Hiv Is An Infection That Can Lead To Aids
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Its a virus that breaks down certain cells in your immune system . When HIV damages your immune system, its easier to get really sick and even die from infections that your body could normally fight off.
About 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV, and more than 38,000 new infections happen every year. Most people with HIV dont have any symptoms for many years and feel totally fine, so they might not even know they have it.
Once you have HIV, the virus stays in your body for life. Theres no cure for HIV, but medicines can help you stay healthy. HIV medicine lowers or even stops your chances of spreading the virus to other people. Studies show that using HIV treatment as directed can lower the amount of HIV in your blood so much that it might not even show up on a test when this happens, you cant transmit HIV through sex.Treatment is really important . Without treatment, HIV can lead to AIDS. But with medicine, people with HIV can live long, healthy lives and stop the spread of HIV to others.
Causes Of Hiv Infection
HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person. This includes semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood and breast milk.
It’s a fragile virus and does not survive outside the body for long.
HIV cannot be transmitted through sweat, urine or saliva.
The most common way of getting HIV in the UK is through having anal or vaginal sex without a condom.
Other ways of getting HIV include:
- sharing needles, syringes or other injecting equipment
- transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding
The chance of getting HIV through oral sex is very low and will be dependent on many things, such as whether you receive or give oral sex and the oral hygiene of the person giving the oral sex.
Hiv/aids Reduces The Absorption Of Food
Food, once eaten, is broken down by digestion into nutrients. These nutrients pass through the gut walls into the bloodstream and are transported to the organs and tissues in the body where they are needed. One of the consequences of HIV and other infections is that since the gut wall is damaged, food does not pass through properly and is consequently not absorbed.
Diarrhoea is a common occurrence in people with HIV/AIDS. When a person has diarrhoea the food passes through the gut so quickly that it is not properly digested and fewer nutrients are absorbed.
Reduced food intake and absorption lead to weight loss and malnutrition.
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Symptoms Of Hiv Infection
Most people experience a short flu-like illness 2 to 6 weeks after HIV infection, which lasts for a week or 2.
After these symptoms disappear, HIV may not cause any symptoms for many years, although the virus continues to damage your immune system.
This means many people with HIV do not know they’re infected.
Anyone who thinks they could have HIV should get tested.
Some people are advised to have regular tests as they’re at particularly high risk.
Hiv Effects On The Kidneys
High blood pressure and diabetes are both related to HIV, and both are major causes of kidney disease. The healthy diet and exercise habits that are good for your heart will help keep your blood pressure and blood sugar under control. That helps protect your kidneys, too.
Some HIV medications can damage your kidneys. If you already have kidney problems, your doctor may want to avoid those drugs or keep a close eye on their effects.
Your doctor will need to check your kidneys regularly because you might not notice the signs of kidney disease.
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Does Benefiber Have Any Side Effects
Benefiber generally does not cause any serious side effects. Taking too many, however, may cause loose stools, flatulence, or abdominal cramps. Some people may be allergic to Benefiber and develop skin rash or hives on consumption.
You should consult a doctor before taking Benefiber if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have any underlying health conditions. Although Benefiber powder is considered gluten-free because it contains less than 20 ppm of gluten, people with gluten intolerance must not consume any Benefiber products unless otherwise directed by their doctor.
How To Figure Out The Cause Of Body Pains In Hiv
The main causes of the body pains are usually unknown to the patient of HIV, but you should be clear that it is not the HIV causing it. Instead, it is some opportunistic infection culminating inside your body.
There can be plenty of reasons why your body aches including muscle tensions or sprains, sharp pains, cyclic pains, muscle cramping, and exercise pain.
The pain is usually related to the hips, back, and lower hips area of the body.
Moreover, the pain can result in critical weakness as well. That is why you should get yourself checked by a doctor immediately when you experience even slight permanent pains.
It is necessary to get yourself examined in order to rule out neurologic diseases, as they might be the primary reasons for the pain.
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Rashes Caused By Reactions To Medication
Another possible cause of a rash that develops when someone has HIV is a reaction to a medication. In fact, a rash is one of the most common side effects of antiretroviral medications used to treat HIV.
Rashes that develop due to HIV medications are usually not serious. Monitor the rash for several days to see if it goes away without treatment. If it does not, you may need to switch to a different type of medication or be tested for other possible causes of rash, such as a bacterial infection.
While most of the rashes that develop from taking ARV meds are harmless, its very important to be aware of a condition called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome . This is a rare but potentially fatal skin rash that may develop when taking certain HIV medications. The symptoms of SJS include:
- Fever, headache, and other flu-like symptoms
- Painful, itchy skin
- A skin rash consisting of red, blistered spots
- Peeling skin that develops into painful sores
- Blisters in and around the mouth, nose, eyes, genitals, or mucous membranes
If you experience symptoms of SJS, seek immediate medical care by visiting an emergency room or calling 911.
