In 1993 the Centers for Disease Control and prevention outline these stages including :

1. Seroconversion illness – this happens in 1 to 6 weeks after getting the infection. The feeling is same as flu.
2. Asymptomatic infection – After the stage of seroconversion, virus levels are low and replication goes on slowly. CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte levels are normal. There is no symptom in this stage may persist for years together.
3. Persistent generalised lymphadenopathy (PGL) – The lymph nodes of these patients are grown swollen for three months or longer.
4. Symptomatic infection – This stage reveals with symptoms. Moreover, different opportunistic infections are occurred. This collection of signs and symptoms  is referred to as the AIDS-related complex (ARC) and is regarded as a precursor to AIDS.
5. AIDS – Severe immunodeficiency occurred in this stage. Different  life-threatening infections and unusual tumours are seen in this stage. Specially It is characterized by CD4 T-cell count below 200 cells/mm3.
6. There is a small portion of patients who establish AIDS very slowly, or never at all. These type of patients are called nonprogressors.

HIV treatment

There is no healing of HIV/AIDS, but it can be controlled by using variety of drug in different combination. Every class of anti-HIV drugs impede the virus in different ways. The best combine is at least three drugs from two classes without creating strains of HIV that are immune to single drugs.

The classes of anti-HIV drugs are given below:

• Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs): NNRTIs are not able a protein needed by HIV to build copies of itself. Examples include, etravirine (Intelence), nevirapine (Viramune) and efavirenz (Sustiva).
• Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs): NRTIs are imperfect versions of creating blocks that HIV requires to make copies of itself. Examples include Abacavir (Ziagen), lamivudine-zidovudine (Combivir).and the combination drugs emtricitabine-tenofovir (Truvada).
• Protease inhibitors (PIs): PIs are not able protease, another protein that HIV requires to make copies of itself. Examples include atazanavir (Reyataz), fosamprenavir (Lexiva) ,darunavir (Prezista), and indinavir (Crixivan).
• Entry or fusion inhibitors: These drugs obstacle HIV’s entry into CD4 cells. Examples include maraviroc (Selzentry) and enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) .
• Integrase inhibitors: These drugs work by incapacitating  integrase, a protein that HIV uses to enter its genetic material into CD4 cells. Examples include raltegravir (Isentress), dolutegravir (Tivicay) and elvitegravir (Vitekta).

When to start treatment

After selecting HIV infection, regardless of CD4 count, should be offered antiviral medication.

For the following situations HIV therapy is particularly important  when

• Patients have severe symptoms.
• Patients CD4 count is under 350.
• Patients have HIV-related kidney disease.
• Patients have an opportunistic infection.
• Patients pregnant.
• Patients being treated for hepatitis B or C.

 

 Treatment may be difficult

The regimens of HIV treatment may be involved with taking multiple pills at specific times every day for the rest of your life. Different Side effects can include:

• Heart disease
• Breakdown of muscle tissue (rhabdomyolysis)
• Higher blood sugar levels
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Weakened bones or bone loss
• Abnormal cholesterol levels

 

HIV test

What is HIV testing?

A person is  infected with HIV or not, it can be known by HIV testing. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.  HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS is the most final stage of HIV infection.
HIV infection can be detected by HIV testing, but it is impossibe to know how long a person has been infected with HIV or if the person has AIDS.

Why is HIV testing important?

HIV test is very much important to know HIV status.

If you are HIV-negative:
If testing shows that you don’t have HIV, take different steps to avoid getting HIV, such as using condoms during sex and taking medicines to prevent HIV if you are at high risk of becoming infected with HIV (pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP).

If you have HIV-positive:
If Testing shows that you have been infected with HIV,  you have to take steps to protect your health. Begin by talking to your health care provider about antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is a HIV medicines to treat HIV infection. People on ART take a combination of HIV medicines every day. ART is very much important which helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of transmission of HIV. If People infected with HIV, they should start ART as soon as possible. Your health care provider will help you decide what HIV medicines to take.

Who should take test for HIV?

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 13 to 64 years old should get tested for HIV at least once. According to general rule, people at high risk for HIV infection should be tested each year.

Gay and bisexual men who are sexually active  may benefit from getting tested more often, such as every 3 to 6 months.

Factors which increase the risk of HIV infection include:

• vaginal or anal sex without using a condom with someone who have HIV-positive or whose HIV status is your unknown.
• sharing needles, syringes, or other drug equipment with others and Injecting drugs
• carding a sexually transmitted disease (STD), such as syphilis
• Sex exchanging for money or drugs
• Having hepatitis or tuberculosis (TB)
• Having sex with anyone who has any of the HIV risk factors listed above

Talk to your health care provider about your risk of HIV infection and how often you should get tested for HIV.

Care for hiv/aids patient

Living a full and healthy life cannot be stopped by HIV. With the right care and treatment, a patient can lead a live just as long as someone who doesn’t have HIV.

You may consult your healthcare professional about food & nutrition, exercise, mental health or any of the other issues covered here.

A hiv/aids patient should be careful for following issues :

1. Taking HIV treatment

The treatment can not cure the virus, but can control HIV and strong your immune system. Earlier previous version of HIV drugs had serious side-effects but modern HIV drugs is totally side-effects free. It is important to take medicine every day. If you are having any problems taking treatment, you can talk to your healthcare professional.

2 Eating healthily

People with HIV must eat a balanced diet, without too much fat, sugar or salt. If you are underweight or overweight, or if you have any particular dietary problems or side-effects, you should talk to a healthcare professional about your diet because it make hard to eat well.

Following type of foods make up a best balanced diet for you.

• plenty of starchy carbohydrates to give you energy – such as brown rice, potatoes, wholemeal pasta and bread
• plenty of fruit and vegetables to provide fibre, vitamins and minerals
• some dairy products, such as milk, yoghurt and cheese
• some protein such as lean meat, fish, eggs and beans
• small amounts of fats and sugars

3 Exercise and keeping fit

You should do regular exercise to keep fit as well as feel fitter, have more stamina, more flexibility, or lose weight. There are three types of exercise you should think, which are given bellow:

i. Resistance training – It improves the strength of your muscles by lifting weights for a period of time and then repeating. Even lifting a tin of beans will do!

ii. Cardio or aerobic exercise – It improves your heart rate, which help blood flow right around your body, as a result oxygen deliver to your muscles and keeping your heart and lungs healthy. Try running, dancing, cycling or swimming.

iii. Flexibility training – stretching before and after any exercise you do, or focus on flexibility with an activity like yoga

4  Try to be always happy with smiling:

Try to take care of yourself, not only your physical health but also your mental and emotional health.

Although HIV/AIDS is not totally curable but it can be controlled by maintaining regular meditation and practice. It is Good practices to prevent HIV-AIDS, for this  awareness should be deloped socially.