H.I.V & A.I.D’s (HIV/AIDS)

What is it?

A viral infection that attacks the body’s immune system (destroying the blood cells known as CD4 T-cells that play a key role in the immune system) and prevents it from fighting off diseases and infections effectively.

The CD4 cell count of a person who does not have HIV can be anything between 500 and 1500.

People living with HIV who have a CD4 count over 500 are usually in pretty good health.

People living with HIV who have a CD4 cell count below 200 are at high risk of developing serious illnesses and A.I.D’s.

If left untreated the immune system becomes so weak causing A.I.D’s and other diseases like a common cold to pneumonia, shingles, Tuberculosis, cancers can become more life threatening.

If have the following conditions always have a H. I. V test:

1: Clinical indicator diseases for adult HIV
Disease area	HIV testing should be offered	AIDS-defining conditions
Respiratory	Bacterial pneumonia Aspergillosis	Tuberculosis Pneumocystis pneumonia
Neurological	Aseptic meningitis Aseptic encephalitis Cerebral (head) abscess Space occupying lesion of unknown cause Guillain-Barre syndrome Transverse myelitis (severe muscle pain and nerve pain, electric shocks) Peripheral neuropathy ((severe muscle pain and nerve pain, electric shocks) Dementia Leukoencephalopathy	Cerebral (head) toxoplasmosis Primary cerebral lymphoma Cryptococcal meningitis Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Skin	Severe or recalcitrant seborrhoeic dermatitis Severe or recalcitrant psoriasis Multidermatomal or recurrent herpes zoster infection	Kaposi’s sarcoma
Gastrointestinal	Oral candidiasis Oral hairy leukoplakia Chronic (long term) diarrhoea of unknown cause Weight loss of unknown cause Salmonella, shigella or campylobacter infection Hepatitis B infection Hepatitis C infection	Persistent cryptosporidiosis
Malignant	Anal cancer or anal intraepithelial dysplasia Lung cancer Seminoma (testicular cancer) Head and neck cancer Hodgkin’s lymphoma Castleman’s disease	Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Gynaecological	Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (histology grade 2 or above)	Cervical cancer
Blood	Any unexplained blood dyscrasia, including thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and lymphopenia	None applicable
Eye	Infective retinal diseases including herpes viruses and toxoplasma Any unexplained retinopathy (blurred vision, blindness)	Cytomegalovirus retinitis
Ear, nose and throat	Lymphadenopathy of unknown cause Chronic (long term) parotitis (decreased saliva flow or obstruction, dry mouth) Lymphoepithelial parotid cysts	None applicable
Other	Mononucleosis-like syndrome (primary HIV infection) Pyrexia (temeprature) of unknown origin Any lymphadenopathy of unknown cause Any sexually transmitted infection	None applicable

Clinical Pharmacist, CP, July/August 2014, Vol 6, No 6;6(6):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2014.20065899

All pregnant females should be tested for H.I.V for mother to child transmission.

Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs can be used under medical supervision, however Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs is not recommended in asthma or asthma type symptoms. Check with your Medical doctor/Pharmacist when one can have any type of fever reducing medication to make sure it suitable for you as if one is taking treatment for this condition it may interact with over the counter treatments/medications.

Diagnosis Tests

Sexually transmitted disease

Sexually transmitted disease (STD) can greatly increase a person’s chance of acquiring HIV.
One who is HIV-positive and has a co-existing Sexually transmitted disease (STD) is more likely to pass the human immunodeficiency virus to someone else.
Exposure to an STD until a reliable test can be undertaken is 45 days.

Persons in contact with:

When there is any doubt about the source of the infection, it is common to ask about all partners within the last:

3 months for gonorrhoea
6 months for chlamydia
3 months to several years for syphilis depending on history and stage of infection
3 months to several years for H.I.V depending on history and stage of infection

McClean H, Radcliffe K, Sullivan AK, et al. British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). BASHH Statement on Partner Notification for Sexually Transmissible Infections. 2012; London: BASHH.

Cause

Virus: Human immunodeficiency virus
It can be passed on or caught by:
- Infected blood-sharing infected needles, syringes or injecting equipment or if have one has cut and/or broken skin.
- Unprotected sexual intercourse including anal.
- HIV positive pregnant mother to her baby in womb.
- Oral sex, particularly if have cuts, ulcer and/or gum problems.

Treatments

Syringes or injecting equipment

Illicit drugs

Sharing infected needles

Further information:

How Long Can HIV Live Outside of the Body?

