HIV Treatment
The only real weapons we have against viruses are natural ones, that is antibodies which can destroy viruses and bacterias. The problem with HIV is that the body cannot produce antibodies against the HIV virus. That is how a HIV test if performed, that is not looking for virus but testing for antibodies. No antibodies have yet been found in a human being that are effective in the long term against HIV. That is why a vaccine will be so difficult to find.
HIV Treatment Drugs
Our only other hope lies in a drug that could destroy viruses in the body. We have none that is effective. We will undoubtedly find such a drug one day but it is a long, long way off. How do you kill something (HIV virus) that does not breathe, does not need food, does not live and never dies? Attempts have even been made to flood the bloodstream with small pieces of cell wall (CD4) so the viruses are unable to touch living CD4 white cells. Another method being tried is to inject antibodies (`neutralising') from HIV-positive people to give extra protection to people with AIDS.
There would be one terrible problem with all such potential drugs. If they can be found, they will have to be taken for life. If some cells in the body are already infected, then a drug preventing entry of new viruses into unaffected cells will need to be taken until every reprogrammed cell and its descendants are dead---which could take fifteen years or longer. If we stopped the drug after ten years and a single reprogrammed white cell were to be activated to make more virus particles, the disease could start progressing all over again. This applies also to drugs preventing reprogramming, virus manufacture, or budding from the cell.
HIV Treatment Vaccines
Drug companies are pouring billions of dollars into research to find better treatments and much less into vaccines. With a lot less work they can rush through testing and licensing and bring a new drug onto the market. Advertising is unnecessary. Media hype does most of it, and pressure becomes irresistible from patients who are desperate for any hope of cure.
Cost of HIV Treatment
HIV drugs are very expensive because of billions of dollars put into the HIV and AIDS research. Doctors and governments are forced into using drugs which are very expensive, possibly $4,000 per patient, but may hardly work at all.
According to a study in 14th International AIDS Conference, average annual cost of treating HIV-positive patients in the United States can vary from about $34,000 to $14,000, depending on the stage of the virus. The yearly expense for treatment averages $34,000 for people in the advanced stage of illness compared with $14,000 for those infected who are keeping the virus at bay with a combination of anti-retroviral medications known as the AIDS drug cocktail, the report found. The $20,000 differential in care for healthy vs. sick patients covers far more than HIV medications.
Monday, June 30, 2008
HIV Symptoms
HIV Symptoms
Welcome to hivsymptoms.org, comprehensive HIV information site. Providing HIV symptoms information is the main focus of this site but there is a lot more information here on HIV and AIDS.
Please note that the only way to make sure whether you have HIV or AIDS is HIV testing for HIV infection. Please don't rely on HIV symptoms to know whether or not you are infected with HIV. There is a possibility that you don't show any of the HIV symptoms but can still be infected with HIV/AIDS.
Please see the following links for more information on HIV symptoms:
Just to summarize, following are the main HIV symptoms: Rapid weight loss
* Dry cough
* Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
* Profound and unexplained fatigue
* Wollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
* Diarrhea that lasts for more than a week
* White spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth, or in the throat
Pneumonia
* Red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
* Memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders
What are HIV and AIDS?
Over the last fifteen years a new disease spread by a family of viruses, HIV, has spread globally. HIV stands for Human lmmuno-deficiency Virus. HIV has been given this name because its long-term effect is to attack the immune system of the body, making it weak and deficient. We live virtually in a sea of microorganisms and at every moment an enormous number of them are entering our body. It is the immune system that normally fights off these microorganisms and keeps us healthy. Any compromise with the working of the immune system has profound effect on our body.
After about 5 to 10 years of contracting the HIV infection, the virus has weakened the immune system of the patients so much that they develop a number of different illnesses such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, persistent diarrhea, fever and skin infections. This condition is called AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Why do you need to know about it?
At the moment it is estimated that 13 million people in the world may have HIV. Every day there are thousands of new cases of HIV infections in the world and these occur in every country. People who have HIV may have no symptoms for many years, and infected people may not even be aware that they have the virus. They look and feel well, but can infect other people during this time.
The most difficult aspect of HIV/AIDS is that though there are medicines, which can help them, cope with these illnesses, there is no vaccine, and no cure for the HIV, so almost all the infected people become more and more ill and eventually die. It is important that we all know and understand about this infection, so we can protect ourselves and our families.
