HIV / AIDS

DEFINITION OF HIV/AIDS

• Aquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging your immune system, HIV/AIDS interferes with your body's ability to fight the organisms that cause disease.
• Sexually transmitted

GENERAL FACTS ABOUT HIV/AIDS

• HIV is the virus that causes infection, and AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.
• HIV spreads through blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal/vaginal fluids, or even breast milk of a person infected.
• The use of HIV medicine to treat the infection is called antiretroviral therapy (ART).
• ART can't cure HIV/AIDS, but can help the person infected live longer.

CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS OF HIV/AIDS

• Having unprotected sex with a person infected with HIV/AIDS.
• Having many sexual partners.
• Sharing needles, syringes, or equipment used to prepare or inject drugs with someone who is HIV infected.
• Using needles for piercing or tattooing that are not sterile.

PREVENTING HIV/AIDS:
Preventing this infection includes a change in lifestyle. A person should learn to practice safe sex, use a latex condom, not share needles, or maybe even consider abstinence.

SYMPTOMS OF HIV/AIDS:

Headache, Diarrhea, Nausea and vomiting, Fatigue, Aching muscles, Sore throat, Red rash that doesn't itch (usually on torso), or Fever

MEDICAL TESTS

• The most common HIV test in the Antibody Screening Test which tests for the antibodies your body makes against HIV.
• The rapid test used for screening and produces quick results in 30 min or less.
• Follow-up diagnostic test include: an antibody differentiation test (which distinguishes HIV 1 from HIV 2), the HIV-1 nucleic acid test(which looks for the virus directly), and the Western Blot which detects antibodies.
• There are also home HIV/AIDS tests which include pricking your finger for blood or swabbing your mouth for oral fluid.

TREATMENT FOR HIV/AIDS

• HIV/Aids cannot be cured, but it can be controlled so that one can live a longer, healthier life, and reduce the risk of transmitting it to others. This is called Antiretroviral Therapy (Art). It involves taking a combination of HIV medicines everyday exactly as prescribed.

COMPLICATIONS OF HIV/AIDS

• Those infected with the STD have a greater likelihood of developing heart disease, stroke, liver disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, eye disease and cancer.
• Problems that come with aging, such as bone thinning, frailty and memory loss show up earlier in those infected.
• HIV/AIDS can be either a degenerative or progressive STD depending on whether or not a person is committed to treatment.

RATES

SUMMARY:
Unlike many other STDs, HIV/AIDS CANNOT be cured, whether it is HIV-1 or HIV-2. Remaining with you for the rest of your life, keep in mind that this STD can affect your life drastically. Therefore, it is important to be mindful of your decisions and take the right precautions.

WEB SOURCES FOR HIV/AIDS

• Webmd.com
• Aidinfo.nih.gov
• Mayoclinic.org/diseases
• Aids.gov