HIV/AIDS - Causes, Symptoms, Treatments

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that target CD-4 cells, a subset of T cells in the body. HIV harms a person’s immune system and lowers his capability to fight with diseases and infection by destroying white blood cells. Further, HIV puts a person life at risk by developing serious infections and diseases that are not curable. AIDS is a medical condition that develops due to HIV infection. AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome and it can or cannot appear at the advanced stage of HIV infection. It is also important to know that not everyone with HIV should develop AIDS. Basically, HIV infection can develop AIDS. A person who develops this syndrome will have reduced immunity caused by the virus called HIV 1 and 2. AIDS is not one single disorder or illness, but is the collection of many infections and symptoms which affects the immune system of the individual. In short, AIDS damages and affects the body’s defense mechanism which may affect the normal functions of other organs.

Table of Contents

HIV Causes

The major causes of AIDS are

Improper blood transfusion
Having unprotected sex
Use of unsterilized needles
Exchanges of body fluids

It is also possible that pregnant women suffering with AIDS can transfer disease into their babies during their pregnancy or birth.

HIV Symptoms

HIV infection will not show any symptoms until several months or even years after infecting the body. AIDS cannot be detected at early stages and few symptoms like flu, headache, fever, nausea, diarrhea and fatigue are observed in persons who acquire this syndrome. However, around 80 percent of the patients may develop flu like symptoms after 2-5 weeks of virus infection. This stage is known as retroviral syndrome. The symptoms of early HIV infection include

Fever
Joint pain
Sore throat
Muscle aches
Chills
Enlarged glands
Sweating
Red rashes
Weakness
Tiredness
Sudden weight loss

Asymptomatic HIV

Many times, there are no further symptoms after appearance of initial symptoms for many years, but the virus is active in the body and developing and damaging the organs and immune system during this time. The slow process of immune depletion can continue for an average of 10 years, if any medication is not given to stop that. People with HIV often not experience any symptoms, appear healthy, and feel well. Effective doses of anti-retroviral can disturb the immune depletion.

Late Stage HIV Infection

HIV gradually weakens the capacity of a person to fight with infection, if not treated on time. The person with HIV infection is vulnerable to adapt serious and incurable illness. This stage of HIV infection is known as AIDS or stage 3 HIV. Symptoms of this stage are

Dry cough
Diarrhea
Fever that last for weeks
Blurred vision
Breath shortness
High sweating in nights
Tiredness
White spots in the mouth or on tongue

The risk of developing serious illness is much higher during the late stage HIV infection.

Signs

The signs of AIDS depend on the person and his stage of the disease. A person may experience pain in abdomen area, swallowing, headache, fatigue, fever, ulcers or sores as Signs of HIV infection.

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HIV Types/Stages

There are three stages of HIV infection

The initial stage of infection (HIV-1) – it is a primary stage which occurs within 2-6 weeks of HIV infection. Generally, characterized by a flu or minor illness that cures within weeks.
The chronic asymptomatic infection stage (HIV-2) – this stage has a long duration on infection without any symptoms. This stage can lasts from 8-10 years without treatment.
The symptomatic infection stage (HIV-3) – in this stage, the body immune system has been depleted and develops complications. This stage is known as AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). The stage show severe weight loss, unusual infections, and dementia (intellectual deterioration) in a person.

Risk Factors

Risk factors associated with AIDS are

Sex without the use of condom or other barriers
Risk of transfer of various sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
Risk of handling used needles/sharps
Inappropriate disposal of needles/sharps
Improper use of personal protective measures such as masks, gloves, and eye protection

Diagnosis

Generally, HIV infection is diagnosed by blood tests. HIV testing is a two-step process. The first step is a screening test. If the first test is positive, than second test (western blotting) is performed to confirm the result. The three screening test includes

HIV antibody test or ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)
p24 antigen tests and fourth generation combined antibody/antigen tests
Viral load tests or PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests (for both RNA and DNA)

HIV Treatment

Currently, there is no complete treatment is available for HIV or AIDS, but excellent treatment is available for treating and suppressing the symptoms of AIDS. HAART therapy is administered for many patients who have AIDS which enhances life expectancy by destroying the virus completely. Anti-Retroviral Therapy is a combination of drugs and injections which are simultaneously given to the patient which act as inhibitors of virus and prevents the growth of virus in different stages. Treatment methods for suppressing AIDS include

Emergency HIV pills (post-exposure prophylaxis)

Anti-HIV medication, known as PEP (post exposure prophylaxis) may prevent infection, if a person believes that he have been attacked by the virus within the 72 hours. This treatment is recommended as soon as a person came in to the contact of the virus. The duration of PEP treatment is 4 weeks or 28 days, but complete monitoring after treatment is continued.

Anti-retroviral drugs

HIV is treated by anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). The antiretroviral drugs treatment reduces the HIV infection and lowers the spreading process of virus in the body. The treatment includes a combination of medications, known as HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) or cART (combination antiretroviral therapy.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended to every HIV infected person. Antiretroviral therapy cannot cure people from HIV, but helps them to live longer and healthier life with HIV. Antiretroviral therapy also reduces the risk of HIV transmission. The therapy does have some side effects but only treatment option for HIV infection. The number of antiretroviral sub groups are used in treatment, these include

Protease inhibitors such as cobicistat/atazanavir(Evotaz) or ritonavir/lopinavir(Kaletra)
Integrase inhibitors such as dolutegravir (Tivicay) and elvitegravir (Vitekta)
Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as abacavir (Ziagen) and emtricitabine (Emtriva)
Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)
Chemokine co-receptor antagonists
Entry inhibitors

HIV Home Remedies

There are no home remedies to cure AIDS, but some helps to reduce viral load and maintain CD4 cells count in the body. The home remedies the helps treatment include

A diet, rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains
Low fat diet of protein
A diet, rich in carbohydrates, protein, and a little amount of fat
Limiting consumption of soft drinks, sweets, and sugar added products

HIV Prevention

The prevention is only cure for HIV and AIDS. The prevention for AIDS include

Use of condoms in sexual activities
Limit sex to only one partner
Stop sharing of drug injection and needle
Avoid body fluid exposure by using gloves, masks or shields
Early HIV testing during pregnancy to stop transmitting disease into new born baby
Educate people about AIDS and its effect
Take proper medication

Conclusion

HIV/AIDS do not have any cure. Earlier, people with AIDS were to be lived only for couple of years but improvement in treatment methods extends the average life span and now, people can live with AIDS for many years. The advancement in treatment has improved survival rates. Prevention techniques have reduced HIV infection in new born babies. Drugs only reduce the risk of transmitting HIV and its effects on the body, but do not eliminate the infection. It is important to take drugs regularly or as prescribed to resist the virus and to avoid developing AIDS in the body. Intensive research is focused on developing better and effective treatment methods for HIV/AIDS, but currently, prevention is the only cure.