How Does Hiv Become Aids

Can Hiv/aids Be Prevented

You can reduce the risk of spreading HIV by

• Getting tested for HIV
• Choosing less risky sexual behaviors. This includes limiting the number of sexual partners you have and using latex condoms every time you have sex. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.
• Getting tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases
• Not injecting drugs
• Talking to your health care provider about medicines to prevent HIV:
• PrEP is for people who don’t already have HIV but are at very high risk of getting it. PrEP is daily medicine that can reduce this risk.
• PEP is for people who have possibly been exposed to HIV. It is only for emergency situations. PEP must be started within 72 hours after a possible exposure to HIV.

NIH: National Institutes of Health

Emergency Hiv Pills Or Post

If an individual accepts they have been presented to the infection inside the most recent three days, hostile to HIV drugs, called post-presentation prophylaxis , might have the option to stop the disease. Accept PEP at the earliest opportunity after expected contact with the infection. PEP is a treatment enduring an aggregate of 28 days, and doctors will keep on checking for HIV after the finishing of the procedure.

How To Live Healthily With Hiv

Besides the answer to “how does HIV turn into AIDS?” here are also tips about how to live healthily with HIV.

1. Eat a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is the key to boosting your immune system. You need to eat a well-balanced diet that is rich in nutrients. Some good options are whole grains, lean meat, fresh vegetables and fruits.

2. Avoid Wrong Types of Foods

Avoid foods which you are allergic to. In addition, you need to avoid raw sea food, half cooked meat, raw eggs and unpasteurized dairy products. They may cause foodborne illness and the level of severity of consequences is multiplied in HIV patients.

3. Get Vaccinations

Since you are more susceptible to common infections, you should get immunized against them. At the same time, you should avoid vaccines that are made using live viruses which can cause diseases since your immune system is already weakened.

4. Take Care with Pets and Other Animals

Pets and animals may carry parasites that will cause infections in people with HIV. For example, cats carry feces that can cause toxoplasmosis. Always wash your hands after handling animals.

5. Avoid Getting Stressed

If you feel stressed, increase your sleep time, and try stress relieving practices such as breathing exercises. This is because stress lowers the level of immunity in your body, and this can increase your chances of developing AIDS faster.

6. Dont Engage in Risky Sexual Behavior

7. Improve Your Lifestyle

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Did Hiv Start In Africa

Using the earliest known sample of HIV, scientists have been able to create a ‘family-tree’ ancestry of HIV transmission, allowing them to discover where HIV started.

Their studies concluded that the first transmission of SIV to HIV in humans took place around 1920 in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo .10

The same area is known for having the most genetic diversity in HIV strains in the world, reflecting the number of different times SIV was passed to humans. Many of the first cases of AIDS were recorded there too.

The Link Between Hiv And Siv

HIV is a type of lentivirus, which means it attacks the immune system. In a similar way, the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus attacks the immune systems of monkeys and apes.1

Research found that HIV is related to SIV and there are many similarities between the two viruses. HIV-1 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in chimpanzees, and HIV-2 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in sooty mangabeys.2

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Aids Is The Final Stage

Controlling HIV with medications is crucial to both maintaining quality of life and helping prevent progression of the disease. Stage 3 HIV, also known as AIDS, develops when HIV has significantly weakened the immune system.

According to the CDC National Prevention Information Network, CD4 levels give one indication that HIV has progressed to its final stage. CD4 levels decreasing below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood is considered a sign of AIDS. A normal range is considered 500 to 1,600 cells/mm3.

AIDS can be diagnosed with a blood test to measure CD4. Sometimes its also determined simply by a persons overall health. In particular, an infection thats rare in people who dont have HIV may indicate AIDS. Symptoms of AIDS include:

• persistent high fevers of over 100°F
• pneumonia

AIDS is the final stage of HIV. According to AIDSinfo, it takes at least 10 years without treatment for most people with HIV to develop AIDS.

At that point, the body is susceptible to a wide range of infections and cant effectively fight them off. Medical intervention is necessary to treat AIDS-related illnesses or complications that can otherwise be fatal. Without treatments, the CDC estimates the average survival rate to be three years once AIDS is diagnosed. Depending on the severity of their condition, a persons outlook may be significantly shorter.

When Should You Call The Doctor If You Have Hiv Or You Think You Have Been Exposed To Hiv

There is also post-exposure prophylaxis , which is used in emergencies and should be started within 72 hours after the possible exposure. This involves taking antiretroviral therapy after this exposure. ART may be prescribed after sexual assault, or if you think you have been exposed during consensual sex or drug-taking.

If you already know you have HIV, you should follow your healthcare providers instructions on when to call. It is important to treat any type of infection, so call if you have new symptoms or things like a fever, sweating episodes, diarrhea, and so on. Its better to check with your doctor if you have any kind of symptom that worries you.

