AIDS and HIV Opportunistic Infections

The tragic news is that if you have been infected with the HIV, you may not show any signs or symptoms of that infection for some time. While you might feel as if you have the flu or just a bad cold, most people simply brush those feelings off. Even those who frequently fight a fever or sore throat or even swollen glands typically feel like it is “just a little bug”…you certainly don’t go right away and think, oh, wow, I might have AIDS. The virus can lie quietly in your body for some time, all the while eating away at your immune system. It is this stealthy little menace that is killing millions, even decades after it was first recognized. Read more

Opportunistic Infections And The AIDS Patient

The tragic news is that if you have been infected with the HIV, you may not show any signs or symptoms of that infection for some time.

While you might feel as if you have the flu or just a bad cold, most people simply brush those feelings off.  Even those who frequently fight a fever or sore throat or even swollen glands typically feel like it is “just a little bug”… you certainly don’t go right away and think, oh, wow, I might have AIDS.

The virus can lie quietly in your body for some time, all the while eating away at your immune system.  It is this stealthy little menace that is killing millions, even decades after it was first recognized.

One of the hallmarks of the battle fought daily by those suffering with this disease is the battle again opportunistic infections.  These infections appear because the immune system begins to weaken and can no longer adequately fight off even the weakest of infection invaders.  When you are living with AIDS, bacteria that do not normally cause any problems can become a health nightmare for you since you have minimal reserves left with which to fight.  Opportunistic infections can be found in the esophagus, lungs, spinal cord or brain and the retinas of the eyes.

As the infection continues to secure a strangle hold on the body, the immune system continues to be damaged and even the most simple of infections take on a life of their own.  Patients get sick more often and when they are sick they are really sick.  The possibility of life threatening diseases such as cancer always looms around the next corner.  Every single episode of illness makes the immune system weaker and weaker until it is no longer able to fight off the most simple of germs.

One of the challenges of recognizing and battling an opportunistic infection is that its symptoms frequently look like many other things.  For example, an upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps sound an awful lot like the flu.  Exhaustion, a lack of energy, pain when you swallow and a fever, well that sounds a bit like a cold.  .  Yes, either of these could indeed be the flu or even just a simple cold, but if you have or are even at risk for HIV or AIDS, then you are stupid if you ignore these symptoms.  See your physician to make certain these symptoms are not an early indication of an opportunistic infection taking hold of your immune system.

For patients already living with the disease, all precautions must be taken in order to prevent even the most minor of infection.  Carrying and using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a must.  Using it frequently throughout the day is a no-brainer.  Kitchen precautions include cooking all your meat thoroughly, sanitizing counter tops and avoiding eating any raw meat or fish.

In order to fight this body ravaging disease, there are a multitude of daily medications that must be taken.  While many advances have been made in the treatment of AIDS, many of the medications have horrific side effects which can leave a patient with such a pitiful quality of life that it begs the question of is the medication worth the side effect?  Another of the challenges with the medications is that the AIDS virus has gotten smarter Treatment guidelines now recommend a delay in starting drug therapy in HIV and AIDS patients if they are not showing signs of the disease.  Researchers have discovered that starting the drugs too early may cause serious results.  It may make the disease drug-resistant sooner and could limit future treatment choices.  If the patient has high levels of the HIV virus in their blood, treatment should be started immediately.

Treatment of the AIDS epidemic as well as the opportunistic infections that ride side-saddle with this disease, requires a team of experts well versed in the current treatment options and protocols for management.