Everything You Need to Know About HIV
What is HIV?
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus. When HIV enters the body, it impairs the body’s immune system. Due to impaired immune system, the body is unable to fight infections and diseases.
Human immunodeficiency virus attacks and kills CD4 cells. These cells are the type of immune cells called T cells. When these cells get infected with HIV, the body’s ability to combat infections and diseases weakens. As more and more CD4 cells get killed, the body becomes vulnerable to contracting opportunistic infections and fatal diseases like cancer.
How does HIV spread?
Here are a few ways in which HIV is transferred from one person to another:
· By indulging in sexual activity with the person carrying HIV
· By sharing needle and syringes with HIV positive person to inject drugs
· Using unsterilised tattoo equipment
· Can be transferred from the mother to child during pregnancy
· Through breastfeeding
· By coming in contact with the blood of the person carrying HIV
When people get infected with HIV, the virus is transmitted into their body fluids which include blood, breastmilk, vaginal and rectal fluids, and semen.
What are the symptoms of HIV?
Symptoms that people experience during the early stages of HIV are flu-like symptoms known as an acute retroviral syndrome. Acute retroviral syndrome develops within 2 to 6 weeks after the body gets infected with HIV. Some of the early symptoms of HIV are:
· Increased sweating, particularly at night
· Tiredness
· Weakness
· Unusual weight loss
· Fever
· Chills
· Sore throat
· Joint and muscle pain
· Swelling in lymph nodes
· Wounds and ulcers inside the mouth
People developing these symptoms and having an intuition that they have contracted HIV for some reason should undergo HIV screening tests.
Asymptomatic HIV
This is the stage in which people after experiencing symptoms of the acute retroviral syndrome do not show any symptoms of HIV at all. This stage can last for many years if HIV positive patients are not undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Even when HIV positive patients are asymptomatic, the virus continues to multiply and cause damage to the immune system and organs.
Late-stage of HIV Infection
As the virus continues to multiply and kill immune cells, there comes a stage when HIV positive patients are at the risk of contracting serious illnesses. This stage is stage 3 HIV or AIDS. Symptoms of Stage 3 HIV are:
· Chronic diarrhoea
· Blurred vision
· Night sweats
· Fever over 100 ° F that lasts for weeks
· Shortness of breath
· Swollen lymph glands lasting for weeks
· Long-lasting tiredness
· Permanent white spots and unusual lesions on the tongue and in the mouth
· Unusual weight loss
· Skin rashes and bumps
People suffering from AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, are at a high risk of contracting fatal illnesses.
Several different kinds of tests are done to detect the presence of HIV in the body. Some of them are antibody/antigen tests, antibody tests and nucleic acid test. People should visit a good diagnostic lab near home to get these tests done. A good and reputed diagnostic lab gives accurate results and on time.
