AIDS is acquired immune deficiency syndrome, World’s AIDS day every year celebrate on 1st December. This campaign starts since 1988 to raise awareness about HIV AIDS globally. It is an important global public health issue because every year it affects millions of lives.
Now it is necessary to generate awareness among youngster about HIV AIDS due to very high rate of infections in them. People do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others from this infection. Conditions are severe for those who are suffering with the infection.
In this article on World’s AIDS day we try to achieve the knowledge about disease, causative agent, symptoms and treatments and prevention. In this case prevention is better than cure.
What is AIDS? Why it is call as HIV AIDS?
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It is not a single disease but group of symptoms so calls as syndrome.
HIV is human immune virus which is main causative agent. It attacks the immune system of the body and weakens it day by day. It mainly attacks and kills the cells which provide immunity to the body.
How low immunity affects the body?
Low immunity make body vulnerable to many kinds of diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, kidney disease and candidiasis.
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Symptoms of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
Symptoms based on the stages of infection. There are three stages of HIV infection in the body. Acute, chronic or clinical and last stage of HIV infection.
Acute infection stage: In 40 to 90% cases early symptoms appears. It occurs in first week after infection.
Clinical stage: This period can be for 3 years to 20 years depend upon the individual. It is also called asymptomatic stage because of very few symptoms which cannot prove HIV infection
Last stage: In the last stage of AIDS infection, virus damage the immune system a lot. Body get serious disorder, bacterial or fungal infection.
Body’s immune system unable to fight against opportunistic infections. Number of CD4 cells reduce to 200cells/mm3
Early symptoms of HIV AIDS are fever chills, joint pain, muscle aches, sore throat, sweats (particularly at night), enlarged glands, tiredness, weakness and unintentional weight loss.
Sometimes early symptoms disappear but it does not mean that infection is recover. Actually virus remains dormant or in sleep mode in the body. In this period of time, it slowly destroys the immune system and damage organs of the body.
Late stage symptoms are blurred vision, diarrhoea (chronic), dry cough, fever lasting for weeks, night sweats, permanent tiredness, shortness of breath, swollen glands and white spots on the tongue or mouth.
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How HIV AIDS transmits?
HIV infection can transmit from one person to other by blood, physical intimacy and perinatal.
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion, organ or tissue transplant needs blood. If infected blood is used then risk increases to get HIV infection.
Use of needles, syringes contaminated with infected blood.
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Physical intimacy
Having unprotected sex with an infected person.
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Perinatal transmission
An infected mother can transmit infection to a baby by breastfeeding, through the placenta during birth and pregnancy.
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Diagnosis and treatment of HIV AIDS
Blood test, to check the antibody against the virus in the blood. 6 months to 1 year after infection test can be useful.
NAT (Nucleic acid test), this test is to identify the virus instead of antibody against it. It is useful when early signs of infection are observed.
Treatment, there is no cure for this deadly disease. But to expand the lifespan of person certain drugs and therapies are there.
HAART (Highly active antiretroviral therapy), it is the combination of medicines. Mineral or vitamin supplements may provide some benefits in overall health.
The best treatment is prevention because it is always prevention is better than cure.
Try to prevent unprotected sex. Use condoms to prevent.
Get tested for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Before getting into the relationship.
Always choose one partner for physical intimacy, avoid multiple partners. Stay faithful to partner.
Avoid frequent blood transfusion, suggest the doctor use always new needle or syringe. Sometime mistakenly infected blood may enter your body by careless practice.
If by mistake person thinks he/she is exposed to the virus then go for emergency HIV pills.
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