Archive for category Hiv Aids Symptoms
How to Avoid AIDS Symptoms
These past years, there has been an alarming increase of people suffering from AIDS. This disease can be prevented if you are aware of the causes and the different AIDS symptoms. Learn about these important information as well as the things that you should do if you already are afflicted with this disease.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a condition that is caused by human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. The disease affects the body’s immune system making the affected person susceptible to infections which are difficult to treat. According to statistics, there are about 33.4 million people who are suffering from AIDS worldwide with about 2.7 million new cases each year. This was first identified in 1981 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. It is said to have originated during the 19th to 20th century in West Central Africa. Because there is no cure yet for this disease, prevention is advocated by health professionals.
There are several ways on how AIDS is transmitted from one person to another. Sexual transmission is the most common one whether it is anal, oral or vaginal. When you come in contact with the preseminal fluid, semen, vaginal fluids and the mucus membranes of a person who has this condition, then there is a high chance that you can get it too. AIDS can also be transmitted through blood products during blood transfusion, sharing used syringes, getting tattoos and piercings and needle pricks from syringes used on an infected person. When a mother is infected with this disease, there is a high chance of her baby to be affected when delivered normally. Babies can also be infected through breastfeeding. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hiv aids symptoms, hiv and aidsRelated posts
HIV Symptoms in Men and Women
HIV is a type of virus that attacks and weakens the immune cells of its victim. If left unattended, it can develop to AIDS. HIV is normally found within the blood and to other forms of bodily fluid such as vaginal fluids and semen. The virus cannot survive for that long outside ones body, thus to be transmitted with HIV one will need to have the infected persons body fluid inside his/her body. It can enter through inside the body by means of contact within the bloodstream or through the delicate types of mucous membranes, like the inside of the rectum, urethra or vagina.
The initial signs of HIV vary in both males and females. Most of the time, the males will experience fever and mild to moderate periodic headaches. These kinds of headaches do not differ much from the headaches we normally experience in our daily lives. A man may start to observe some inflammation or swelling in a number of lymph glands in his body. A gland in his groin, neck or armpit will begin to swell and become firm and raised. This swelling does not normally bring any type of discomfort or pain to the gland and could be mistaken with other types of conditions.
HIV symptoms in men can also display dramatic changes in their stamina or energy level. They may experience unexplainable fatigue or tiredness. Physical exercise can have a different effect on them and could be mistaken as a result of stress from work.
Historically, more men are infected with HIV than women yet more women today are accounted for the new HIV cases and may catch up or even surpass the men in the near future. AIDS is just a few cases behind heart disease and cancer as the main killer conditions of women. The hardest hit of the infection are the African-American women. Women of the younger generation are the ones more prone to the infection as compared to their older counterparts. It usually takes years before HIV symptoms in women would start manifesting. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hiv aids symptoms, hiv and aidsRelated posts
How Does HIV Home Testing Work?
Getting an HIV test can be stressful and embarrassing for many people. Due to the stigma that still surrounds the disease, many people fear that having HIV will cause people to judge them as promiscuous or to make assumptions about drug use. While the medical community is now well aware of HIV statistics and the ways that HIV can be transmitted, and of the fact that anyone who is sexually active or comes into contact with blood is at risk, this stigma keeps many people from getting tested. HIV home testing is an excellent way for people to find out for certain whether or not they are HIV positive, without having to face doctors and community members in a local clinic. These tests are anonymous and highly accurate.
A HIV home test is done using a finger stick much like those performed on diabetics to measure blood sugar levels. The sample is then sent to a lab, where results will be available anywhere from the day they are received to a few weeks later, depending on the test and the company. Most companies allow people to send in their HIV home test using only PIN numbers or codes that they set up so that results are completely confidential. Counseling is also offered in many cases, regardless of a positive or negative result in order to help people learn to prevent the disease and to ensure that people are prepared in case the result is positive.
The FDA does not allow HIV test results to be determined or read at home. There are many reasons for this, and it is due in large part to the amount of work required to determine that a diagnosis is accurate. Because HIV is considered such a serious diagnosis, it is a primary goal of these companies to ensure that accurate results are always given. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hiv aids symptoms, hiv and aids