Archive for November, 2011

Information on HIV in The First Stage

November 17th, 2011

The first symptoms of HIV are the presence of infection in a couple of weeks. These symptoms are very similar to symptoms caused by other viral infections. People infected to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often ask for medical help when the disease already severe.

People with HIV must get tested or seek treatment early. The amount of virus that present in the body related to the stage of the symptoms. Unfortunately, those newly infected with HIV often have few or no symptoms.

The first stage of the disease often called variously as acute HIV infection, seroconversion illness or HIV acute retroviral syndrome. This early stage often show common symptoms like fever, fatigue and skin rash. Some people also experience headache, sore throat and swollen glands for two to four weeks after the infection and generally clear up within two month.

The presence of early symptoms does not mean people get HIV infection. Symptoms of HIV infection may occur eight to 10 years after diagnosis and include fatigue, rash, headache and oral thrush, as well as the flu-like symptoms experienced during primary infection.

The symptoms of acute HIV infection can be diagnose for other infections, even by doctors. People who believe they have exposed to HIV should be tested at three and six months after possible exposure to establish HIV status. An HIV test performed on an infected person before HIV seroconversion occurs will yield a false negative. » Read more: Information on HIV in The First Stage

Living With HIV-AIDS – Important General Information For a Better Quality of Life

November 17th, 2011

HIV/AIDS is an Immune System Disorder in which the body’s ability to defend itself against infections, is greatly diminished. HIV is spread primarily through sexual or blood-to-blood contact. To put this simply, in layman’s terms, the HIV virus enters the bloodstream and attaches itself to the service of a white blood cell (the CD4 cell’s receptors). The virus then changes its genetic information into that of the white blood cell. The virus cannot be recognized by other white blood cells and is, over time, able to replicate itself into hundreds of HIV viruses. When the HIV virus has used the cellular material of the white blood cell, this breaks open and the new virus can, and does, spread through the bloodstream.

A person infected with HIV can go through four stages of the disease:

1. Primary HIV infection stage
2. A symptomatic latent phase
3. Minor symptomatic phase
4. Major symptomatic phase
5. AIDS defining conditions; the severe symptomatic stage.

Symptoms of Stage 1 are:
• Sore throat, headache, mild fever, fatigue, muscle and joint pains, swelling of the lymph nodes, rash, and mouth ulcerations.

The CD4 cell count is approx. 800-1200 cells/mm3.

Symptoms of Stage 2 are:
• No symptoms occur as this is the latent stage.

The CD4 cell count is between 500 and 800 cells

Symptoms of Stage 3 are:
• Swelling of the lymph nodes/glands in the neck, armpits and groin.
• Occasional fevers, recurrent chest infections.
• Shingles, skin infections and rashes.
• Recurrent mouth ulcers
• Weight loss up to 10% of the person’s usual body weight.
• Prolonged, unexplained fatigue.

The CD4 count is between 350 and 500 cells

Symptoms of Stage 4 are:
• Persistent and recurrent oral and vaginal Candida infections (thrush)
• Recurrent herpes infections eg cold sores
• Recurrent shingles infections (herpes zoster)
• Recurrent bacterial skin infections and skin rashes
• Fever that lasts for more than a month, night sweats » Read more: Living With HIV-AIDS – Important General Information For a Better Quality of Life