Source: https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1027584/view/kaposi-s-sarcoma 'kaposi's sarcoma'

Source: https://www.blackandbrownskin.co.uk/upper-limb/kaposi-sarcoma 'Kaposi Sarcoma'

Source: i Health Blogger

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Avert

Source: jimkazi.blogspot.com

Symptoms

Initial symptoms (severe cold and flu symptoms):

High temperature greater than 38°C (100°F) or over and/or chills and sweats longer than 72 hours?
Headache which is ‘on and off’ or a constant headache longer than 24 hours?
Night sweats?
Sore throat longer than seven days or more?
Aching, painful muscles, muscle cramps/spasms/stiffness?
Joint pain and stiffness?
General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)?
Swollen lymph glands (lumps on side of neck, armpits, and groin) and/or reoccurring mouth ulcers?
Mouth ulcers longer than three weeks?
Blotchy rash on chest (Kaposi’s sarcoma)?

Then further symptoms can develop anytime up to 10 years due to a virus making immune system become slowly weaker.

Examples include:

General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)?
Night sweats?
Unexplained weight loss?
Diarrhoea?
White spots on tongue/mouth/oral thrush?
Dry cough longer than three weeks and/or breathing difficulties?
Fever about 38°C (100°F) for a number of weeks?
Swollen lymph glands and/or recurrent mouth ulcers (last for more than 3 months)?
Severe weight loss?

Nail changes:

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

Severe Dehydration symptoms
Rhabdomyolysis (Crush syndrome)
Pneumonia
Tuberculosis
Encephalitis
Liver disease
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (those who have severe weak immune conditions)
Spleen enlargement
Shingles
Pain in the eye
Blurred vision

This condition can lead to:

Bacterial infection:
- Mycobacterium avium complex or Mycobacterium kansasii infection infection similar to tuberculosis
- Tuberculosis
Fungal infections (especially in A.I.D’s) of the bronchi, trachea, lungs and oesophagus.
- Pneumocystis Pneumonia (P jirovecii)
- Coccidioidomycosis
- Cryptococcosis
- Cryptosporidiosis, chronic intestinal (duration > 1 month)
- Histoplasmosis
Viral infections:
- Cytomegalovirus disease (other than liver, spleen or nodes)
- Cytomegalovirus retinitis (with vision loss)
- Herpes simplex: chronic ulcer or ulcers (duration > 1 month) or bronchitis, pneumonitis or oesophagitis
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) – a disease of the white matter of the brain, caused by a virus infection (polyomavirus JC) that targets cells that make myelin—the material that insulates nerve cells (neurons).
Parasite:
- Isosporiasis- an intestinal disease of humans caused by the parasite Cystoisospora belli
- Toxoplasmosis of the brain
Erythema Multiforme
Menopause type symptoms (though not proven to be related- though a female with a uterus should receive a comprehensive gynecologic examination).
Cervical cancer
Anal tears and/or fissures and Anal fistulas
Hypogonadism (reduce sex hormones)
Kaposi’s sarcoma
Castleman disease
Depression
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Prurigo Nodularis
Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms
unwanted weight loss of more than 10 percent of a person’s body weight, with either diarrhoea or weakness and fever that have lasted at least 30 days
H.I.V can lead to A.I.D’s (patient’s CD4+ cell count can drop to below 200 cells/ml)
- A succession of AIDS-defining illnesses can develop- see table in ‘what is it?’ section)

verywell Health

Hairy leukoplakia may indicate HIV/AIDS.

Driving Authority

One should notify their driving authority if one has this condition/disease.

HIV prevention strategies include:

Condoms as a barrier to transmission
Treatment as prevention: Treating an individual with HIV to prevent them from passing the infection to their partner(s). The recent campaign U=U stands for ‘undetectable=untransmittable’ as it has been proven that people with HIV who are on effective treatment with an undetectable viral load will not transmit HIV [12]
Serosorting ((restricting condomless sex to partners of one’s own HIV status): People choose to have sex with people of the same HIV status, e.g. those with HIV have sex with other people with HIV; those who are negative have sex with others who are negative
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): People take daily or on-demand medication before and after sex to prevent them from contracting HIV
Post exposure prophylaxis (PEP): 28 days of antiviral medication that is commenced with 72 hours of being exposed to HIV to prevent an exposure becoming an infection
Prevention of vertical transmission: Antenatal screening, effective treatment for mother and baby, avoiding breastfeeding

elfh

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Severe combined immunodeficiency

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: H.I.V & A.I.D’s (HIV/AIDS) in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

NHS
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