The main feature of managing AIDS is to continue to take your medicines and to fight back at opportunistic infections at the first sign of them.

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Ltnps And Elite Controllers: Why Does Hiv Not Progress In Some People

For reasons that are not well understood, a minorityof HIV-positive individuals long-term nonprogressors, or LTNPs maintainhigh CD4 cell counts much longer than most. One particularly fortunate group,the so-called elite controllers, are able to keep HIV viral load atundetectable levels with no antiretroviral or other treatment.

One reason may lie in the immune system’s CD8 cells,which control HIV by destroying infected cells. In most infected individuals,CD8 cells are present in high numbers yet seem unable to properly respond toHIV. LTNPs may be blessed with CD8s that remain able to strongly attackHIV-infected cells. The reasons for this are likely genetic.

In order to reducecardiovascular risk, comprehensive HIV treatment will need to reduceinflammation, not just control viral replication.

Jean-Pierre Routy, McGill University

Treatment For Hiv Or Aids

Clinging to antiretroviral treatment can decrease HIV to an undetectable viral burden. No fix is right now accessible for HIV or AIDS. Thus, medicines can stop the movement of the condition and permit a great many people living with HIV the chance to live a long and generally stable life.

Beginning ART from the get-go in the movement of the infection is essential. It improves personal satisfaction, broadens the future, and decreases the danger of transmission, as indicated by the WHOs rules from June 2013. Progressively compelling and better-endured medicines have advanced that can improve general wellbeing and personal satisfaction by taking as meager as one pill every day.

An individual living with HIV can decrease their viral burden to such an extent, that it is not, at this point, perceivable in a blood test. In the wake of evaluating various enormous investigations, the CDC inferred that people who have no noticeable viral burden have adequately no danger of explicitly transmitting the infection to an HIV-adverse accomplice.

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Case Definition For Epidemiological Surveillance

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, a team led by Robert Shafer at Stanford University School of Medicine has discovered that the gray mouse lemur has an endogenouslentivirus in its genetic makeup. This suggests that lentiviruses have existed for at least 14 million years, much longer than the currently known existence of HIV. In addition, the time frame falls in the period when Madagascar was still connected to what is now the African continent the said lemurs later developed immunity to the virus strain and survived an era when the lentivirus was widespread among other mammals. The study is being hailed as crucial, because it fills the blanks in the origin of the virus, as well as in its evolution, and may be important in the development of new antiviral drugs.

In 2010, researchers reported that SIV had infected monkeys in Bioko for at least 32,000 years. Previous to this time, it was thought that SIV infection in monkeys had happened over the past few hundred years. Scientists estimated that it would take a similar amount of time before humans adapted naturally to HIV infection in the way monkeys in Africa have adapted to SIV and not suffer any harm from the infection.

Early Symptoms Of Hiv

Some people with HIV have no symptoms for months or even years after contracting the virus. Partly because of this, 1 in 7 people with HIV in the U.S. do not know that they have it.

While a person with no symptoms may be unlikely to seek care, there is still a high risk of transmission. For this reason, experts recommend regular testing, so that everyone is aware of their HIV status.

Meanwhile, around 80% of people with HIV develop flu-like symptoms around 26 weeks after contracting the infection. These symptoms are collectively called acute retroviral syndrome.

Early symptoms of HIV may include:

• white spots on the tongue or mouth
• shortness of breath, or dyspnea
• swollen glands lasting for weeks
• diarrhea, which is usually persistent or chronic
• a fever of over 100°F that lasts for weeks
• continuous fatigue
• unintentional weight loss

A person with AIDS has a significantly increased risk of developing a life threatening illness. Without treatment, people with AIDS typically live for around 3 years after the diagnosis.However, by taking other medications alongside HIV treatment, a person with AIDS can control, prevent, and treat serious complications.

When a person with HIV takes effective treatment, the infection may never progress to stage 3. Treatment can also help a person recover some lost immune function, which will help ward off severe infections.

• candidiasis of the bronchi, trachea, esophagus, and lungs
• coccidioidomycosis
• recurrent Salmonella septicemia
• toxoplasmosis

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What Is The Outlook For Someone With Hiv/aids

If you are diagnosed with HIV and you start ART soon after, your immune system will not be as compromised. If you continue to take your medicines every day, your outlook is very good.

ART can keep blood levels undetectable but cannot entirely rid the body of the virus . If you do not keep up on your medication, the virus goes back into the blood.

If you have HIV and dont treat it, it can take about 10 years to lead to AIDS. If you have AIDS and dont treat it, the survival rate is about three years.

It is so important to know that people who have HIV and who follow treatment guidelines are able to live full lives for nearly as long as HIV-negative people.

