No one is immune from diseases, everyone can become infected with some kind of illness, for example, HIV infection. Today, everyone knows about this very well-known disease, for which there are simply no drugs to treat. Today we will talk about this disease, find out the stages of HIV infection, symptoms and much more related to the human immunodeficiency virus.
What is HIV?
Today, this abbreviation is called a virus, which is the strongest causative agent of an infectious disease. The disease has more than one stage of development.
HIV stages vary, but the most recent form of the disease among them is AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). A syndrome is a collection of several signs of a particular disease. Immunodeficiency is a serious damage to the body's immune system, which is why a person's immunity simply cannot resist most infections.
Immunity
Now let's talk about immunity. Immunity is a special function of our body that protects a person frominfections transmitted in a variety of ways and means. The immune system is constantly producing special molecules - antibodies that fight a variety of pathogens in the body (antigens).
When viruses or bacteria enter the human body, the so-called immune response is activated, the main role in which is played by specific blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are able to recognize various pathogens, as well as block their effect on the body, and then simply destroy viruses. Blood cells contribute to enhanced production of antibodies.
Don't forget, a little later we'll talk in detail about the stages of HIV infection!
What is HIV?
HIV is a special group of so-called retroviruses, which are also referred to as lentiviruses (some professionals call such viruses slow, since the destructive effect on the body is far from instantaneous). The word "slow" suggests that the first symptoms of the disease may appear only after ten years. It is important to note that half of HIV carriers do not know they are infected until 10 years after infection.
Immediately after an HIV infection somehow enters the blood of a he althy person, it attaches very slowly to the body's blood cells, which are responsible for immunity. Experts explain this by the fact that on the surface of such cells there are special molecules called CD 4.
Some time after that, a slow multiplication of HIV infection starts right inside these little cells. Then the infection is independently distributed throughout the human body, and only after that an immune response occurs. The various lymph nodes, which contain a large number of immune system cells, are the first to be hit.
HIV Development
During a long period of development of the disease, the body simply cannot respond to HIV infection. This is explained only by the fact that the immune cells of the body are severely damaged, which is why they cannot fully perform their functions. As a result of the fact that HIV stages are diverse and very complex, most often characterized by sharp variability, it is believed that immune cells simply cannot detect the virus, so that it can easily destroy the host's body.
HIV continues to progress: the disease infects a huge number of immune cell lymphocytes, due to which their number decreases. When their number becomes critical, the last of all HIV stages comes - AIDS, which we will talk about today.
HIV stages in women and men are very different. The very first stage of HIV is the incubation period, and the very last is a terrible infectious disease that everyone has probably heard of - AIDS.
Methods of HIV transmission
As you understand, HIV is a terrible infection, which is not so difficult to catch. Yes, HIVtransmitted by airborne droplets, such as a very common infectious disease - hepatitis A. Now we will talk in detail about how you can get HIV infection.
Intercourse: use protection if you're not sure
The most common mode of HIV transmission is sex. A man's sperm contains a sufficient amount of infection, because the virus, according to experts, accumulates in spermatozoa, which, once in the girl's vagina, begin to spread already in her body.
It is also worth noting that even more HIV-infected cells are located in the semen at a time when a man has some kind of inflammatory disease, such as urethritis or epididymitis. At this time, in the seminal fluid of a young man there is an incredible amount of inflammatory cells that contain the infection.
In addition, becoming a carrier of HIV is much easier if your partner has some other infectious diseases that, most likely, will also be transmitted to you along with HIV, which you may not even know about. HIV can be found in a man's penis, a woman's vagina, and even a woman's uterus.
Important to know! During anal sex, the likelihood that HIV infection contained in semen enters the body through the rectum increases greatly. Even more than that, during anal intercourse, the risk of causing some kind of injury to the girl's rectum incredibly increases, in other words,direct contact with blood.
Don't forget, today you will also learn about what is the acute stage of HIV and much more!
Blood transfusion
The world-famous procedure of transfusing blood from one person to another, it turns out, can also cause infection with a terrible infectious disease, which is known in the world as HIV infection.
Few people know that infection can easily hide in some blood components. If HIV-infected blood is transfused into a perfectly he althy person, infection will occur in about 90-99%.
