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AIDS And HIV Symptoms
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Published: September 18, 2006
Learning about HIV symptoms means first learning of your HIV status. Getting tested for HIV/AIDS is the first step toward understanding what it really means to be exposed to the HIV/AIDS virus.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. After being exposed to the virus, you will not immediately experience an onset of HIV symptoms. Unlike other sexually transmitted diseases, like Gonorrhea or Syphilis, there are no standard HIV symptoms. You may experience flu-like symptoms or glandular swelling, but many illnesses can cause these feelings. Unless you are aware of your HIV-positive status, common infections will have no significance to your situation.
Getting Tested
Most people who are exposed to the HIV virus do not see any changes in their health. “I feel fine, so I couldn’t be sick,” is a common statement among people who have not been tested. Getting an HIV test, unless you are part of a high risk group (intravenous drug users, people who have had unprotected sex with an HIV-infected person), is not a popular decision.
After having an STD screening, healthcare providers commonly ask patients if they would like to take the test. Most tests are given anonymously for free or for a small fee. In the past, test results would take a minimum of two weeks to return, leaving a large window for people to decide not to come back for their results. Today’s rapid testing system allows people to find out about their status in two or three days.
Positive Test Result
If you receive a positive test result, it means you have been exposed to the HIV virus. Your healthcare provider will either continue to treat you or refer you to a clinic specializing in infectious diseases. HIV/AIDS clinics will teach you more about the virus, how you can spread it and what infections you may get because the HIV virus has compromised your immune system. Please remember that many of these infections are not limited to HIV/AIDS and having them does not necessarily mean you have the virus.
Feeling sick
Many people who are exposed to the HIV virus will be asymptomatic or develop minor HIV symptoms, such as feeling flu-like, having a rash and noticing muscle aches. As the body begins to break down, you can become more susceptible to infections that would normally go away with or without medication, or do not affect healthier people.
Some of these infections are:
Chronic vaginal yeast infections (for women), chronic thrush (yeast in mouth), fever or night sweats unrelated to cold or flu, unexplained weight loss, abnormal pap tests (for women), persistent dry cough, fatigue, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pains and regular bacteria pneumonia.
If you are HIV positive and sexually active, having unprotected sex greatly increases your vulnerability to be infected with other STDs.
Those diseases or infections are:
Chlamydia, Human Pailloma Virus(HPV) Gonorrhea, Genital Herpes, Herpes, Hepatitis B (HBV), Syphilis, Trichomoniasis, Crabs, Hepatitis A and Bacteria Vaginitis.
Is there a difference between HIV symptoms and AIDS symptoms?
Yes, but they are not really called symptoms. When someone is diagnosed with AIDS, this usually means the HIV status has worsened, taking on more life-threatening opportunistic infections. A drop in your CD4 count (white blood cells central to the body’s immune system) might also result in a clinical diagnosis of AIDS.
Some of the opportunistic infections are:
PCP Pneumonia (Pneumocystic Carini Pneumonia), Lymphoma, Candidiasis (yeast) of the esophagus, trachea, bronchi or lungs, severe bacterial infections and severe Dementia.
Know your status
Knowing your status is the only way to know what is really going on within your body and whether you have been exposed to the HIV virus. HIV symptoms are ambiguous and sexually active individuals should be tested, regardless of whether or not they think they exhibit any HIV symptoms. In the case of HIV and AIDS, it truly is better to be safe than sorry.
Sources:
Epigee Women’s Health. 2006. September 2006. http://www.epigee.org/health/hiv_symptoms.html
The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health. Karen J. Carlson M.D., Stephanie A. Eisenstat, M.D., Terra Ziporyn, Ph.D.Cambridge: 2004
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. After being exposed to the virus, you will not immediately experience an onset of HIV symptoms. Unlike other sexually transmitted diseases, like Gonorrhea or Syphilis, there are no standard HIV symptoms. You may experience flu-like symptoms or glandular swelling, but many illnesses can cause these feelings. Unless you are aware of your HIV-positive status, common infections will have no significance to your situation.
Getting Tested
Most people who are exposed to the HIV virus do not see any changes in their health. “I feel fine, so I couldn’t be sick,” is a common statement among people who have not been tested. Getting an HIV test, unless you are part of a high risk group (intravenous drug users, people who have had unprotected sex with an HIV-infected person), is not a popular decision.
After having an STD screening, healthcare providers commonly ask patients if they would like to take the test. Most tests are given anonymously for free or for a small fee. In the past, test results would take a minimum of two weeks to return, leaving a large window for people to decide not to come back for their results. Today’s rapid testing system allows people to find out about their status in two or three days.
Positive Test Result
If you receive a positive test result, it means you have been exposed to the HIV virus. Your healthcare provider will either continue to treat you or refer you to a clinic specializing in infectious diseases. HIV/AIDS clinics will teach you more about the virus, how you can spread it and what infections you may get because the HIV virus has compromised your immune system. Please remember that many of these infections are not limited to HIV/AIDS and having them does not necessarily mean you have the virus.
Feeling sick
Many people who are exposed to the HIV virus will be asymptomatic or develop minor HIV symptoms, such as feeling flu-like, having a rash and noticing muscle aches. As the body begins to break down, you can become more susceptible to infections that would normally go away with or without medication, or do not affect healthier people.
Some of these infections are:
Chronic vaginal yeast infections (for women), chronic thrush (yeast in mouth), fever or night sweats unrelated to cold or flu, unexplained weight loss, abnormal pap tests (for women), persistent dry cough, fatigue, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pains and regular bacteria pneumonia.
If you are HIV positive and sexually active, having unprotected sex greatly increases your vulnerability to be infected with other STDs.
Those diseases or infections are:
Chlamydia, Human Pailloma Virus(HPV) Gonorrhea, Genital Herpes, Herpes, Hepatitis B (HBV), Syphilis, Trichomoniasis, Crabs, Hepatitis A and Bacteria Vaginitis.
Is there a difference between HIV symptoms and AIDS symptoms?
Yes, but they are not really called symptoms. When someone is diagnosed with AIDS, this usually means the HIV status has worsened, taking on more life-threatening opportunistic infections. A drop in your CD4 count (white blood cells central to the body’s immune system) might also result in a clinical diagnosis of AIDS.
Some of the opportunistic infections are:
PCP Pneumonia (Pneumocystic Carini Pneumonia), Lymphoma, Candidiasis (yeast) of the esophagus, trachea, bronchi or lungs, severe bacterial infections and severe Dementia.
Know your status
Knowing your status is the only way to know what is really going on within your body and whether you have been exposed to the HIV virus. HIV symptoms are ambiguous and sexually active individuals should be tested, regardless of whether or not they think they exhibit any HIV symptoms. In the case of HIV and AIDS, it truly is better to be safe than sorry.
Sources:
Epigee Women’s Health. 2006. September 2006. http://www.epigee.org/health/hiv_symptoms.html
The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health. Karen J. Carlson M.D., Stephanie A. Eisenstat, M.D., Terra Ziporyn, Ph.D.Cambridge: 2004
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