Learn About HIV

Learn The Truth About HIV, AIDS and STD's

When learning about HIV it is important to understand the HIV facts and what the HIV infection does to the human body.

HIV

HIV is known as the human immunodeficiency virus and causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, known to us globally as the AIDS virus. The HIV virus progressively destroys your body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers by damaging and killing cells of your body's immune system. People diagnosed with the AIDS may get life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections, which are caused by microbes such as bacteria or viruses that usually do not make regular healthy people ill. The HIV virus is transmitted through a variety of ways such as having sex with an infected partner, through contact with contaminated blood, during birth or pregnancy, by sharing syringes and needles, or by having an STD (sexually transmitted disease) such as genital herpes syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia or bacterial vaginosis. All of these STDs weaken the immune system and put people at a higher risk of acquiring the HIV virus. Many people do not experience or develop any symptoms when they first are infected with HIV. Some people get early symptoms of HIV such as a flu-like illness within three to six weeks after exposure to the HIV virus. This illness is called Acute HIV and may include headache, nausea, tiredness, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and diarrhea. Severe HIV symptoms may not surface for many years after the HIV virus first enters the body in adults. In some cases, some people may begin to have HIV symptoms as soon as a few months, while others may be symptom-free for more than 10 years.

HIV Symptoms

* Unusual skin rashes * Severe numbness or pain in the hands or feet, loss of muscular strength, reflex and paralysis * An altered state of consciousness, personality change, or mental deterioration * Lack of energy * Rapid loss of more than 10 pounds of weight that is not related to exercise or diet * Bruising more easily than normal * Diarrhea * Periods of continued deep and dry coughing * Swelling or hardening of glands located in the throat, armpit, or groin * Frequent sweats and fevers * Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease or severe virus infections like herpes * Extreme periods of unexplained fatigue that may be combined with headaches, dizziness, or lightheadedness * Unexplainable bleeding from mucous membranes, growths on the skin or from openings on the body HIV diagnosis can be done by testing an individual’s blood in the early stages of the HIV virus. Two tests are available to diagnose HIV virus infection. The first test, ELISA, looks for the presence of antibodies produced by the body in response to the HIV virus. Antibodies are proteins produced by the body to defend disease whenever there is a threat in your system. When the body is infected with the HIV virus it produces antibodies specific to HIV. If these antibodies are present, the test will give a HIV positive test result. A positive HIV test result has to be confirmed by another test called the Western Blot. The ELISA is not always accurate, so the Western Blot test is necessary to confirm a person's HIV status. Still to this day, there is no conclusive HIV treatment to cure HIV, but there are HIV medications and treatments available that can keep one healthy for many years. Researchers have developed powerful HIV drugs that check the replication of the virus at various levels. These HIV drugs are called antiretroviral drugs and they are available in three classes and under various brands. When these HIV drugs are taken in combinations under medical advice, they can drastically reduce the HIV viral amount in blood. We have hope that researchers and scientists will find an answer for the millions of people affected with HIV around the world.