Of course, other medications besides HIV meds have the potential to cause a reaction like a rash. If you start taking any new medications, be sure to watch for the development of rashes or other unusual symptoms. In addition, you should work closely with your doctor to make sure any medications you take will not interfere with your HIV treatment.
What Puts Me At Risk For Catching Chlamydia
Young women are more likely to contract chlamydia than older women and men of any age. If you are 24 or younger and sexually active, get tested for chlamydia. Other factors that may increase your risk for chlamydia include:
- New sex partners
- A sex partner with an STD
- Swapping sex for money or drugs
- Prior history of chlamydia or other STDs
- Not using condoms during sex with new partners
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How Long Does It Take To Develop The Disease
There is no fixed period between the first contact with HIV and the development of the disease. Signs and symptoms resulting from infection with HIV develop in stages. Many infected individuals may have no symptoms for several years. But others may develop symptoms within three years from the time of infection.
Symptoms of HIV infection are fever, swollen lymph glands in the neck and armpits, sweating, aches, fatigue, unexplained weight loss and diarrhea.
Within eight years, about 50 percent of all infected people develop specific conditions categorized as AIDS. These conditions include a lung disease called “pneumocystis carinii pneumonia,” skin tumours called “Kaposi’s sarcoma,” fungal and viral infections such as candidiasis and herpes zoster, and severe diarrhea.
Some AIDS patients also suffer from dementia resulting in problems with memory and thinking. AIDS patients are prone to various infections of the brain, just as they suffer from an unusually high number of cancers, bacterial and viral infections of other parts of the body.
What Does Cocaine Do To Your Body
The risks of cocaine use are high for anyone who uses it, regardless of age and your current health. If youve already taken it, or are thinking about taking it, you may be worried about what cocaine can do to your body and brain. So its important to know that whether youve taken coke a few times, or are struggling with regular misuse, its certain to impact you both your physical and mental health. It doesnt matter whether cocaine is snorted, smoked or injected all of these methods are dangerous to your health and can even be fatal.
Read more to find out what cocaine does to your body and brain.
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Body Pains That May Be An Early Sign Of Hiv
This is an article by Cara Smith. I offer it with the authors permission for informational purposes. The author and I have no financial involvement.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE HER OWN AND DO NOT REPRESENT MY VIEW OR MEDICAL ADVICE.
Photo by Kat Love on Unsplash
HIV is a disease that scratches out the immunity system and makes a person vulnerable to more opportunistic diseases which kill the person and not the HIV.
A person who is diagnosed with an HIV faces numerous health issues that affect both physiological and bodily aspects of the person.
One of the most serious symptoms that can raise an HIV alarm is severe body pains at poles of the body.
Respiratory And Cardiovascular Systems
HIV makes it hard to fight off respiratory problems such as the common cold and flu. In turn, an HIV-positive person may develop related infections, such as pneumonia.
Without treatment for HIV, advanced disease puts an HIV-positive person at an even greater risk for infectious complications, such as tuberculosis and a fungal infection called pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia .
PJP causes trouble breathing, cough, and fever.
The risk of lung cancer also increases with HIV. This is due to weakened lungs from numerous respiratory issues related to a weakened immune system.
According to available research , lung cancer is more prevalent among people with HIV compared to people without it.
People with HIV are more likely to develop high blood pressure. HIV also raises the risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension . PAH is a type of high blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood to the lungs. Over time, PAH will strain the heart and can lead to heart failure.
If a person has HIV with a low CD4 count, theyre also more susceptible to tuberculosis .
TB is an airborne bacterium that affects the lungs. Its a leading cause of death in people who have AIDS. Symptoms include chest pain and a bad cough that may contain blood or phlegm. The cough can linger for months.
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Special Eating Needs For People Living With Hiv/aids
A person who is infected with HIV/AIDS and is not showing signs of illness does not need a specific HIV-diet. However, those infected with HIV should make every effort to adopt healthy and balanced nutrition patterns in order to meet their increased protein and energy requirements and maintain their nutritional status.
Once people with HIV/AIDS become ill they will have special needs, which are described below.
What Does Hiv Do To The Body
One of the effects of HIV on the human body is that it weakens the immune system and exposes the body to diseases and infections which it would normally fight off.
