The AIDS test is one of the most important tests that are requested when a person travels from one country to another. This disease causes panic as soon as you hear its name. Have you ever had an AIDS test before? Do you know how this disease is transmitted? Do you know its symptoms and how it is treated?

As usual, Madam, and because we care that you are knowledgeable about all the important and scientific topics that can affect women’s health. In this article, we will discuss a detailed explanation of AIDS, its symptoms, and the treatment method.

An Overview of AIDS

It is a disease that destroys the body's natural protection system against other diseases, and the term AIDS is an abbreviation for the phrase "acquired immunodeficiency syndrome" in the English language. In other words, AIDS is given another name, which is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and is caused by a virus called the human immunodeficiency virus. This virus attacks the human immune system.

Unfortunately, to this day there is no effective treatment, and once a person is infected with HIV, he will remain infected with AIDS throughout his life. However, if the patient is given appropriate medical care, HIV can be controlled, and patients with AIDS who receive effective treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners from infection.

The Virus That Cause AIDS

It is called "the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)", and it is a retrovirus.

How is AIDS Transmitted?

Be careful, butterfly. HIV is a serious infection that is transmitted by:

• Sexual intercourse.
• It may be transmitted through exposure to infected blood.
• Injecting drug use or sharing syringes.
• It may be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

AIDS Symptoms

AIDS symptoms vary depending on the stage of infection:

Primary infection

The majority of people who become infected with the AIDS virus experience a flu-like illness within two or four weeks of the virus entering the body. This illness, known as acute HIV infection, can last a few more weeks. Possible signs and symptoms are:

• Hyperthermia
• Headache
• Muscle and joint pain
• Skin rash
• Sore throat
• Painful ulcers in the mouth
• Swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Cough
• Night sweats.

These symptoms can be very minor and unnoticed. However, the amount of virus in the bloodstream, or what is called the viral load, is at its highest at the same time. Because of this, the infection spreads more easily during the initial stage than during the next stage.

Latent clinical infection

The AIDS virus remains in the body and invades white blood cells at this stage of the disease. However, some patients may not feel any symptoms or infections during this period of the disease.

The virus can remain dormant for many years if antiretroviral therapy (ART) is received early, while others develop more severe diseases much earlier than this, which varies from person to person and depending on when treatment is started.

Occasional infection

As the virus continues to multiply and attack and destroy the body's immune cells, cells in the body that help fight germs can develop minor infections or chronic signs and symptoms such as:

• Hyperthermia
• Feeling exhausted
• Enlarged lymph nodes, often one of the first signs of HIV infection
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Oral thrush, also known as oral yeast infection
• Lung infection
• Herpes zoster

The infection worsens and leads to AIDS

As a result of the availability of more advanced and sophisticated treatments that have an antiviral effect, death rates from AIDS have decreased significantly throughout the world, even in poor countries, and because of these life-saving treatments, the rates of HIV infection in the United States today have also decreased.

HIV turns into AIDS if it is not treated within a period of 8 or 10 years from the date of exposure to the virus. When infected with AIDS, the immune system suffers severe damage, and a patient with a healthy immune system becomes more susceptible to contracting diseases that he would not normally contract. These diseases are called opportunistic cancers or opportunistic infections.

Symptoms of some cases of infection at this stage are as follows:

• Sweating a lot
• Feeling goosebumps
• Frequent high fever
• Chronic diarrhea
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• The appearance of white spots or strange lesions on the tongue or inside the mouth
• Constant, unexplained fatigue and exhaustion
• General weakness
• Weight loss
• The appearance of a rash or blisters

Causes of Transmission of AIDS

As we talked about previously, a person becomes infected with AIDS due to a virus called HIV. This virus is spread through unprotected sexual intercourse, injecting illicit drugs, sharing needles with people infected with AIDS, coming into contact with blood infected with the disease, or using tools that were previously used before an HIV-infected person, such as a razor or toothbrush, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or due to breastfeeding.

Unprotected sexual intercourse

Practicing unprotected sexual intercourse through the vagina, anus, or mouth with an infected partner leads to infection with AIDS, as this leads to the entry of infected semen, blood, or vaginal secretions into the body, and from there the virus can enter the body through oral wounds or any small tear. It is found in the vagina or rectum during sexual intercourse.

Sharing contaminated injections

Sharing contaminated tools, such as razors or tools used to inject drugs, can make people more vulnerable to contracting HIV and other common diseases, such as hepatitis.

Transfusion

The AIDS virus can be transmitted when blood is transferred from an infected person to a healthy person, so blood arriving at hospitals and blood banks is tested to ensure that it is free of HIV.

This risk is rare in the United States and other developed countries, but the risk is greater in low-income countries that do not have the ability to screen donated blood.

During pregnancy, childbirth, or through breastfeeding

The AIDS virus can be transmitted from infected mothers to their children

The chances of transmitting the disease from an HIV-infected mother to her child can be greatly reduced by undergoing treatment during pregnancy.

