UNDERSTANDING AIDS
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
KHUSHI AGGARWAL | 12- A
Table of
CONTENTS
01 02 03 04 05 06
INTRODUCTION HIV & AIDS TRANSMISSION OF SYMPTOMS & TREATMENT & PREVENTION
HIV STAGES OF HIV / MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
AIDS
07 08 09 10
MYTHS & MISS STIGMA & PERSONAL CONCLUSION
CONCEPTIONS DISCRIMINATION STORIES & CASE
STUDY
AIDS which stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is a
viral disease that is rampant in growth. It was only in the last
AIDS century that this viral disease has proved to be lethal and fatal,
taking away about twenty million lives globally. The awareness
about the disease and the virus causing it which is HIV or Human
Immunodeficiency Virus is more now compared to earlier.
Since it affects the immune system severely, the cells and the workings of it
in our body must be clearly understood. The immune system’s role in the
body is that of a soldier wherein it identifies any sort of anomalies that enters
or infiltrates the body and prepares antibodies against it. And kills them in
order to prevent infection that has the probability of causing a harmful
disease. Since the cells of the immune system have already created the
antibodies, the cell memory is activated when the entry occurs again and the
immune system fights and destroys such foreign and harmful matter.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HIV
ENTERS THE BODY?
When a person is infected with the Human
immunodeficiency virus, it directly attacks the immune
system making the cells weak and incapable of creating
antibodies for this particular virus. As they become weak
their function to perform the task of defending against
other microorganism entrants is also weakened.
When the fighter in our bodies becomes weak, we are
more likely to fall ill. The illness can be a simple flu or
an allergy and our body cannot fight any further. The
symptoms once infected will start to appear within the
first two weeks. The symptoms are very flu-like for
instance, one will be more tired than usual and fatigue
will be more frequent and regular.
SYMPTOMS OF HIV / AIDS
1. Thrush (a thick, white coating on your tongue or
mouth)
2. Sore throat
3. Bad yeast infections
4. Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease
5. Getting bad infections a lot
6. Feeling really tired, dizzy, and lightheaded
7. Headaches
8. Losing lots of weight quickly
9. Bruising more easily than normal
10. Having diarrhea, fevers, or night sweats for a long
time
11. Swollen or firm glands in your throat, armpit, or groin
12. Deep, dry coughing spells
13. Feeling short of breath
14. Purplish growths on your skin or inside your mouth
15. Bleeding from the mouth, nose, anus, or vagina
16. Skin rashes
17. Feeling very numb in your hands or feet, losing
control of your muscles and reflexes, not being able
to move, and losing strength in your muscle
TREATMENT &
MANAGEMENT OF AIDS / HIV
There's no cure for HIV/AIDS. Once you have the infection, your body can't get rid of it. But there are
medicines that can control HIV and prevent complications.
Everyone diagnosed with HIV should take antiretroviral therapy medicines, also called ART. This is true no matter what
stage the disease is in or what the complications are.
ART is usually a mix of two or more medicines from several classes. This approach has the best chance of lowering
the amount of HIV in the blood. There are many ART options that mix more than one HIV medicine into a single pill,
taken once daily.
Staying on ART that keeps your HIV viral load in the blood from being detected is the best way for you to stay healthy.
For ART to work, you must take the medicines as prescribed. Don't miss or skip doses. Staying on ART with an
undetectable viral load helps:
Keep your immune system strong.
Lower your chances of getting an infection.
Lower your chances of getting treatment-resistant HIV.
Lower your chances of giving HIV to other people.
PREVENTION
STRATEGIES
Use latex condoms (rubbers) whenever you
have any type of sex (vaginal, anal or oral).
Don't use condoms made from animal
products (like lambskin).
Use water-based lubricants (lotion).
Never share needles to take drugs.
Get tested and treated for other STIs. Other
STIs can put you at higher risk for an HIV
infection.
Avoid getting drunk or high. Intoxicated
people might be less likely to protect
themselves.
If you are at high risk of HIV exposure, ask
your healthcare provider if you should be
taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
If you think you’ve been exposed to HIV,
contact your healthcare provider as soon as
possible to see if you should take post-
exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
Consider getting tested to know if you can
pass HIV to others.
MYTHS’S &
MISCONCEPTIONS
You can tell that someone is living
with HIV by looking at them
HIV only affects certain sexual
orientations
If you’re on PrEP, you don’t need to
use condoms
HIV affects childbirth and fertility
If both partners are HIV-positive,
there’s no need for condoms
HIV medications can cure HIV
You can get HIV from sharing cups
and utensils with someone who is
living with the virus
Having HIV means your life is over
STIGMA AND
DISCRIMINATION
HIV stigma is negative attitudes and beliefs about people with HIV. It can lead to discrimination
and affect the health and wellbeing of people with HIV. HIV stigma can also discourage people
from getting tested, sharing their status, and accessing HIV services.
Examples of HIV stigma include:
Believing only certain groups of people get HIV
Judging people who take steps to prevent getting HIV
Feeling people deserve to get HIV because of their choice
While stigma refers to an attitude or belief, discrimination is the behaviors that result from those
attitudes or beliefs. HIV discrimination is treating people with HIV differently than those without
HIV.
Examples of HIV discrimination include:
Refusing to provide health care services to a person with HIV
Refusing casual contact with someone with HIV
Isolating a member of a community because they have HIV
Asking if someone is "clean" or calling them "dirty" if they have HIV
Assuming someone has HIV because of their identity or behaviors
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY OF A PATIENT WITH HIV-AIDS
AND VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS CO-INFECTION
IN MULTIPLE EPISODES
Report of a 45-year-old male farmer, a resident in the forest zone of Pernambuco, who was
diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1999 and treated using antiretroviral
(ARV) drugs.
In 2005, the first episode of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), as assessed by parasitological diagnosis of
bone marrow aspirate, was recorded. When admitted to the hospital, the patient presented fever,
hepatosplenomegaly, weight loss, and diarrhea.
Since then, six additional episodes of VL occurred, with a frequency rate of one per year (2005-
2012, except in 2008). In 2011, the patient presented a disseminated skin lesion caused by the
amastigotes of Leishmania, as identified by histopathological assessment of skin biopsy samples.
In 2005, he was treated with N-methyl-glucamine-antimony and amphotericin B
deoxycholate. However, since 2006 because of a reported toxicity, the drug of choice
was liposomal amphotericin B.
CONCLUSION
According to the estimates of the Indian government 2.40 million Indians are living with
HIV wherein, the infected ones fall in the age group of 15-49, and 39 %of them that is
9,30,00 of them are women. The numbers are alarming and the rate of increase is not
slowing down anytime soon. We as a country must break the traditions and
conversations about sex should be open and safe. It is high time we lose our lives to
this disease which can be prevented.
