AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. 

AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is the condition diagnosed when there are a group of related symptoms that are caused by severe HIV infection and their immune system is too weak to fight off infections.

This condition has big spectrum. One may not have any complaint or to other extreme may have large number of ailments. By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your body’s ability to fight off viruses, bacteria and fungi that cause disease. HIV makes you more susceptible to certain types of cancers and to infections your body would normally resist, such as pneumonia and meningitis.

HIV is a sexually transmitted infection. It can also spread by transfusion of  infected blood, sharing needles as done by drug addicts or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding.

HIV is present worldwide. Though it has been controlled in western nations, it continue to rage in Africa and Asia. There is no cure but good treatment is available to manage ailment and live a healthy life.

AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is the condition diagnosed when there are a group of related symptoms that are caused by severe HIV infection and their immune system is too weak to fight off infections.

 The symptoms of HIV and AIDS vary, depending on the phase of infection.

Early symptoms

The majority of people infected by HIV develop a flu-like illness within a month or two after the virus enters the body. This illness, known as primary or acute HIV infection, may last for a few weeks. Possible signs and symptoms include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Body Rashes
• Mouth or genital ulcers
• Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck
• Joint pain
• Night sweats
• Diarrhea
• Chills
• Sore throat

These symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few weeks.

 Later symptoms

The progression of disease varies widely among individuals. This state may last from a few months to more than 10 years. During this period, the virus continues to multiply actively and infects and kills the cells of the immune system. The immune system allows us to fight against the bacteria, viruses, and other infectious causes.

• Lack of energy
• Weight loss
• Frequent fevers and sweats
• Persistent or frequent yeast infections
• Persistent skin rashes or flaky skin
• Short-term memory loss
• Mouth, genital, or anal sores from herpes infections.

 Progression to AIDS

By the time AIDS develops, your immune system has been severely damaged, making you susceptible to opportunistic infections — diseases that wouldn’t trouble a person with a healthy immune system.

• Soaking night sweats

• Shaking chills or fever higher than 100 F (38 C) for several weeks
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Chronic diarrhea
• Persistent white spots or unusual lesions on your tongue or in your mouth
• Headaches
• Persistent, unexplained fatigue
• Blurred and distorted vision
• Weight loss
• Skin rashes or bumps

Each of these symptoms can be related to other illnesses. The only way to find out if you are infected with HIV is to get tested.

Latent Infection

HIV remains in body with no specific signs and symptoms.

Causes of HIV AIDS

Both men and women can spread HIV. When someone becomes infected with HIV the virus weakens and damages their body’s defence system (the immune system) so that it cannot fight off infections.

HIV can be transferred from one person to another (transmitted) through:

• By having sex – You may become infected if you have vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected partner whose blood, semen or vaginal secretions enter your body. The virus can enter your body through mouth sores or small tears that sometimes develop in the rectum or vagina during sexual activity.
• From blood transfusions – In some cases, the virus may be transmitted through blood transfusions. Blood banks now screen the blood supply for HIV antibodies, so this risk is very small.
• By sharing needles – HIV can be transmitted through needles and syringes contaminated with infected blood. Sharing intravenous drug paraphernalia puts you at high risk of HIV and other infectious diseases, such as hepatitis.
• During pregnancy or delivery or through breast-feeding – Infected mothers can infect their babies. But receiving treatment for HIV infection during pregnancy, mothers significantly lower the risk to their babies.

