Signs of HIV

Today, HIV is often spoken about, but most people have very limited information about it. Everyone has heard something about the human immunodeficiency virus, but far from everyone clearly understands the difference between him and AIDS, what are the main signs of HIV, how he can be transmitted and what is not, etc. Before listing the main signs of HIV and Ways of its transfer, it is worth giving a description of the basic concepts.

HIV is nothing more than a human immunodeficiency virus. This virus belongs to the family of RNA-containing retroviruses. This virus is classified into a subfamily of slow infections. The disease that causes the human immunodeficiency virus is called HIV infection.

The last stage of this disease is AIDS. At this stage in the development of the disease, the immune system is afflicted to such a state that it is not capable of resisting any type of infection at all. As a result, any, even a minor disease due to the weakened immunity can lead to a fatal outcome.

How much does HIV manifest? One of the factors that make HIV an increasingly common disease is the time interval during which the human immunodeficiency virus can manifest itself. The fact is that the latent period of the disease can last very long. There are cases when signs of HIV have not manifested for 20 years. Of course, this is not always the case. In general, in the world, according to various sources, there are about forty million infected. In Russia in 2011, 664 976 cases of infection with this virus were officially registered.

The signs of HIV can manifest themselves very soon after infection. In order to identify a person's HIV infection, a special analysis is carried out. It consists in the detection of antibodies to the virus in the blood. If there are antibodies in the blood, this indicates infection with the infection. In the absence of antibodies, it is recommended to repeat the blood test after six months, since antibodies do not appear immediately after infection. When a positive result is obtained, a second test is usually performed using another assay - immunoblotting.

This check is caused by the fact that false results are possible when a person who is not infected with the immunodeficiency virus gets a positive result. A few weeks after infection, a person has a febrile phase of the disease, in which the following symptoms can occur:

- temperature increase,

- a sore throat,

- vomiting,

- diarrhea,

- drowsiness,

- nausea,

- malaise,

Rash on the skin, etc.

In addition, lymph nodes in HIV in the febrile stage increase for no apparent reason. These signs pass, and there comes an asymptomatic phase, which can last two months, and can, as already mentioned above, last a very long time. After the asymptomatic phase, there is an expanded stage of HIV, which is called AIDS.

There are different signs of AIDS: weight loss, chronic colds, chest pains, shortness of breath, uncaused diarrhea, herpes, pulmonary tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, inflammation of the oral mucosa, etc.

HIV can be given in the following ways:

- with sexual contact, including oral;

- at the birth of a child by a mother infected with the immunodeficiency virus;

- when the infant is breast-feeding with an infected mother;

- through the use of virus-infected syringes;

- through transfusion of infected blood;

- through damaged skin.

In addition, it is worth mentioning how to get the infection is impossible. HIV can not be infected: sneezing, handshaking, cohabitation, etc. Usually list what HIV can not be infected with. This, in the first place, is necessary in order that there should not be alienation and expression of hostility towards people who are overtaken by this disease.

Take care of yourself and try to protect your loved ones from misfortune.