Question

HIV

1. What is the difference between HIV and AIDS? 2. How do you know if someone has AIDS? 3. What are the drugs used for HIV? Discussion should include side effects and Teaching 4. IS there a HIV prevention medication? If so what is it?

Answer 1

1) HIV stands for 'human immunodeficiency virus'. in other words,it is a virus that infects human being and leads to problems with their immune system.The immune system is the body's system for fighting desease.It is made up of a variety of specialized cells and protiens, such as antibodies. as a whole, the immune system works together to fight bacteria, viruses, and other agents that cause disease.

AIDS stands for 'acquired immune deficiency syndrome'. the diagnosis of AIDS is a way of describing a whole group of symptoms and diseases associated with the damage HIV does to the immune system . if an untreated HIV infection progresses, there is ongoing damage to immune defense cells. as this happens , the body becomes increasingly less able to fight off infections. when the immune system is made less effective in this way, a person is considered to have an acquired immune deficiency. that's the origin of the term AIDS.

deffence of HIV and AIDS is , HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. and people with HIV do not always have AIDS. HIV virus may leads to AIDS.

2)it is not possible to know if someone has HIV/AIDS by looking at him or her, in fact , HIV often presents no physical symptoms. A person who is infected with HIV may thus not know that he or she has been infected. at the point of HIV infection, a person may present with symptoms within a few weeks of infection.  

HIV infection happens in three stages. without treatment , it gets worse over time and eventually overpowers immune system . immune system will depend on stage of disease.

first stage most people don't know right away when they have been infected with HIV. but they may have symptoms within 2 to 6 weeks after they have gotten the virus. this is when their bodey's immune system puts up a fight. it's called acute retroviral syndrome or primary HIV infection. the symptoms are similar to those of other viral illnesses, and they are often compared to the flu. they typically lasts a week or two and then go away. early signs of HIV include ; headache, fatigue, aching muscles, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, fever, red rash usually on torso etc...

second stage ; after the immune system loses the battle with HIV, the flu-like symptoms will go away. but there is lot going on inside body, doctors call this the asymtomaticperiod or chronic HIV infection, most people don't have symptoms they can see or feel. they may not realize that they are infected and can pass HIV on to others.

third stage; AIDS is the advanced stage HIV Infection, if the patient didn't know earlier that they where infected with HIV, they may realize it after they have some of these symptoms; being tired all the time, swollen lymph nodes in their neck or groin, fever that lasts more than 10 days, night sweats, weights loss with no obvious reason, purplish spots on skin, shortness of breath, severe diarrhea, yeast infection in mouth, throat, etc..

3)ANTIRETROVIRAL therapy treats HIV by suppressing the virus activity in the body, for most people who take them, these medications are very effective at keeping HIV under control. treatment help to improve quality of life, and it can ensure that a person with HIV has a similar life expectancy to a person without the virus.

types of antiretroviral drugs are; NUCLEOSIDE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE INHIBITORS (NRTIs) that block the action of an enzyme called viral reverse transcriptase, which is necessary for HIV to replicate,

NON-NUCLEOSIDE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE INHIBITORS(NNRTIs) it is work similarly to NRTIs. the only defference is that they act on different sites of the enzyme.

PROTEASE INHIBITORS(PIs)it is impede another viral enzyme, HIV Protease. HIV requires protease to replicate.

ENTRY INHIBITORS; as the name suggests , these drugs prevent the virus from entering the targeted cells. to penetrate immune cells, HIV must fuse to the cells, receptors , and these drugs work to stop this from happening.

INTEGRASE INHIBITORS; HIV uses a protien called integrase to send its genetic material into the cells that it targets. integrase inhibitors block this action.

side effects- antiretroviral drugs can have adverse effects.most are simple to manage , and newer drugs tend to cause fewer of these reactions. potential side effects vary, depending on the type of medications a persons uses. potential short-term side effects of antiretroviral therapy can include; diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting etc..

long term side effects may include- depression, diabetes, heart disease, insomnia, kidney damage, liver damage, nerve damage, weak bones, etc...

4)Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is a way for people who do not have HIV but who are at very high risk of getting HIV to prevent HIV infection by taking a pill everyday . the pill (brand name Truvada ) contains two medicines(tenofovir and emtricitabine)that are used in combination with other medicines to treat HIV.