Hiv / Aids Is Not A Death Sentence

HIV has flu-like symptoms. The symptoms include fever, chills, rash, night sweats, sore throat, etc. If a person doesn’t take a medicine called ART (antiretroviral treatment) their immune system will weaken and then they will develop AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The symptoms of AIDS are rapid weight loss, extreme and unexplained tiredness, pneumonia, memory loss, depression, etc. Symptoms of HIV can start between a few months and more than ten years. HIV can only be spread through certain bodily fluids. Most of the time it is spread sexually. It can spread by blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. In the United States HIV is usually spread through anal or vaginal sex without taking medicine to prevent HIV or using a condom. HIV is also spread by sharing needles or syringes. HIV can live in a used needle for up to forty-two days. HIV does not survive long outside the body. It also cannot reproduce once it is outside its host. HIV also cannot be spread by tears, sweat, or saliva as long as it is not mixed with blood. HIV is a biosafety level three agent which meant it

HIV is communicable disease that is caused by virus. This particular virus attacks the immune system which means people who suffer from HIV find it more difficult to fight of infection than the average person who does not suffer from HIV. This disease can be transmitted by direct contact, generally it is transferred by sexual contact between partners in fact 95% of those who suffer from HIV are contracted it this way. It can also be contracted by using dirty needles or any other contaminated tool. It can also be contracted by sharing sexual toys. HIV is commonly found in a person’s bodily fluids this means it is spread through, Sperm, vaginal and even anal fluids, breast milk and blood are also common.

HIV is a virus that can lead to AIDS. Patients infected with HIV often shows no symptoms until the disease has progressed to AIDS. HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids, but cannot be transmitted through casual contact. Most commonly, HIV is transmitted through sexual contact. It may be transmitted through blood-to-blood contact, such as needle sharing or accidental needle sticks in a healthcare setting. It may also be transmitted during pregnancy or birth from mother to child. It cannot be transmitted through casual contact such as hugging, playing sports or touching something that was touched by someone infected (CDC, n.d).

During the initial infection, the infected are reported to experience a period of influenza-like symptoms, which are soon followed by an extended period of time without any visible anomalies. As the conditions of the infected person worsen, it causes more and more problems with the immune system. The complications plaguing the immune system makes it difficult for the immune system to effectively combat disease. This results in the infected person becoming more likely to get infections. HIV spreads primarily via sexual intercourse conducted without adequate protection. Other ways to contract the disease are: contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and passing from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding.

The most common vector for the virus to enter the body is through sexual transmission, either by anal, oral, or vaginal sex. The highest risk activity is anal sex, as the mucous membrane inflammation facilitates HIV transmission (McCutchan, 2013). However, other modes such as sharing needles when injecting drugs, tiny cuts or sores on a person’s vagina, mouth, or penis, or simply the birth of a child by an infected mother, can all spread the disease to other

Claudia: Let’s see here, I have that information from another brochure the health clinic gave me. It says “HIV is transmitted through infected blood fluids – namely blood, semen, vaginal secretion and breastmilk,” (HIV Facts, n.d.). The brochures also say HIV is transmitted through needles shared with people who are infected, by sexual contact (vaginal, anal and oral) and through blood that has been infected with the virus (HIV Facts, n.d.) (HIV/AIDS, 2016).

HIV/AIDS is acquired when there is an unprotected sexual intercourse, exposure to infected blood or body fluids, sharing of needles or syringes with an infected person and from mother to child through breast feeding or vaginal birth. The most prevalent places are the urban cites in the U.S. As discussed earlier, the population at risk for the infection are gay and bisexuals, IV drug users and heterosexuals. Within the first two weeks of acquiring HIV infection, the infected person develops fever usually 100.4degrees, fatigue, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pains. This normally resolves itself without any intervention. Some people might also develop a digestive and respiratory problem such as nausea &vomiting and dry cough. If untreated, it can result in low TCD4 lymphocyte count below 200 resulting in AIDS. Statistically, from the national level, the most prevalent states in the U.S in

