HIV and AIDS: Symptoms, Causes and Treatments
What is HIV/AIDS?
HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus is an autoimmune disease, where the body begins to reject or attack its own immune system measures against infection. HIV is the first stage of illness, and it later can develop into AIDS or Acquired-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, if left untreated. In between these two stages is the Chronic HIV infection, where the symptoms are not as intense or frequent, but HIV is still highly transmittable at this stage. The final stage, or AIDS is where the body’s immune system has too much damage to carry out its functions of fighting off infection. Getting tested for HIV regularly in a hospital near you can help in early detection and timely medical treatment.
How to identify the symptoms of HIV?
Some of the symptoms of HIV include -
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High fever
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Nausea
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Sweats & Chills (often simultaneous)
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Chronic diarrhoea
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Swollen lymph glands
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Weakness
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Weight loss
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Persevering white lesions or irregular tissue spotting inside the mouth
HIV’s worst complication however, is its progression to full-blown AIDS which include these symptoms but with increasing intensity and frequency, leading to a breakdown in immune systems and the body’s ability to fight off even the most basic of illnesses.
How does the HIV infection spread?
While HIV is primarily transmitted through unprotected, penetrative sexual practices, it can also spread through the sharing of needles or other drug-related equipment. It can also be transmitted from breastfeeding individuals to their children.
What are the risk groups associated with HIV/AIDS?
People involving themselves in unsafe sex , or people afflicted by injected drug addiction are at a higher risk of getting infected with HIV. In India, the stigma around risky sex and drug addiction have led to a culture of stigmatization around receivng medical treatments for HIV/AIDS. Often the precedence for treatment that they may require, is not given to them; rather both homosexuals and drug addicts are still treated as criminals. But medical advances and progressive attitudes have put a light at the end of the tunnel.
What are the newest treatment plans for HIV in India?
As of 2017, “There are 2.1 million people living with HIV in India, which has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world. On 28 April, during an event in New Delhi, Jagat Prakash Nadda, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, announced a new test-and-treat policy that commits to providing access to HIV treatment for everyone living with HIV in the country. Prior to the change in policy, people living with HIV could only access antiretroviral medicine for free if their CD4 cells had decreased to less than 500 cells/mm3.*”
This policy helped an already burgeoning treatment cycle for individuals with HIV, with the mortality rate reducing by 82.4%** as reported in the Indian HIV Estimates, a report put together by the National Aids Control Organisation (Founded in 1992), the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Ministry of Health & Welfare under the Government of India.
Treatment plans in India include the ART (Antiretroviral Therapy), a daily pill available for free at most government hospitals. Advances in medical technology has led to people with HIV to lengthen their life-span as well as not be susceptible to transmitting it to others, along with a far better quality of life.
What are the benefits of the available HIV/AIDS medication?
ART reduces viral load, and transmission almost completely, allowing individuals affected by HIV to live fairly normal, long lives. Once the treatment is in full swing, you can expect results within the first 3 months.
How to prevent HIV infection?
Preventing HIV can be achieved through practicing safe, protected sex with new partners and using new medical equipment if it is intra-skin tools to make sure there is no chance of infection. Conversations about sexual health have been suppressed for a long time, but now with advancing medical changes and attitudes towards stigmatised groups, information and treatment is easily accessible.
If you have any health concerns that you wish to be answered by our experts, do drop us an email at hr@ajhospital.in. You can also consult with our doctors by booking an appointment on our website today.
Sources: Unaids and NACO