HIV: stages of the disease

No one is safe from diseases, everyone can become infected with some kind of ailment, for example, HIV infection. Today, everyone knows about this very well-known disease, for which there is simply no medicine to treat. Today we’ll talk about this disease, find out the stages of HIV infection, symptoms and much more related to the human immunodeficiency virus.

What is HIV?

Today, this abbreviation is called 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 combination of several signs of a specific disease. Immunodeficiency is a serious damage to the body’s immune system, which is why a person’s immunity simply cannot 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 that fight various pathogens in the body (antigens).

When viruses or bacteria enter the human body, the so-called immune response is activated, the main role in which is played by specific blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are able to recognize different pathogens, as well as block their effect on the body, after which they simply destroy the viruses. Blood cells contribute to enhanced antibody production.

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

What is HIV?

HIV is a special group of so-called retroviruses, which are also called lentiviruses (some professionals call these viruses slow, since the destructive effect on the body is far from instant). The word "slow" indicates that the first symptoms of the disease can appear only after ten years. It is important to note that half of the carriers of HIV disease know that they are infected only 10 years after infection.

Immediately after HIV infection somehow enters the bloodstream of a healthy person, it attaches very slowly to the blood cells of the body, which are responsible for the immune system. Experts attribute this to the fact that on the surface of such cells are special molecules called CD 4.

Some time after that, directly inside these small cells, a slow multiplication of HIV infection begins to occur. Then the infection spreads itself throughout the entire human body, and only after that an immune response occurs. Various lymph nodes, which contain a large number of cells of the immune system, receive the very first blow.

HIV development

Over a long period of development of the disease, the body simply cannot respond to HIV infection. This is explained only by the fact that the immune cells of the body are badly damaged, because of which they cannot fully perform their functions. The result of the fact that the HIV stage is varied and very complex, most often characterized by sharp variability, it is believed that the immune cells are not able to detect the virus, so that it can calmly destroy the host organism.

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 occurs - AIDS, which we will talk about today.

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

HIV transmission options

As you know, HIV is a terrible infection, which is not so difficult to catch. Yes, HIV is not transmitted by airborne droplets, such as, for example, a very common infectious disease - hepatitis A. Now we will talk in detail about how you can get infected with HIV.

Sexual intercourse: protect yourself if you are not sure!

The most common way to transmit HIV is through sex. A man’s sperm contains a sufficient amount of infection, because the virus, according to experts, accumulates in the sperm, which, once in the girl’s vagina, begin to spread in her body.

It is also worth noting that an even greater number of HIV-infected cells are located in semen at a time when a man has some kind of inflammatory disease, 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 the infection.

In addition, it becomes much easier to become HIV-infected if your partner has any other infectious diseases that are likely to be transmitted to you along with HIV, which you might not even know about. HIV can be found both in the penis of a man and in the girl’s vagina and even the uterus.

It's important to know! In anal sex, the likelihood that HIV infection in the semen enters the body through the rectum increases greatly. Even more, during anal intercourse, the risk of causing some kind of injury to the rectum of the girl, in other words, direct contact with blood, increases incredibly.

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

Blood transfusion

It turns out that the world famous procedure of blood transfusion of one person to another can also cause infection with a terrible infectious disease, which is known in the world as HIV infection.

Few people know that in some blood components an infection can easily hide. If blood infected with HIV was transfused to a completely healthy person, infection will occur in approximately 90-99%.

The risk of infection disappears with the introduction of improved immunoglobulin, as well as its various special “assistants,” which you can learn more about from your doctor.

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

It is important to know that if the donor became infected recently and a variety of antibodies have not yet formed in his body, most likely, the person who will receive blood transfusion will also become infected.

Since we are talking about blood, it is worth noting another common way of infection. Addicts always use old and used syringes, so most of these people are already carriers.

How does HIV develop? Symptoms in the early stages: fever, poor mood, poor performance, etc.

Mother is a child

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

In European countries, the percentage probability that a child will get HIV is 13%, while in Africa, for example, it exceeds 45%. The magnitude of such a risk directly depends on the level at which the woman’s medicine is located in a given country / state at the time of pregnancy. Moreover, doctors convince girls who are HIV-positive not to breastfeed, as there is a decent chance that the baby may become HIV-infected by breastfeeding. Experts have proven that in the mother’s breast milk there are molecules that can transmit the infection to the baby.

Hospital infection

Often there are situations when medical staff become infected from patients, or vice versa. The probability is 0.3%, and only if there is sexual contact between them or an accidental cut.

Of course, this can still happen, however, this is very rare.

So we talked about ways to transmit such a serious disease. A little later we will talk about the acute stage of HIV infection. Incidentally, this form of HIV is not the most difficult, but it is still a serious disease that cannot be cured.

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

HIV incubation period

This is the time during which the very first clinical manifestations of HIV infection occur. The incubation period is the time from the moment of initial infection until the first signs that you have become 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 be determined by special testing, 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 Infection

As experience shows, this stage most often passes without any symptoms, but it is still worth noting situations when an HIV-infected patient begins 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. This stage of HIV has its own symptoms, as you can see, they are listed a little higher. The disease is incurable, but it is 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, consult a professional immediately.

Latent stage of the disease

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, an average of 6-7 years. However, there have been cases when this period lasted more than 20 years! Symptoms of HIV in the early stages, photos of which, to put it mildly, are sometimes even scary, 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 tired, has a high temperature and sweats a lot. In such a period, you just need to run to the doctor who will try to help. The last stages of HIV, the photos of which you must have seen, are scary, because a 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 able to protect the body reaches zero. The immune system almost dies, a person becomes defenseless, any virus (even the weakest) can infect it. The body slowly dies, some organs cease to function. At this stage, a person can simply run down and never again stand 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.

Contact your doctor if you have HIV at an early stage, otherwise it may be too late.

Try to visit doctors more often so you don’t know after ten years that you once became infected with HIV!