What is HIV and AIDS? South Africa has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, with an estimated 6.3 million people living with HIV. This means that it's important to educate yourself, to find out if you're at risk, and to know what your options are if you become infected. That's why we're taking a look at the question of what is HIV and AIDS, giving you all the info that you need to know about these diseases.
Thirty years ago, an HIV diagnosis was extremely serious, and HIV positive people could not expect to live very long. However, modern medicine has drastically improved the outlook of those diagnosed with HIV. Whilst it is still a serious diagnosis, it no longer has to be a death sentence. Many HIV positive people go on to live long and productive lives. HIV positive women can give birth to children, and simple things like life insurance for AIDS or HIV positive customers are commonly available. So while this article might not be the most pleasant reading, the news is not all bad!
What is HIV and AIDS: The Basics
If you're looking at the question of what is HIV and AIDS the first thing that you need to know is that these are not the same disease. A person first contracts the HIV virus. If this virus is left untreated, or sometimes even if it is treated, HIV can over time turn into the AIDS virus. AIDS is a more advanced stage of the HIV virus.
This means that if we're looking at what is HIV and AIDS, first we must look at the HIV virus, since this is the first stage.
HIV: What It Is and How It Becomes AIDS
The HIV virus (which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that attacks cells in the blood. Specifically the virus attacks a kind of white blood cell that's known as a CD4 cell or more commonly as a T-cell. Your body uses T-cells to attack infection, and as HIV kills off these cells you become more likely to get sick, to catch colds, flus, and eventually more serious diseases such as pneumonia or some kinds of cancer, simply because your body doesn't have the weapons to fight such sicknesses.
If you are diagnosed with HIV your doctor will regularly check your T-cell count (using a simple blood test) to make sure that any drugs you're taking are keeping your immune system strong. If your T-cell count falls below 200 then HIV has progressed and become AIDS. The aim of HIV treatment is to stop HIV becoming AIDS by keeping the body's T-cell count high and the immune system strong.
What is HIV and AIDS: Catching HIV
Now you know the answer to the question what is HIV and AIDS, but how exactly does someone catch HIV in the first place? HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids, that means through semen, blood, vaginal fluids or breast milk. Coming into contact with any of these fluids from an infected person can cause you to also become infected. HIV can be spread through breast feeding or someone else's blood getting into your body through an open wound. But the most common way that most people catch HIV is through unprotected sex (not using a condom) or through shared needles when using drugs. Some people have been infected by receiving a blood transfusion that contained the virus, though this is very rare these days since donated blood is carefully screened.
What is HIV and AIDS: Preventing HIV
Preventing HIV is relatively simple. Condoms should always be used during sex, never come into contact with someone else's blood, and never share needles or syringes with another person. Remember that once you have contracted HIV there is no cure, only HIV treatment that will hopefully stop you from developing AIDS.
Signs and Symptoms of HIV and AIDS
Perhaps you're looking at the question of what is HIV and AIDS because you're worried that you might have contracted HIV. The only sure way to know is to have an HIV blood test. HIV symptoms vary a lot between people, and some people have no signs of HIV infection at all and feel perfectly well. As HIV progresses and gets worse, some people do get more yeast infections (such as vaginal thrush, or oral thrush), and some people also get shingles (a disease that's related to chickenpox), which can be considered one of the early symptoms of HIV in a younger person (since shingles mostly attacks older people). But there is no definitive list of HIV symptoms.
If HIV turns into AIDS, again there are no real definitive symptoms. You will need to have a blood test to determine your T-cell count to know if you have AIDS. However, there are some common AIDS symptoms that many people have, including: fever, tiredness, weakness, swollen glands, and losing weight for no reason.
The bottom line here is that in order to know if you're HIV positive, or if HIV has progressed into AIDS, you will need a blood test.
What is HIV and AIDS: The Treatment
If you are diagnosed with HIV then you will immediately begin drug therapy. Powerful drugs known as antiretrovirals (or ART) will be prescribed and they will need to be taken every day for the rest of your life. The good news is though, that antiretroviral drugs are very effective at stopping HIV from becoming AIDS, and it's not unusual for HIV positive people to feel perfectly healthy and be able to live normal lives (except for taking their daily drugs).
It is impossible to say what the long term outlook for HIV positive people is, since the disease hasn't been around for long enough for us to find out. However, there are people that have lived healthily for twenty years with HIV, and show no signs of stopping yet!
Once HIV has progressed into AIDS, however, there is no real treatment. AIDS patients are given drugs to make them feel more comfortable, but the disease can no longer be treated.
What is HIV and AIDS: The Real Killers
When we're looking at the question of what is HIV and AIDS, there is one thing that many people don't realise. That is that HIV and AIDS are not actually killers by themselves. The diseases work by lowering the body's immune system, leaving it open to other sicknesses and diseases. Someone with AIDS does not die from AIDS, he dies because he has caught another sickness and his body cannot fight that sickness because AIDS has diminished his immune system.
Most commonly AIDS patients get a kind of cancer known as Kaposi's Sarcoma which causes blue or black patches to spread on the skin, or fungal infections in the brain. However, many AIDS patients die of simple diseases such as pneumonia that in a healthy person would not pose a high risk.
What is HIV and AIDS: The Bottom Line
Now you can answer the question what is HIV and AIDS, and maybe what you've read has scared you a little. These diseases are both serious, and can result in death. However, HIV is easily prevented, and can be treated to help stop it progressing into AIDS. An HIV positive status is NOT a death sentence any more.
Of course, prevention is better than cure, and practising safe sex and using common sense will help prevent you from catching HIV in the first place. But even with a positive diagnosis you can live a long and happy life as long as you continue to take your drugs and regularly schedule appointments with a doctor to check your T-cell count. Be safe!
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Main subject: What is HIV and AIDS
