HIV/ AIDS Symptoms and Signs, When to Seek Medical Care, Diagnosis

HIV/ AIDS Symptoms and Signs

Many people with HIV do not know they are infected. In the united States, it is likely that 20 % of HIV-positive individuals are unware of their infection.

• Many people do not develop symptoms after they first get infected with HIV. Others have a history of a flu-like illness within several days to week after exposure to the virus. Early HIV symptoms also include Fever, Headache, Tiredness, and enlarged lymh nodes in the neck. these symptoms usually dissappear on their own within a few weeks. after that, the person feels normal and has no symptoms. This asympomatic pahse often lasts for years.
• Theprogression of disease varies widely among individuals. This state may last from a few months to more than 10 year

1. During this period, the virus continues to multiply actively and infects and kills the cells of the immune system.
2. The virus destroys the cells are the primary infection fighters, a type of white blood cell called CD4 cells.
3. Even hough the person has no symptoms, he or she is contagious and can pass HIV to others through the routes listed below.

***AIDS is the later stage of HIV infection, when the body begins losing its abillity to fight infections. Once the CD4 cell count falls low enough, an infected person is said to have AIDS. Sometimes, the diagnosis of AIDS is made because the person has unsual infection or cancers that show how weak the immune system is.

• The infections that happen with AIDS are called opportunistic infections because they take advatage of the opportunity to infect a weakend host.

            ***The infections include 9but are not limited to)

•  Pneumonia caused by pnemocystis, which causes wheezing:
• Brain infection with toxoplasmosis which can cause trouble thinking or symptoms that mimic a stroke;
• Widespread infection with a bacteria called MAC ( mycobacterium avium complex) which can cause fever and weight loss;
• Yeast infection of the swallowing tube (esophagus) which causes pain with swallowing;
• Widespread disease with certain fungi like histoplasmosis. which can cause fever, cough, anemia, and other problems

***A weakened immune system can also lead to other unusual conditions:

• Lymphonia in (a from of cancer of the lympoid tissue) in the brain, which can cause fever and trouble thinking;
• A cancer of the soft tissues called Kaposi's sarcoma, which causes brown, reddish, or pupple spotts that develop on the skin or in the mouth.

When To Seek Medical Care

If you have engaged in unprotected sex outside of a mutaully monogamous relationship or shared needles while using drugs, you should have an HIV test. early and treatment of the infection can slow the growth of HIV.

• If you are pregnat and infected with HIV, you may be able to reduce the risk to your unborn child by getting treatment early.
• you can also avoid infecting others if you know that you have the disease. Testing is available anonymously and confidentially.

People known to have HIV infection or AIDS should go to the hospital any time they develop high fever, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, severe diarrhea, sever chest or abdominal pain, generalized weakness, severe headache, seizures, confusion, or a change in mental status.
 These may be the indication of a life-threatening condition for which an urgent evaluation in the hospital's emergency department is recommended. all infected people should be under the regular care of physician skilled in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.


HIV/ AIDS Diagnosis

HIV infection is commonly diagnosed by blood test. There are three main types of test that are commonly used:

1. HIV antibody tests
2. RNA test
3. A combination test detects both antibodies and a piece of the virus called the p24 protein. In addtition, a blood test known as a western blot is used to confirm the diagnosis

No test is perfect. Tests may be falsely positive or falsely negative. For example, it can take some time for the immune system to produce enough antibodies for the antibody test to turn positive. This time period commonly reffered to as the "testing window period" and may last six weeks to three months following infection Therefore, if the initail antibody test is negative, a repeat test should be performed three months later. Early testing is crucial, because early treatment for HIV helps people avoid or minimize complications. Furhtermore, high-risk behaviours can be avoided, thus preventing the spread of the virus to others.

Testing for HIV is usually a two-step process. First, an inexpensive screening test is done. If that est is positive, a second test (western blot) is done to confirm the result. Antibody tests are the most common initial screening test used. There are different types of antibody screening tests available.

• Most commonly, blood i drawn for an enzyme immonoassay (EIA). The test is usually run in a local laboratory, so results can take one to three days to come back.
• Other tests can detect antibodies in body fluids other than blood such as saliva, urine, and vaginal secretions. Some of these are designed to be rapid tests that produce results in approximately 20 minutes. These tests have accuracy rates similar to traditional blood tests.
• All positive antibody screening tets must be confirmed with a follow-up blood test called the western blot to make a positive diagnosis. If the the antibody test and the western blot are both positive, the likelihood of a person of being HIV infected is>99 %. Sometimes, the western blot is "indertiminate," meaning that it is neither positive no negative. In these cases, the tests are usually repeated at a later date. In addition, an RNA test for the virus might be done.

Other tests, such as those that look for the virus RNA and the combination test. are not commonly used for screening.