You cannot get HIV from:

• Touching or hugging someone who has HIV/AIDS
• Public bathrooms or swimming pools
• Kissing or spitting
• Sharing cups, utensils, or telephones with someone who has HIV/AIDS
• Bug bites

 Risk factors of HIV AIDS 

• Having unprotected sex with multiple partners
• Have had sex without a condom with an HIV-positive partner
• Having ulcers or open sores on genitals
• Share needles during intravenous drug use or as done by drug addicts
• Received a blood transfusion or blood products

Screening Tests

• HIV 1 and HIV 2
• P24 antigen test

Diagnosing HIV antibodies can be done using:

1. Blood,
2. Saliva,
3. Cells from the inside of the cheek.

Types of tests

• Rapid tests
• Home based tests
• Lab tests

If the first test result is positive, then following test must be done:

1. CD4 Count
2. Western blot test, ELISA, IFA
3. PCR, DNA PCR test
4. Plasma HIV RNA
5. Viral Load
6. Test for drug resistance
7. Medical Examination
8. Lab Tests for infections as tuberculosis (TB), syphilis, hepatitis B.
9. Regular Pap tests for women.
10. XRay, Ultrasound and scans

HIV Testing in Infants

CDC recommends that all pregnant women get tested for HIV before and/or during delivery. Knowing the HIV status of the mother allows physicians to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission by providing antiretroviral treatment to both mothers infected with HIV and their newborn infants. However, it is difficult to determine if a baby born to a mother infected with HIV is actually infected because babies carry their mothers’ HIV antibodies for several months. Today, healthcare providers can conduct an HIV test for infants between ages 3 months and 15 months. Researchers are now evaluating several blood tests to determine which ones are suitable for testing babies younger than 3 months.

Complications vary widely from one patient to another. Following are the some Complications of AIDS HIV.

• Damage to the brain and spinal cord, causing encephalitis and meningitis
• Difficulties in thinking, behavioral changes, poor circulation
• Headache and stroke.
• AIDS-related cancers
• such as lymphoma and opportunistic infections (OI)
• Weakness, vision loss, and ataxia.
• Lethargy and low grade fever

Infections:

• Candidiasis
• Cryptococcal meningitis
• Cryptosporidiosis
• Cytomegalovirus
• Salmonellosis.
• Toxoplasmosis.
• Tuberculosis (TB)

Other Complications:

• Kaposi’s sarcoma
• Lymphomas
• Nephropathy or Renal failure
• Neurological complications
• Wasting syndrome

People who do not have HIV

• Safe sex, better to have just one sexual partner
• Be aware about partners sexual habits
• Do not share needles for drug use, tattooing, or body piercing.
• Carefully use latex or polyurethane condoms for every oral, vaginal, or anal sexual activity.
• Be careful with blood transfusion, check source.

People who are already living with HIV

• Do not be ashamed of HIV AIDS. It is just a disease and anyone can have it.
• Do not hide and infect others. Tell your healthcare providers that you are HIV positive.
• Do not hide and have unprotected sex.
• Preventing the transmission of HIV from HIV positive mothers to their infants during
  pregnancy,  labor, delivery and breastfeeding.
• To avoid passing HIV to a baby, women should talk to their healthcare providers before
  becoming pregnant.
• Do not donate blood, plasma, or semen.
• Do not share needles for drug use, tattooing, or body piercing.
• Safe sex, better to have just one sexual partner
• Be aware about partners sexual habits
• Do not share needles for drug use, tattooing, or body piercing.
• Carefully use latex or polyurethane condoms for every oral, vaginal, or anal sexual activity.
• Be careful with blood transfusion, check source.

Allopathic medicine has been proven scientifically to help a person in the AIDS phase of the illness to keep the HIV infection under control. The allopathic treatment has to be taken under the close supervision of an allopathic doctor.

Anti-HIV drugs include:

• Entry or fusion inhibitors – enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) maraviroc (Selzentry).
• Integrase inhibitors – Raltegravir (Isentress)
• Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) – efavirenz (Sustiva), etravirine (Intelence) nevirapine (Viramune).
• Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) – Abacavir (Ziagen), emtricitabine and tenofovir (Truvada), lamivudine and zidovudine (Combivir).
• Protease inhibitors (PIs). atazanavir (Reyataz), darunavir (Prezista), fosamprenavir (Lexiva) ritonavir (Norvir).

Combination therapy

Taking two or more antiretroviral drugs at a time is called combination therapy. Taking a combination of three or more anti-HIV drugs is sometimes referred to as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). 

