HIV: CAUSES and SYMPTOMS

HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a type of disease that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a condition that kills the immune system of a human gradually due to the virus capability to replicate. Up to now, AIDS is one of the serious diseases that World Health Organization is trying to find solutions. For more than decades, AIDS is still part of many severe human illnesses that undergoes scientific investigations. Many medications and treatments have come out to the market but, none of these believed that can exterminate the bad viruses totally.

This life-threatening illness can be acquired from different forms. From different resources, here are the following possible causes of the said infection:

• Unsafe sexual intercourse (vaginal or anal). Common to people with multiple sexual partners or people who exercise casual sex (casual hookups).

• Oral Sex (risk is relative low). The risk may increase if the person giving the blow job has any cuts or scrapes in his or her mouth.

• Transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid or breast milk.

• Sharing of infected needles used for drugs, tattoos and body piercings.

• From HIV infected mother to her child during pregnancy or child birth.

What are the symptoms?

Early Stage Symptoms

• Flu-Like Feeling (for 1-2 weeks: rash on the arms, legs, face, or belly, sore throat, swollen lymph glands, mouth or genital ulcers, bad headaches, muscle aches and joint pain, nausea and, vomiting, night sweats).

Late Stage Symptoms

• Sick (swollen lymph glands, unusual lesions on the tongue; skin rashes and bumps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, cough and shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, fever, chills, and night sweats, rapid weight loss, blurred or distorted vision, other symptoms of infection or disease).

These symptoms can be associated to other illnesses and the only way to know if you are infected with HIV is to get tested. People who are sexually active have high risks to HIV. Thus, today is a wake-up call for them to take the test and take control to avoid the spreading of deadly virus. More so, always remember that prevention is better than cure. Practice safe and clean as always.