directoryaids.com Blog

HIV and AIDS – The Essential Facts

Posted on February 5th, 2009 by Henry

If you think you may have been exposed to HIV or AIDS, through unprotected sex with a stranger or accidental exposure to an infected person’s blood, then there’s no time to delay – an HIV test is essential, both for your peace of mind and for the sake of your health. Here are the essential facts that you need to know about HIV and AIDS…

HIV and AIDS are transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. There are several common ways that people are infected:

Sexual contact through vaginal or anal sex • Sharing needles with an infected individual. Rarely, this can include tattoos and piercings • Blood transfusions or accidental exposure to infected blood • Mother to child transmission during pregnancy or during birth. Breast feeding, in some cases, can also lead to HIV infection

The most important precautions to take are to make sure that you always use a new, sterile needle for any injection that you take, and to always use a condom during sex unless both you and your partner have had an HIV test. The contraceptive pill, diaphragms and spermicidal jelly cannot prevent infection during sex – only condoms are an effective preventative.

Unfortunately, HIV and AIDS do not present any clear symptoms. Approximately 4 weeks after infection, most people will suffer a fever, glandular swelling, rashes, a sore throat and muscle aches. Since these symptoms are so general, they are frequently mistaken or misdiagnosed. The only way to be certain is to take an HIV or AIDS test.

There is currently no cure or vaccine for HIV or AIDS. However, there are various courses of retroviral drugs that can help to manage the symptoms and greatly increase the quality and length of life. Early diagnosis is critical, which is why HIV tests are so important for anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to the virus.

There are numerous sexual health clinics around the US that offer confidential HIV tests. Most people choose to purchase them privately rather than through their insurance for the sake of privacy.

The first HIV test that is usually administered is the HIV-1 test. This is a blood test that checks for the antibodies that the body produces to fight the HIV infection. However, it can only be taken six weeks or more after exposure, as it takes time for the body to generate these antibodies. Another HIV test, the HIV PCR, can detect the virus 4-11 days after exposure. If either of these initial tests gives a positive result, follow tests are required to confirm it.

Comprehensive STD screening, including an HIV test, is recommended once a year for all sexually active adults who have three or more sexual partners in that year. An HIV test is also recommended if you intend to start having unprotected sex with a partner, and, due to the risk of transmission to a child, is usually part of a standard health check up at the start of a pregnancy.

Comments Off
Filed under: Treatment

HIV Symptoms – Know The Signs, Know The Differences

Posted on October 3rd, 2008 by Tera Warner

First of all, HIV isn’t AIDS, but rather AIDS is a stage in the HIV infection. An HIV infection progresses through three main stages: acute infection, chronic infection, and then AIDS. While HIV symptoms tend to be vague, especially in the first two stages, a few key conditions are night sweats, severe weight loss and swollen lymph nodes. There is no guarantee that a person who has been diagnosed with HIV, and is showing the classic HIV symptoms, will ever develop AIDS. In persons who do progress, the first AIDS symptoms typically become evident within 10 to 15 years of first contracting the disease. In a small percentage of individuals, the onset of all AIDS symptoms can be as short as 3 years after infection. Sadly, the initial stages of HIV often exhibit no symptoms so by the time a patient shows all AIDS symptoms, their immune system has already been compromised.

AIDS symptoms’ is itself a misleading term as there is no one set of signs that can be used to make an accurate diagnosis without a blood test. That being said, there are some conditions that may point to a possible case of AIDS. They are similar to those of a stage 1 or stage 2 HIV infection but tend to be more acute. All AIDS symptoms include fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, a fever lasting more than 10 days, unexplained weight loss, purplish spots on the skin, shortness of breath, severe or chronic diarrhea, yeast infections in the mouth or vagina, easy bruising or unexplained bleeding and the most well known of all AIDS symptoms, night sweats. It is clear that all AIDS symptoms are debilitating, but some can be explained by other conditions, such as food poisoning or even heart disease. Therefore, there is generally no reason to worry if you’re just running a fever or you’ve been tired for the past few days. However, if you’re exhibiting three or more of these symptoms, much less all AIDS symptoms or HIV symptoms, and you haven’t been tested, you need to get yourself to a doctor. Even if you have none of the conditions listed and you know that you may have possibly been exposed, get tested. It’s the only smart thing to have done.

Comments Off
Filed under: Treatment

Purported Swiss Research Upsets AIDS Prevention Groups

Posted on August 25th, 2008 by Henry

A group of Swiss researchers may be sending some pretty mixed messages when it comes to AIDS prevention. It seems that this group of researchers has concluded that patients that are using retroviral drugs do not need to worry about using a condom because they cannot pass on the AIDS virus to their partners. We are definitely on board with UNAIDS and the World Health Organization. When it comes to AIDS prevention, you certainly don’t want to take unnecessary risks. Nonetheless, we feel it is equally important to educate our readers about the latest research.

According to the report, which was published by Switzerland’s Federal AIDS Commission, couples do not need to worry about wearing condoms if just one partner is HIV positive and is utilizing retroviral therapy. In order to be considered safe, the affected partner needs to be consistently following the therapy and must demonstrate that the virus has been successfully suppressed in the blood for a minimum of six months. Aside from the fact that this research is a smack in the face against current AIDS prevention campaigns, there are also some flaws in the research. First of all, the research focused solely on heterosexual couples and did not consider forms of sex other than vaginal intercourse. In addition to using condoms for AIDS prevention, there are other steps you can take in order to prevent becoming infected. First, remaining in a monogamous relationship can severely reduce your chances of getting infected. If this is not possible for you, try to keep your sexual partners to a minimum. Another key to AIDS prevention is to get yourself tested on a regular basis. This is a particularly important part of AIDS prevention if you lead a very sexual life and engage in sexual activity with many different partners. After all, the primary method of AIDS prevention is to keep the disease from spreading. Of course, with the help of condoms, you will also severely reduce the risk of getting AIDS or passing it on to others.

No Comments »
Filed under: Therapy

Categories

Recently Written

Archives

HIV and AIDS – The Essential Facts

All About HIV Testing, Common Myths And How It Works

HIV Symptoms – Know The Signs, Know The Differences

Using Condoms When Your Partners Has AIDs of HIV

Purported Swiss Research Upsets AIDS Prevention Groups