We have responsibility not only towards ourselves but also towards our children who are growing up in a very different world from that of our childhood. They will have many new opportunities, but also may sometimes be faced with new relationships, standards of behavior and new risks. It is up to us to explain the truth of the situation to them in an honest and informed way, so they may have the knowledge to take the necessary steps to protect their health.
We have to understand that presently prevention is the only cure of HIV/AIDS and that can come about only if we are adequately informed about it. Following are some frequently asked questions about HIV/AIDS:
How does HIV affect the body? Is it the same as AIDS?
When HIV gets into a persons blood it attaches itself to a special type of white blood cells called as helper T-Lymphocytes. These Helper T- cells are crucial in defending the body against many infections. during all this the persons have no symptoms at all. They look and feel well. They may not know they now have the virus, but could pass it on to someone else through having sex, or by sharing needles or syringes.
Being HIV Positive is not the same as having AIDS. The HIV actually goes inside the white blood cells and lies their quietly. After about 5 to 10 years the HIV virus tricks the cell to start making the viral proteins, this results in the formation of a huge number of viral particles inside the white cells and eventually the cells burst releasing thousands of new viruses in the blood. The released viruses infecting new white cells This cycle goes on and on, and eventually the immune system of the body is overwhelmed and is no longer capable of fighting the infections.
Eventually the infected person may lose weight and become ill with diseases like persistent severe diarrhea, fever, or pneumonia, or skin cancer. He or she has now developed AIDS. People with AIDS can be helped with medicines for the different infections. At the moment though, in spite of much research, there is no cure for HIV or for AIDS and so, sadly, it is almost certain that people diagnosed with AIDS will die.
Over the last fifteen years a new disease spread by a family of viruses, HIV, has spread globally. HIV stands for Human lmmuno-deficiency Virus. HIV has been given this name because its long-term effect is to attack the immune system of the body, making it weak and deficient. We live virtually in a sea of microorganisms and at every moment an enormous number of them are entering our body. It is the immune system that normally fights off these microorganisms and keeps us healthy. Any compromise with the working of the immune system has profound effect on our body.
After about 5 to 10 years of contracting the HIV infection, the virus has weakened the immune system of the patients so much that they develop a number of different illnesses such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, persistent diarrhea, fever and skin infections. This condition is called AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Why do you need to know about it?
At the moment it is estimated that 13 million people in the world may have HIV. Every day there are thousands of new cases of HIV infections in the world and these occur in every country. People who have HIV may have no symptoms for many years, and infected people may not even be aware that they have the virus. They look and feel well, but can infect other people during this time.
The most difficult aspect of HIV/AIDS is that though there are medicines, which can help them, cope with these illnesses, there is no vaccine, and no cure for the HIV, so almost all the infected people become more and more ill and eventually die. It is important that we all know and understand about this infection, so we can protect ourselves and our families.
We have responsibility not only towards ourselves but also towards our children who are growing up in a very different world from that of our childhood. They will have many new opportunities, but also may sometimes be faced with new relationships, standards of behavior and new risks. It is up to us to explain the truth of the situation to them in an honest and informed way, so they may have the knowledge to take the necessary steps to protect their health.
We have to understand that presently prevention is the only cure of HIV/AIDS and that can come about only if we are adequately informed about it. Following are some frequently asked questions about HIV/AIDS:
How does HIV affect the body? Is it the same as AIDS?
When HIV gets into a persons blood it attaches itself to a special type of white blood cells called as helper T-Lymphocytes. These Helper T- cells are crucial in defending the body against many infections. during all this the persons have no symptoms at all. They look and feel well. They may not know they now have the virus, but could pass it on to someone else through having sex, or by sharing needles or syringes.
Being HIV Positive is not the same as having AIDS. The HIV actually goes inside the white blood cells and lies their quietly. After about 5 to 10 years the HIV virus tricks the cell to start making the viral proteins, this results in the formation of a huge number of viral particles inside the white cells and eventually the cells burst releasing thousands of new viruses in the blood. The released viruses infecting new white cells This cycle goes on and on, and eventually the immune system of the body is overwhelmed and is no longer capable of fighting the infections.
Eventually the infected person may lose weight and become ill with diseases like persistent severe diarrhea, fever, or pneumonia, or skin cancer. He or she has now developed AIDS. People with AIDS can be helped with medicines for the different infections. At the moment though, in spite of much research, there is no cure for HIV or for AIDS and so, sadly, it is almost certain that people diagnosed with AIDS will die.
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