When HIV Becomes AIDS

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When HIV Becomes AIDS Video Description:HIV and AIDS are not the same thing, but the HIV virus can lead to the disease AIDS. Learn how and when that happens in this video. Transcript:AIDS is an incurable disease that is the end result of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. An individual who contracts HIV may become sick quickly…or can live symptom-free for years.  HIV and AIDS are not one-and-the same. Many people who become infected with HIV do not develop AIDs, or don’t do so for decades…especially with modern treatments. AIDS, which is an acronym for “acquired immune deficiency syndrome,” is the final stage of HIV infection. Because the virus attacks T-cells in the body’s immune system, a person has AIDS when their T-cell levels fall below 200/mmc3, as opposed to the 500 to 1,500 found in a healthy person. An extremely low T-cell count means that a person’s immune system is no longer healthy enough to effectively fight off intruding viruses and bacteria.  Signs that HIV may be turning into AIDS include:  extreme fatigue, rapid weight loss, persistent diarrhea, a high fever, and swollen glands in the neck, armpits, or groin.  Even if a person doesn’t have a low T-cell count, they are still classified as having AIDS if they contract any one of 26 opportunist conditions. These are a group of illnesses that don’t generally occur in most people, but do show up in AIDS patients. Two of these are cancers. One, Kaposi’s sarcoma, results from a tumor in the blood vessel walls. Kaposi’s sarcoma usually appears as disfiguring pink or purple lesions on the skin and mouth. The other cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, originates in the disease-fighting blood cells known as lymphocytes. This appears as swelling of the lymph nodes. Several opportunist conditions that confirm an AIDS diagnosis stem from invading bacteria, like tuberculosis and bacterial pneumonia.  Bacterial pneumonia is a potentially deadly inflammation of the lungs that is one of the most common infections occurring in people with HIV worldwide.  Tuberculosis is the leading opportunistic infection in developing nations where access to medications and health care is low. It occurs when bacteria infect the lungs and manifests as prolonged coughing fits. Sometimes, an opportunist infection can be fungal, like candidiasis. Candidiasis causes a white coating to form on the mouth, tongue, or vagina.  Although HIV itself is a virus, another virus can enter the body and cause an opportunist infection. One example is cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a herpes virus that healthy adults fight easily. In people with HIV, however, the virus causes damages to the body, most notably the eyes. If untreated, CMV can lead to blindness.  Other complications that lead to an AIDS diagnosis include wasting syndrome, whereby a person loses 10 percent or more of body weight, and AIDS dementia complex, where nerve cell damage causes diminished mental functioning. These conditions, and others, mean that HIV has progressed to AIDS. While this is disheartening, many modern medications can keep AIDS infections from progressing indefinitely. If you have HIV, talk to your doctor about diseases that can occur following infection and the best ways to treat them. Category:STDs/HIV & AIDS Tags:Health, Medicine, HIV, AIDS, acquired, immunodeficiency, syndrome, virus, penis, vagina, sex, std, condom, immune, system, body, fluids, t-cells, test, opportunistic, semen, blood, sexual, Consequences, cancer, dementia, death, blindness, sexually transmitted disease, lymph node, SexHealthGuru, Guru,
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