The risk of infection disappears with the introduction of advanced immunoglobulin, as well as a variety of special "helpers" of which you can find out more from your doctor.
Not so long ago, a special procedure was introduced in our country for those who want to be a donor - testing for the detection of HIV infection. Thanks to this introduction, the risk of getting the disease by this route has been significantly reduced.
It is important to know that if the donor has recently become infected and has not yet formed a variety of antibodies in his body, most likely, the person who will be transfused with blood will also become infected.
Since we are talking about blood, it is worth noting another common way of infection. Drug addicts always use old and used syringes, so most of these people are already carriers.
How does HIV develop? Symptoms in the early stages: fever, poormood, poor performance, etc.
Mother-child
It is not uncommon for HIV to be passed from mother to child. As you understand, this disease, which is common in our world, has a unique ability to penetrate through a special placenta in the body of a girl carrying a child. Because of this ability, infection of the child can occur either during childbirth or during pregnancy (carrying a child).
In European countries, the percentage probability that a child will be transmitted HIV is 13%, but in Africa, for example, it exceeds 45%. The magnitude of such a risk directly depends on the level at which, at the time of a woman's pregnancy, the medicine of a particular country / state is located. Moreover, doctors urge girls who are HIV carriers not to breastfeed their baby, as there is a decent chance that the baby can become infected with HIV while breastfeeding. Experts have proven that mother's breast milk contains molecules that can transmit the infection to the baby.
Infection in the hospital
Situations often occur when medical staff become infected from patients, or vice versa. The probability is 0.3%, and only if there is sexual contact between them or an accidental cut.
Of course, this can still happen, but it is very rare.
So we talked about how such a serious disease is transmitted. A little later we will talk about the acute stage of HIV infection. By the way, this form of HIV is notis the most difficult, but it is still a serious disease that cannot be cured.
Now let's talk about the stages of HIV and their symptoms.
HIV incubation period
This is the time during which the very first clinical manifestations of HIV infection occur. The incubation period is the time between the initial infection and the first signs that you are infected. The duration of this period varies from 14 days to six months or more. When the virus is at this stage, special testing can easily determine it, but the main problem is that a person could already have time to infect other people. The next stages of HIV will be much more serious and we will talk about them!
Acute HIV infection period
Experience shows that this stage most often passes without any symptoms, but it is still worth noting situations when an HIV-infected patient begins an ordinary fever, stomatitis, a sharp increase in lymph nodes or spleen, pharyngitis, diarrhea or encephalitis. It can last 2-3 days or 1-2 months. This stage of HIV has its own symptoms, as you can see, they are listed a little higher. The disease is incurable, but it is best to visit a doctor! You must understand that if you have HIV, the symptoms in the early stages are almost no different from a number of other diseases, so if you notice something similar, contact a professional immediately.
Latent stage of disease development
At this stagethe disease may still not manifest itself, but HIV continues to multiply - the concentration of infected molecules in the blood increases significantly. During this period, the body is no longer able to resist. The latent stage lasts from 2-3 years, on average 6-7 years. However, there were cases when this period lasted more than 20 years! Symptoms of HIV in the early stages, photos of which, to put it mildly, are sometimes even frightening, are indicated a little higher.
Second stage and AIDS
The concentration of the virus in the blood continues to increase rapidly. The patient has the main signs that he is sick. The immune system has already completely surrendered and is no longer able to protect the body from various viruses at all. The patient feels tired, has a high temperature and sweats profusely. During such a period, you just need to run to a doctor who will try to help. The last stages of HIV, the photos of which you have probably seen, are frightening, because a person is already on the verge of life and death.
AIDS is considered the last stage of the infection. During this period, the number of cells that are still able to protect the body reaches zero. The immune system practically dies, a person becomes defenseless, any virus (even the weakest) can infect him. The body slowly dies, some organs cease to function. At this stage, a person can simply lie down and never get up again in his life. There may also be very real problems with breathing and the brain. Over time, the person dies. This stage lasts from 1 to 3 years.
See your doctor if you are diagnosed with HIV at an early stage, otherwise it may be too late later.
Try to visit doctors more often so that you won't find out in ten years that you were once infected with HIV!