With such badly compromised immune systems people with AIDS get a growing number of serious sicknesses, they are called opportunistic diseases. With no treatment, the AIDS patients predictably survive about three years. The most usual Symptoms of AIDS are fever, chills, swollen, sweats, lymph glands, weight loss, and weakness. The diagnosis of AIDS is when the CD4 cell counts drops below 200 cells/mm or if they acquire certain opportunistic diseases. Being infected with the HIV can increase the viral load in

This virus attacks the body’s immune system causing them to become immunosuppressed. Over time the body is unable to fight off cancer, disease and infections. However, treatment is available to control HIV and those with HIV can live long lives. AIDS is the final stage of HIV and many with HIV will never advance to this stage. During this stage you become susceptible to opportunistic infections. When the CD4 drops below 200 cells per cubic mm of blood and you have an opportunistic infection, you are considered to have AIDS. Those with AIDS have a shorter lifespan and require medical treatment in order to

HIV is most commonly spread through having unprotected sex with someone who has HIV. Sharing needles or syringes with someone who has HIV when injecting heroin is also a way to spread HIV. HIV can be transmitted through certain bodily fluids like: blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, and vaginal and rectal fluids.

Primary HIV infection is the first stage and only lasts for a few weeks. Flu-like illnesses may be present during this stage. The second stage is known as clinically asymptomatic stage and typically lasts for an average of ten years. Although major symptoms might not exist during this stage, the HIV-positive person may experience swollen glands. Symptomatic HIV infection is the third stage. As the immune system continues to fail, symptoms surface and become miniscule at first then later leading to more prevalent symptoms. This third stage is generally caused by illnesses, involving cancers and infections, which the immune system would normally fight off but is not able to because the immune system is too weak. Finally, AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, develops and is the final stage of HIV. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when they show the symptom called an opportunistic infection. This is when infections take advantage of the weakened immune system. HIV leads into life threatening AIDS and causes the infected individual to feel escalating amounts of pain such as neurotic pain, tremendous headaches, gastrointestinal pain, chest pain, and even emotional pain such as depression. This pain can be intense enough to cease the individual from living a productively normal life. HIV and AIDS can strike anyone at any point in their life and should be taken seriously.

These three stages are Acute infection, Clinical latency (inactivity or dormancy), and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Acute infection occurs within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, you may feel sick with flu symptoms, which is called acute retroviral syndrome (CDC, 2014). During this period of infection, large amounts of HIV are being produced in your body. At this stage, your ability to spread HIV is highest during this stage because the amount of virus in the blood is very high. The Clinical Latency period is sometimes called asymptomatic HIV infection, or chronic HIV infection (CDC, 2014). At this level, HIV reproduces at very low levels, but is still active. At this stage, you may not feel sick or have any symptoms. This stage can last up to a decade. Towards the middle to the end of this stage, your viral load begins to rise and your CD4 cell count begins to drop (CDC, 2014). Then at this point in this stage, you may begin to experience symptoms of the HIV infection because your immune system becomes too weak to protect you. The last stage of HIV is AIDS. This is the stage of infection that occurs when your immune system is badly damaged and you become vulnerable to infections and infection-related cancers called opportunistic illnesses (CDC, 2014). Once someone has a dangerous opportunistic illness, life expectancy without treatment falls to about 1 year (CDC,

HIV is transmitted via semen, blood, breast milk, and vaginal and rectal secretions. An infected mother can pass HIV to her unborn child via placenta or during birth if the proper measures are not undertaken. Sharing needles can also infect an individual due to possible contamination of infected blood (Holland, 2013).

HIV goes through several different movements before it leads to AIDs. The first step is the serioconversion illness. This symptoms of this illness is very similar to the flu and an affected individual will

As I have learned from my past lessons in high school and elementary, HIV which stands for human immunodeficiency virus is a kind of virus, specifically lentivirus, that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome better known as AIDS. As what our high school teacher taught us, HIV can be transmitted commonly from person to person by having an unsafe sexual intercourse with an infected person whether anal, oral or vaginal sex, through blood transfusions from the contaminated needles, and the