One of the effects of HIV on the human body is that it weakens the immune system and exposes the body to diseases and infections which it would normally fight off.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and if left untreated can lead to AIDS which is fatal. There are different ways in which you can get HIV, namely unprotected sex with an infected partner, mother to child during birth, transfusion of infected blood, and the use of infected syringes. HIV can go undiagnosed for an extended period of time and you would probably have to do specific tests like ELISA and Western Blot for a conclusive diagnosis. These tests detect antibodies that the body makes when infected with HIV. A person infected with HIV may not show any visible symptoms of the infection and can appear healthy for years.
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What Does Cocaine Do To Your Brain
Cocaine affects your brain immediately. One of the first things you will experience is an intense feeling of intoxication, which is the main reason most people will take the drug. However, repeatedly chasing this pleasure is what leads cocaine users to become addicted. There are many dangers to using cocaine that arent as obvious as the perceived benefit of its initial rush. Its crucial to know the impact it can have on different brain areas, some of which can result in irreversible damage, serious health complications and even death.
Read more below about what cocaine does to the brain and how that can affect you psychologically, emotionally and physically.
Stages Of Hiv Infection
About a month after you get HIV, you might feel like you have the flu. This is the first stage, called primary or acute HIV infection. Symptoms include:
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Swollen lymph nodes
The next stage is called clinical latency, or chronic infection. You might have no symptoms, or only mild ones, for 10 years or more.
Without treatment, as HIV keeps multiplying inside your body, youâll move into the third stage, which is AIDS. A person who has HIV is diagnosed with AIDS when they have fewer than 200 CD4 cells per cubic millimeter of blood or when they get whatâs called an AIDS-defining condition.
AIDS-defining conditions are certain cancers and illnesses called opportunistic infections.
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How Are These Disorders Treated
No single treatment can cure the neurological complications of HIV/AIDS. Some disorders require aggressive therapy while others are treated as symptoms arise.
Neuropathic painchronic pain caused by damage to the nervous systemis often difficult to control. Medicines range from over-the-counter pain killers to anticonvulsant drugs, opiates, and some classes of antidepressants. Inflamed tissue caused by autoimmune or other conditions can press on nerves, causing pain. Such illnesses may be treated with corticosteroids or procedures such as plasma exchange, formally known as plasmapheresis, that clear the blood of harmful substances that cause inflammation.
Treatment options for AIDS- and HIV-related neuropsychiatric or psychotic disorders include antidepressants and anticonvulsants. Psychostimulants may also improve depression and reduce fatigue. Drugs such as cholinesterase inhibitors, which can temporarily improve or stabilize memory and thinking skills in people with dementia, may relieve confusion and slow mental decline. Benzodiazepines may be prescribed to treat anxiety. Psychotherapy may also help some individuals.
Other treatments may include physical therapy and rehabilitation, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy to shrink cancerous brain tumors that may be related to HIV, antifungal or antimalarial drugs to combat certain bacterial infections associated with the disorder, and penicillin to treat neurosyphilis.
Other Symptoms To Watch For
Since an HIV rash signals a problem with the bodys immune system, many people will experience other symptoms along with a skin rash. These symptoms may include:
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Fever
- Flu-like symptoms, such as the chills, achy muscles, and a general feeling of illness
If your rash is especially large or causes swelling, you might also experience issues with mobility or getting around.
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What Does An Hiv Rash Look Like
Usually HIV infection leads to a brief period of symptoms shortly after infection occurs. Not everybody notices these symptoms, and theyre easy to mistake for a cold or the flu. One of the symptoms may be a rash.
The most common HIV rash occurs shortly after infection. It is an itchy rash that usually appears on the abdomen, face, arms, or legs and features a flat, red area covered in small red bumps.
How Is Aids Diagnosed
When you have HIV, your doctor will monitor your CD4 count by ordering a blood test. A healthy CD4 count ranges from 500 to 1,600 CD4 cells. The lower your CD4 count, the less your body can fight infection. If your CD4 count drops below 200, your doctor may diagnose you with AIDS. Many times, you will also already have an infection or pneumonia due to the low number of CD4 cells.
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How Do People Get Hiv
HIV spreads when infected blood or body fluids enter the body. This can happen:
HIV also can pass from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.
HIV is NOT spread through:
- pee, poop, spit, throw-up, or sweat
- coughing or sneezing
- sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses
A Sexually Transmitted Infection
Katie Salerno/Flickr Creative Commons
Contracting other sexually transmitted diseases can significantly increase the risk of getting HIV. For instance, some STDs like syphilis and herpes cause skin lesions that make it easier for HIV to enter the body.
STDs may also cause inflammation, which is something that is triggered by the body’s immune system. HIV preferentially infects defensive white blood cells, so when there are more of them around, it’s easier to contract HIV.
Having an STD like gonorrhea or syphilis means that you’ve engaged in unprotected sex, a key risk factor for HIV. So if you have been diagnosed with an STD, talk to your healthcare provider about how you can reduce your HIV risk.
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