When And Where Did Hiv Start In Humans

Studies of some of the earliest known samples of HIV provide clues about when it first appeared in humans and how it evolved. The first verified case of HIV is from a blood sample taken in 1959 from a man living in what is now Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sample was retrospectively analysed and HIV detected. There are numerous earlier cases where patterns of deaths from common opportunistic infections, now known to be AIDS-defining, suggest that HIV was the cause, but this is the earliest incident where a blood sample can verify infection.9

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How Is Hiv Treated

Treatments for HIV typically involve antiretroviral therapy. This isnt a specific regimen, but instead a combination of three or four drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has currently approved nearly 50 different medications to treat HIV.

Antiretroviral therapy works to prevent the virus from copying itself. This maintains immunity levels while slowing the progression of HIV.

Before prescribing medication, a healthcare provider will take the following factors into consideration:

• a persons health history
• the levels of the virus in the blood

HIV doesnt cause a lot of outward or noticeable symptoms until the disease has progressed. For this reason, its important to understand how HIV is transmitted and the ways to prevent transmission.

HIV can be transmitted by:

• having sex, including oral, vaginal, and anal sex
• sharing needles, including tattoo needles, needles used for body piercing, and needles used for injecting drugs
• coming into contact with body fluids, such as semen, vaginal fluid, blood, and breast milk

HIV is not transmitted by:

• breathing the same air as a person living with HIV
• getting bitten by a mosquito or other biting insect
• hugging, holding hands with, kissing, or touching a person living with HIV
• touching a door handle or toilet seat thats been used by an HIV-positive person

Keeping this in mind, some of the ways a person can prevent HIV include:

Symptoms can take years to appear, which is why its so important to get tested regularly.

Hiv And Aids Treatment

More than 25 antiretroviral therapy drugs are approved to treat the virus. Your doctor will prescribe a mix of these medications.

The drugs will help stop HIV from making copies of itself. That will keep you healthy and lower your risk of spreading it.

Thereâs no cure for HIV or AIDS. ARTâs goal is to lower your viral load and keep your immune system healthy. The idea is to lower the viral load to âundetectableâ and keep it that way, by taking your medicine every day as prescribed.

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How Do People Get Hiv

You can get HIV when body fluids from an infected person enter your bloodstream. Body fluids are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, fluids from the anus, and breast milk.

The virus can enter the blood through linings in the mouth, anus, or sex organs , or through broken skin. Both men and women can spread HIV.

You can have HIV and feel okay and still give the virus to others. Pregnant women with HIV can also give the virus to their babies.

The most common ways that people get HIV are having sex with an infected person and sharing a needle to take drugs.

You cannot get HIV from:

• Touching or hugging someone who has HIV/AIDS.
• Public bathrooms or swimming pools.
• Sharing cups, utensils, or telephones with someone who has HIV/AIDS.
• Bug bites.
• Donating blood.

Why Do Some People With Hiv Infection Develop Aids

Over time, untreated HIV infection damages the immune system and makes it more difficult to fight infections and cancers.

Before there were effective treatments for HIV infection, all infected people went on to develop AIDS within about 10 years. Today, people with HIV who take effective treatment are unlikely to develop AIDS and will have a near-normal life expectancy. This is because these medicines keep the amount of virus in their blood under control and protect the immune system.

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How Do People Become Infected With Hiv

HIV is in the blood, semen, vaginal fluid and breast milk of an infected person. It can be spread by exposure to these body fluids by:

• unprotected anal or vaginal sex without a condom
• sharing drug injecting equipment
• tattooing, piercing and other procedures with unsterile needles or equipment
• transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding
• oral sex, although this is rare
• sharps injuries

It is important to remember that HIV is not spread through activities such as kissing, sharing cups and cutlery, normal social contact, toilet seats or mosquitoes.

You are at higher risk of HIV infection if:

• you are a man, a transgender woman or a person who identifies as gender diverse who has sex with men
• you have sex or share needles with someone else at risk of HIV
• you share sex toys
• you have sex with people from countries with a high rate of HIV infection
• you inject drugs
• you have had tattoos or other piercings overseas using unsterile equipment
• you have a sexually transmitted infection . People can be infected with several different STIs at the same time. Having an STI can make it easier to become infected with HIV and pass it on to sexual partners
• you have had a blood transfusion in a country where the blood supply is not safe

Some people are at a higher risk of HIV infection because they are exposed to more people with HIV infection and/or engage in more high-risk behaviour. These include:

How Do You Get Or Transmit Hiv

You can only get HIV by coming into direct contact with certain body fluids from a person with HIV who has a detectable viral load. These fluids are:

• Blood
• Semen and pre-seminal fluid
• Rectal fluids
• Vaginal fluids
• Breast milk

For transmission to occur, the HIV in these fluids must get into the bloodstream of an HIV-negative person through a mucous membrane open cuts or sores or by direct injection.

People with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.

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