Cases in Which AIDS is Not Transmitted

There are many cases in which HIV is not transmitted through normal contact, meaning that HIV will not be transmitted to you through air, water, insect bites, hugging, kissing, dancing with an infected person, or shaking hands with an infected person.

AIDS Complications 

As we talked about previously, AIDS attacks the immune system and destroys white blood cells, and this makes a person more susceptible to various types of infections as well as certain types of cancer. Among the complications that a person can develop are:

Toxoplasmosis

It is a fatal infection that humans contract due to Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that is widely spread by infected cats. The parasites spread in the feces of infected cats, which in turn are transmitted to other animals and humans.

Toxoplasmosis causes heart disease in humans and causes epileptic seizures if it reaches the brain.

Meningitis

It is an inflammation of the membranes and fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Cryptococcal meningitis is a widespread infection of the central nervous system caused by infection with the AIDS virus and is caused by a fungus found in the soil.

Cytomegalovirus

Called the common herpes virus, it is transmitted through bodily fluids, such as blood, urine, saliva, semen, and breast milk. A healthy immune system fights and inactivates the virus, and it remains hidden in the body.

If a person's immune system is weak, the virus will reappear again and can lead to severe damage to the eyes, lungs, digestive tract, or other organs of the body.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the most common opportunistic conditions when a person is infected with AIDS, and tuberculosis is one of the most common causes of death among people infected with AIDS around the world.

Deaths from AIDS-related tuberculosis are becoming less common in the United States due to the development of the use of anti-HIV drugs.

Candidiasis

Also known as thrush, it is a common infection linked to infection with the AIDS virus. This disease causes a thick white layer in the mouth and infections on the tongue, esophagus, or even the vagina.

Pneumonia

This fungal infection can become a serious condition, and pneumonia may subside significantly when the HIV is treated.

AIDS is the most common cause of pneumonia in people infected with HIV in the United States.

Types of cancer associated with the papillomavirus

These are types of cancer that may be the result of exposure to the human papillomavirus and include:

• Mouth cancer
• Anal cancer
• Cervical cancer

Lymphoma

It is a type of cancer that affects white cells, and the most common early indicator is painless swelling of the lymph nodes in the armpit, neck, or groin area.

The groin area is the area that combines the lower abdomen and upper thigh.

Kaposi's sarcoma

It is a cancer that takes the form of a tumor in the walls of blood vessels and pink, scarlet, or red lesions on the mouth and skin. Kaposi's sarcoma can also affect internal organs, such as the digestive tract and lungs.

The lesions may appear dark brown or black in people with dark skin.

Liver diseases

It is a serious complication that accompanies AIDS and is especially dangerous for people infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

Kidney disease

AIDS can be accompanied by nephropathy, which is an inflammation of the small renal filtrate, whose role is to remove waste from the blood and excess fluid and transfer it to the urine. It often affects people with dark skin.

Neurological complications

AIDS can be accompanied by neurological symptoms such as:

• Confusion
• Forgetting
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Difficulty walking.

Symptoms of the AIDS virus accompanied by neurocognitive disorders may vary, ranging from symptoms of poor mental function, minor behavioral changes, and severe forgetfulness, which leads to weakness and loss of the ability to perform daily life functions.

Emaciation

It is also called atrophy syndrome, and it occurs due to untreated AIDS, which causes weight loss and can be accompanied by diarrhea, high fever, and general weakness.

AIDS Prevention

Unfortunately, there is not yet a vaccine that prevents infection with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, but you can protect yourself and others from infection and limit the spread of this disease by following some simple steps:

Use a new condom every time you have sex

Your husband must use a new condom every time you have vaginal or anal sex. You can also use a female condom, and if you use a lubricant, make sure it has a water source; Because oil-based lubricants weaken condoms and cause them to tear.

Tell your husband if you are infected with HIV

It will be necessary to tell your current or former spouse or sexual partner that you are infected with AIDS so that they can undergo the necessary examinations and tests.

Use clean, new needles

If you use needles, even if they are to inject illicit drugs such as narcotics, you should use clean, new needles every time and not share them with anyone.

Consider getting help and counseling about using illicit drugs and how to stop addiction.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis to the cause of AIDS

Some oral antiviral medications can reduce the severity of sexually transmitted HIV in people at high risk, such as:

• Truvada which is emtricitabine with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
• Descovy which is emtricitabine with tenofovir alafenamide fumarate.
• Apretude cabotegravir which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, as it is the first drug taken in the form of injections for pre-exposure prophylaxis to the cause of AIDS. Cabotegravir injections are given by the doctor every two months.

Medications are prescribed by a doctor to prevent infection with HIV and are only useful if you are not already infected with AIDS. Therefore, you must undergo an AIDS virus detection test before starting to take pre-exposure prophylaxis medications for the cause of AIDS, knowing that you must: Repeat the test every three months if taking tablets or before each injection.

You should have a kidney function test before you take Truvada, and then repeat the test every 6 to 12 months, and you may have other tests periodically as well.