Surgical Treatment of HIV AIDS 

Patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may require surgery to treat infections and diseases associated with the condition. With the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), a combination of anti-HIV drugs, HIV patients are able to live longer lives. As a result, it is possible for HIV patients to require surgical interventions for long-term conditions. Choosing a surgical approach rather than drug therapy is guided by the urgency to reduce the size and extent of the lesion.

A diet with plenty of fresh and organic vegetables, beans, and whole grains, and low in sugar, animal fats, alcohol, and caffeine is suggested. There are many Dietary & Herbal suggestions that people with HIV infection and AIDS can follow to minimize contact with food additives, preservatives, pesticides, bacteria, and parasites. Here are some tips concerning fruits and vegetables:

• Buy fresh instead of frozen and canned vegetables.
• Diet low in sugar, animal fats
• Avoid alcohol and cafeine
• Choose organic whenever possible.
• Thoroughly wash and scrub foods.
• At the minimum, lightly steam all vegetables.
• Include fish oil, whey protein in diet

A diet with plenty of fresh and organic vegetables, beans, and whole grains, and low in sugar, animal fats, alcohol, and caffeine is suggested. There are many Dietary & Herbal suggestions that people with HIV infection and AIDS can follow to minimize contact with food additives, preservatives, pesticides, bacteria, and parasites

• Buy fresh instead of frozen and canned vegetables.
• Diet low in sugar, animal fats
• Avoid alcohol and cafeine
• Choose organic whenever possible.
• Thoroughly wash and scrub foods.
• At the minimum, lightly steam all vegetables.
• Include fish oil, whey protein in diet

Successful counseling and psychotherapy with patients who test positive for HIV/AIDS involves sensitive, careful things. This will give you an opportunity to:

• Discuss your fears about being tested.
• Learn how to reduce your risk of becoming infected if your test is negative.
• Learn how to keep from spreading HIV to others if your test is positive.
• Think about personal issues, such as how having HIV will affect you socially, emotionally, professionally, and financially.
• Calm nerves and be more aware with correct and useful information.
• Learn coping and living with AIDS HIV

Hypnotherapy

A very quick and useful support to help getting over stress, anxiety and fear.  It works straight at subconscious level, resolves psychological issues and creates positivity.

Successful counseling and psychotherapy with patients who test positive for HIV/AIDS involves sensitive, careful things. This will give you an opportunity to:

• Discuss your fears about being tested.
• Learn how to reduce your risk of becoming infected if your test is negative.
• Learn how to keep from spreading HIV to others if your test is positive.
• Think about personal issues, such as how having HIV will affect you socially, emotionally, professionally, and financially.
• Calm nerves and be more aware with correct and useful information.
• Learn coping and living with AIDS HIV

Homeopathy offers big hope to HIV patients and healthcare professionals. Although no therapy can or will help every HIV+ person or everyone with AIDS, homeopathy is beginning to develop a reputation for helping people at varying stages of this disease. A large number of people around the world are living a normal life after taking homeopathic treatment.

One of the advantages of using homeopathy in treating people with AIDS is that they tend to get various unusual symptoms, diseases, and syndromes which evade immediate diagnosis. Homeopathic medicines are natural substances. Homeopathy is highly individualized to a patient’s symptoms. A homeopath can prescribe a remedy before a definitive conventional diagnosis is made.

Homeopathy works at multiple levels:

• It relieves acute and chronic complaints
• It improves immunity and body’s defense
• It improves body’s physiological symptoms
• It improves energy system
• It calms mind and relieves anxiety

Some common homeopathic medicines for HIV AIDS are:

• Acet Ac
• Ars Alb
• Carb Veg
• Phos
• Crot H
• Sulph

Homeopathy offers big hope to HIV patients and healthcare professionals. Although no therapy can or will help every HIV+ person or everyone with AIDS, homeopathy is beginning to develop a reputation for helping people at varying stages of this disease.