HIV: stages of the disease

From diseases, no one is immune, everyone can become infected with some kind of ailment, for example, HIV infection. Today, everyone knows about this very famous disease, there is simply no medicine for treatment. Today we will talk about this disease, find out the stage of HIV infection, symptoms and many other things related to the human immunodeficiency virus.

What is HIV?

To date, this abbreviation is a virus, which is the strongest causative agent of an infectious disease. The disease has more than one stage of development.

HIV stages are different, but the most recent form of the disease among them is AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). A syndrome is a collection of several symptoms of a certain disease. Immunodeficiency is a serious defeat of the body's immune system, because of which human immunity simply can not resist most infections.

Immunity

Now let's talk about immunity. Immunity is a special function of our body that protects a person from infections transmitted by a variety of ways and means. The immune system constantly produces special molecules - antibodies, which fight with various pathogens of diseases in the body (antigens).

When a virus or bacteria enters the human body, the so-called immune response is activated, the main role of which is played by specific blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are able to recognize different pathogens, and also block their action on the body, after which they simply destroy viruses. Blood cells contribute to increased production of antibodies.

Do not forget, a little later we will talk in detail about what the stages of HIV infection are!

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, as the destructive effect on the body is far from instant). The word "slow" indicates that the first symptoms of the disease can only appear after ten years. It is important to note that half of the carriers of HIV disease learn that they are infected, only 10 years after infection.

Immediately after HIV infection somehow gets into the blood of a healthy person, it is very slowly attached to the blood cells of the body, which are responsible for the immune system. Experts explain this by the fact that on the surface of such cells are special molecules, which are called CD 4.

Some time after this, a slow multiplication of HIV infection begins to occur right inside these small cells. Then the infection itself is distributed throughout the human body, and only after this occurs an immune response. The very first impact is given to various lymph nodes, which contain a large number of cells of the immune system.

HIV development

For a long period of the disease, the body simply can not respond to HIV infection. This is explained only by the fact that the immune cells of the body are badly damaged, because of what they can not fully perform their functions. The result of the fact that the HIV stage has various and very complex, most often characterized by a sharp variability, it is believed that the cells of immunity can not cornyly detect a virus, so that it can safely destroy the body of the carrier.

HIV continues to progress: the disease affects a huge number of lymphocytes of immune cells, due to which their number decreases. When their number becomes critical, the last of all HIV-stages - AIDS, comes, which we'll talk about today.

HIV stages in women and men are very different. The very first stage of HIV is the incubation period, and the latest is a terrible infectious disease, which everyone has probably heard about, AIDS.

Methods of transmission of HIV infection

As you understand, HIV is a terrible infection, it is not so difficult to pick up. Yes, HIV is not transmitted by airborne droplets, as, for example, a very common infectious disease - hepatitis A. Now we will talk in detail about how you can become infected with HIV.

Sexual intercourse: protect yourself, if not sure!

The most common way to transmit HIV disease is precisely sex. In the sperm of a man there is a sufficient amount of infection, because the virus, according to experts, accumulates in spermatozoa, which, having got into 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 inflammatory diseases, 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 an infection.

In addition, becoming a carrier of HIV is much easier if your partner has some other infectious diseases, which, apparently, will also be transmitted to you along with HIV, which you can not even guess. HIV can be found both in the penis of a man, and in the vagina and even the uterus of a girl.

It is important to know! In anal sex, the likelihood that HIV infection in the sperm will enter the body through the rectum will increase very much. Even more so, during anal intercourse improves the risk of causing some kind of injury to the girl's rectum, in other words, direct contact with blood.

Do not forget, today you will also learn about what is the acute stage of HIV and much more!

Blood transfusion

The world-famous procedure of transfusion of one person's blood to another, it turns out, can also lead to infection with a terrible infectious disease, which is known in the world as HIV infection.

Few people know that in some components of the blood can easily hide the infection. If the blood contaminated with HIV has been transfused to a perfectly healthy person, the infection will occur in about 90-99%.

The risk of infection disappears with the introduction of an improved immunoglobulin, as well as a variety of special "helpers", more about which you can find out from your doctor.

Not so long ago in our country a special procedure was introduced for those who want to be a donor - the delivery of an analysis for the detection of HIV infection. Thanks to this introduction, the risk of getting the disease in this way has been significantly reduced.

It is important to know that in the event that a donor has recently contracted infection and a variety of antibodies have not yet formed in his body, most likely the person to whom the blood is transfused will also become infected.

Since it's about blood, it's worth mentioning another common way of getting infected with the infection. Drug users always use old and used syringes, so most such people are already carriers.

How does HIV develop? Symptoms in the early stages: fever, bad mood, poor performance and so on.

Mother - child

Often, HIV is transmitted from mother to child. As you understand, this common disease in our world has a unique ability to penetrate a special placenta in the body of a girl wearing a baby. Because of this ability, infection of the child can occur either during childbirth or during pregnancy (bearing the child).

In European countries, the percentage probability that a child will be transmitted HIV, is 13%, but in Africa, for example, exceeds 45%. The magnitude of this risk directly depends on the level at which the medicine of a particular country / state is at the time of the woman's pregnancy. Moreover, doctors convince girls who are carriers of HIV not to breast-feed, as there is a decent probability that a child can become HIV-infected with breastfeeding. Specialists have proved that the mother's breast milk contains molecules that can transmit the infection to the baby.

Infection in the hospital

Often there are situations when the medical staff becomes infected from patients, or vice versa. Probability is 0.3%, and only if there is sexual intercourse between them or an accidental cut.

Of course, such a thing can happen, but this is very rare.

So we talked about the ways of transferring such a serious disease. A little later we will talk about the acute stage of HIV infection. By the way, this form of HIV is not the most difficult, however it is still a serious disease that can not be cured.

And now we will talk about the stages of HIV and their symptoms.

The incubation period of HIV

This is the time during which the very first clinical manifestations of HIV infection occur. The incubation period is the time from the time of the initial infection and until the first signs of getting infected. The duration of this period varies from 14 days to six months or more. When the virus is at this stage, it can easily identify a special test, but the main problem is that a person could already have time to infect other people. The next HIV-stages will be much more serious, and we will talk about them!

Acute infectious period of HIV

Experience shows that this stage usually passes without any symptoms, but nevertheless it is worth noting the situation when an HIV-infected patient begins an ordinary fever, stomatitis, a sharp increase in lymph nodes or spleen, pharyngitis, diarrhea, or encephalitis. This can last as long as 2-3 days, and 1-2 months. At this stage of the HIV symptoms, as you can see, their own, they are listed a little higher. The disease is incurable, but it's best to visit a doctor! You should 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, immediately consult a professional.

Latent stage of the disease development

At this stage, the 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 the 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, sometimes even scare, are indicated a little higher.

Secondary 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 completely surrendered and is no longer able to protect the body from a variety of viruses. The patient feels fatigue, has a high fever and sweats heavily. In this period, you just need to run to a doctor who will try to help. The last stages of HIV, the photos of which you probably saw, frighten, because the person is already on the verge of life and death.

AIDS is considered the last stage of infection. During this period, the number of cells that are still capable of protecting the body reaches zero. The immune system practically dies, the person becomes defenseless, it can be hit by any virus (even the weakest). The body is slowly dying, some organs stop functioning. At this stage, a person can simply be stuck and never again rise up in life. There may also be very real problems with breathing and the brain. Over time, a person dies. This stage lasts from 1 year to 3 years.

Talk to the doctor if you have HIV, at an early stage, otherwise it may be too late.

Try to visit doctors more often, not to know in ten years that you once contracted HIV infection!