Aids Virus Information
The AIDS virus is something that most people find difficult to understand. However, there is a wealth of HIV AIDS virus information that can help one from contracting or spreading this virus. It is important to understand that the HIV and AIDS viruses are not the same thing. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus cannot reproduce without infecting the cells of a living organism. Unlike most viruses, which the human immune system are able to fight off, HIV directly attacks the immune system itself, making it impossible for the human body to get rid of the virus. AIDS stands for Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and it is a medical condition diagnosed when one’s immune system is too weak to fight off infections; AIDS is the final state of a progression of diseases resulting from HIV. Both the HIV and AIDS virus are serious illnesses that cannot be cured.
Shortly after an individual has been infected with HIV, he or she will usually develop a viral illness that often includes low grade fever, rash, muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue. These symptoms clear quickly, but the virus does not go away. For a varied number of years, the infected individual will have no symptoms. His or her immune system, however, is slowly being destroyed. Eventually, when the immune system is damaged significantly, the symptoms of AIDS begin to manifest. These may include chronic fatigue; rapid weight loss; swollen or painful glands that persist for longer than four weeks; shortness of breath; dry cough not due to allergies or smoking; chronic diarrhea; high fevers; night sweats; appearance of one or more purples spots on the skin or in the anus, mouth, or nose; a white coating on the tongue, throat or vagina; and confusion or other signs of mental deterioration. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when they have developed an AIDS-related condition or symptom, called an opportunistic infection, an AIDS-related cancer, or the number of immune system cells is at 200 or less.
AIDS may only be caused by contracting HIV, therefore the way to avoid contracting AIDS is to avoid contracting HIV. For this reason, it is important for one to research and understand all the HIV AIDS virus information available. HIV may be contracted through vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected person; injecting drugs; a mother to child transmission such as breastfeeding; blood transfusions; handling blood products; infection in a health-care setting, or unsanitary tattooing or piercing.
Developing AIDS-related conditions are one of the worst consequences of AIDS. These conditions may include Candidiasis, invasive Cervical cancer, Coccidioidomycosis, Cytomegalovirus disease, Encephalopathy, severe Herpes simplex infection, Histoplasmosis, Isosporiasis, Kaposi’s Sarcoma, some types of Lymphoma, reoccuring Pneumonia, Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, recurring Salmonella septicemia, Toxoplasmosis of the brain, Tuberculosis,Wasting Syndrome, and others. The AIDS Virus is very deadly, and one should take every precaution against HIV.