HIV Overview
Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a disease which, over time, can cause the condition known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. HIV is spread through contact with bodily fluids, such as blood, urine or breast milk. The most common source of HIV infection is through sexual contact, although needle sharing is another factor. Approximately 1.25 million people in the USA have HIV-AIDS, with an estimated 25 percent of them being unaware of their condition. There are 45,000 new cases of HIV-AIDS each year. There are no cures for HIV-AIDS, but there are treatments.
Signs and Symptoms of HIV-AIDS
Upon the initial infection with HIV, you may experience flu-like symptoms for one to two weeks. After that, the symptoms subside, and the HIV goes into a dormant period. HIV has no other symptoms until it progresses into full-blown AIDS, but can still be detected by blood tests taken at a local clinic.
The symptoms of AIDS are much less benign, unfortunately AIDS directly attacks your immune system, turning the immune cells into individual factories that produce more AIDS. Symptoms of AIDS include a fever that won't go away, feeling tired or sick all of the time, swollen glands and sharp weight loss. AIDS also causes you to be vastly more prone to other diseases, known as AIDS-opportunistic infections, or AIDS-OIs. These infections include Kaposi's sarcoma, pneumonia and more.
Treatment of HIV-AIDS
There is no cure for HIV-AIDS, but there are effective treatments. We are far from the days when being diagnosed with AIDS was considered to be a guarantee of early death. Generally, AIDS will prove fatal, but many HIV-AIDS sufferers live long, healthy lives before succumbing to the complications of AIDS. Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, or HAART, is the most common treatment of AIDS. HAART is a combination of drugs that works to prevent the spread of AIDS inside the body. However, this therapy demands that the drugs be taken precisely on the correct schedule, and have many unpleasant side effects.
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