WHAT DOES "AIDS" MEAN?
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:
" Acquired means you can get infected with it;
" Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body's system that fights
diseases.
" Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease.
AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. If
you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection. It will
make "antibodies", special molecules that are supposed to fight
HIV.
When you get a blood test for HIV, the test looks for these antibodies. If
you have them in your blood, it means that you have HIV infection. People
who have the HIV antibodies are called "HIV-Positive".
Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS.
Many people are HIV-positive but don't get sick for many years. As HIV disease
continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi
and bacteria that usually don't cause any problems can make you very sick
if your immune system is damaged.
HOW DO YOU GET AIDS?
You don't actually "get" AIDS. You might get infected with HIV,
and later you might develop AIDS.
You can get infected with HIV from anyone who's infected, even if they don't
look sick, and even if they haven't tested HIV-positive yet. The blood, vaginal
fluid, semen, and breast milk of people infected with HIV has enough of the
virus in it to infect other people. Most people get the HIV virus by:
" Having sex with an infected person.
" Sharing a needle (shooting drugs) with someone who's infected
" Being born when the mother is infected, or drinking the breast milk
of an infected woman.
Getting
a transfusion of infected blood used to be a way people got AIDS, but now the
blood supply is screened very carefully and the risk is extremely low.
There are no documented cases of HIV being transmitted by tears or saliva, but
it is possible to be infected with HIV through oral sex or in rare cases through
deep kissing, especially if you have open sores in your mouth or bleeding gums.
In the United States, there are about 800,000 to 900,000 people who are HIV-positive.
Over 300,000 people are living with AIDS. Each year, there are about 40,000
new infections. In the mid-1990s, AIDS was a leading cause of death. However,
newer treatments have cut the AIDS death rate significantly.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I'M HIV POSITIVE?
You might not know if you get infected by HIV. Some people get fever, headache,
sore muscles and joints, stomach ache, swollen lymph glands, or a skin rash
for one or two weeks. Most people think it's the flu. Some people have no symptoms.
The virus will multiply in your body for a few weeks or even months before your
immune system responds. During this time, you won't test positive for HIV, but
you can infect other people.
When your immune system responds, it starts to make antibodies. When this happens,
you will test positive for HIV.
After the first flu-like symptoms, some people with HIV stay healthy for ten
years or longer. But during this time, HIV is damaging your immune system.
There are other drugs that you can take to prevent or t
o treat opportunistic infections (OIs). In most cases, these drugs work very
well. The newer, stronger anti-HIV drugs have also helped reduce the rates of
most OIs. A few OIs, however, are still very difficult to treat. One way to
measure the damage to your immune system is to count your CD4+ cells you have.
These cells, also called "T-helper" cells, are an important part of
the immune system. Healthy people have between 500 and
1,500 CD4+cells in milliliter of blood. Without treatment, your CD4+ cell
will most likely go down. You might start having signs of HIV disease like
fevers, night sweats, diarrhea, or swollen lymph nodes. If you have HIV disease,
these problems will last more than a few days, and probably continue for several
weeks.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE AIDS?
HIV disease becomes AIDS when your immune system is seriously damaged. If
you have less than 200 CD4+ cells or if your CD4+ percentage is less than
14%, you have AIDS. See Fact Sheet 412 for more information on CD4+ cells.
If you get an opportunistic infection, you have AIDS. There is an "official"
list of opportunistic infections, put out by the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC). The most common ones are:
" PCP (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia),
a lung infection;
" KS (Kaposi's sarcoma), a skin cancer;
" CMV (Cytomegalovirus), an infection that usually affects the eyes;
and
" Candida, a fungal infection that can cause thrush (a white film in
your mouth) or infections in your throat or vagina.
AIDS-related diseases also includes serious weight loss, brain tumors, and
other health problems. Without treatment, these opportunistic infections can
kill you. The official CDC definition of AIDS is available at <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm>
AIDS is different in every infected person. Some people die soon after getting
infected, while others live fairly normal lives for many years, even after
they "officially" have AIDS. A few HIV-positive people stay healthy
for many years even without taking anti-HIV medications.
IS THERE A CURE FOR AIDS?
There is no cure for AIDS. There are drugs that can slow down the HIV virus, and slow down the damage to your immune system. But there is no way to get all the HIV out of your body.
Source : http://www.aids.org