Taking anti-HIV treatment

If you suspect you were exposed to the AIDS virus through unclean needles, unprotected sex, or infection at work, contact your doctor immediately or go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital.

Undergoing post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV as soon as possible within the first two days may significantly reduce your risk of infection, and you must take the medication daily for 28 days.

Get immediate medical care if you are pregnant

As we talked about previously, HIV infection is transmitted from a pregnant mother to her child, but undergoing early treatment may reduce the chances of your child contracting AIDS.

Interest in performing male circumcision

Many studies conducted in the United States have proven that male circumcision may help reduce the chances of contracting HIV infection, and thus AIDS.

AIDS Diagnosis

A specialist doctor can diagnose HIV by analyzing saliva or blood, and several tests can be performed:

Antigen and antibody tests

Some blood is drawn from a vein and examined to determine whether antigens are present. If they are present, the test is positive, and therefore the virus is present.

HIV antigens: Substances found on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) itself that can often be detected. They give a positive test result in a person's blood after a few weeks of exposure to the HIV virus.

Antibody testing

When the virus enters the body, the body produces antibodies, which are what this test detects. It is performed on saliva or blood. It can be done by a doctor or done independently at home. The antibody test may take a period ranging between 3 and 12 weeks after you are exposed to it. for the AIDS virus until positive results appear.

DNA Test Nat

This test is concerned with the virus itself in your blood. A blood sample is drawn and the test is performed. It is the first test we do if we suspect AIDS.

Tests performed after confirming infection with AIDS

If infection with the AIDS virus is confirmed, several tests must be performed so that the doctor knows at what stage the disease has reached and so that he can prescribe appropriate medication for her. These tests include:

• Helper T cell testing
• Virus count in the blood
• Drug resistance

Test to ensure there are no complications

The doctor may ask you to perform some tests to ensure that you do not have complications associated with AIDS, as these complications pose a real danger if they are not treated:

• Toxoplasmosis
• Cytomegalo herpes virus
• Anal cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Urinary tract infection
• Kidney damage
• Liver damage
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Tuberculosis

AIDS Treatment

Unfortunately, there is still no antidote that completely cures AIDS. Once you become infected, your body will not be able to get rid of it, and it will accompany you for life. But do not lose hope, Madam. There are many medications to control HIV and prevent complications of AIDS.

These medications are called antiretroviral therapy, and they must be started as soon as a person is diagnosed with AIDS, regardless of the stage of infection or complications.

Antiretroviral therapy

It is a combination treatment of two or more medications belonging to several drug classes with different effects. To reduce the chances of the virus spreading within the organism, one tablet is taken daily.

Each group of medication blocks and inhibits the virus differently, and treatment also includes classes of different medications:

• Inhibition of the virus in the blood to the maximum degree
• Preventing the creation of new strains of the virus that are resistant to the drug
• Focus on the genotype of the AIDS virus

Usually, two medicines from one group are used, plus a third medicine from a second group. Classes of medicines that have an anti-HIV effect include:

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Malfunction of proteins that the AIDS virus needs to replicate, including:

• Efavirenz (Sustiva)
• Rilpivirine (Edurant)
• Doravirine (Pifeltro)

Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Disruption of the structural units that the AIDS virus needs to replicate, including:

• Abacavir (Ziagen)
• Tenofovir di Brussels fumarate (Viread)
• Emtricitabine (Emtriva)
• Lamivudine (Epivir)
• Zidovudine (Retrovir).
• Emtricitabine with tenofovir diproxil fumarate (this combination is called Truvada)
• Emtricitabine with tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (this combination is called Descovy).

Protease inhibitors

It is an enzyme that the human immunodeficiency virus needs to replicate, and medications that inhibit it include:

• Atazanavir (Reyataz)
• Darunavir (Prezista)
• Lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra)

Integrase inhibitors

The AIDS virus needs the integrase enzyme to be able to insert its genetic material into CD4 T cells. Drugs that inhibit this enzyme include:

• Bictegravir sodium with emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate. This combination is called (Biktarvy)
• raltegravir (Isentress)
• Dolo Tigravere (Tivicay)
• Cabotegravir (Vocabria).

Learning the basics of HIV can keep you healthy and prevent HIV transmission.

We hope you have a support system, as many people living with HIV find that talking to someone who understands their illness puts them at ease.

At the end of the article, we hope that you have benefited, learned, and quenched your curiosity about everything related to AIDS. We wish you health and safety always.

FAQ's about AIDS

When do symptoms of AIDS appear?

After a period ranging from two to four weeks

How many days does the AIDS cold last?

It lasts for a period ranging from two to six weeks

How long does AIDS diarrhea last?

It varies from person to person and may last for a few days, weeks, or months.

Does an AIDS patient gain weight?

No, on the contrary, the weight of an AIDS patient gradually decreases.

Does AIDS cause a change in the smell of an infected person?

both.

Written by: Haidy Soliman

Translated by: Ph. Marah Mohamad

Sources:

COLLINS

Who

CDC.com

Mayo clinic