ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV/AIDS weakens a person's ability to fight infections. It is contracted through unprotected sex or needle sharing. An HIV test confirms diagnosis. Medications may suppress the virus and delay the onset of AIDS. There were approximately 36.7 million people living with HIV at the end of 2015.

The Symptoms of HIV/AIDS

The First Stage:

HIV infection comes in three stages. The first stage is called acute infection or seroconversion, and it typically happens within 2 to 6 weeks after exposure or becoming infected. This is when the body's immune system puts up a fight against HIV. The symptoms of acute infection look similar to those of other viral illnesses and are often compared to those of the flu. The symptoms may last a week or two and then completely go away as the virus goes into a non-symptomatic stage.

The initial symptoms of acute HIV infection may include:

• Headache
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue
• Aching muscles
• Sore throat
• Red rash that doesn't itch, usually on the torso.
• Fever

You may be tested for HIV using highly sensitive tests that detect both HIV antigen, a protein produced by the virus immediately after infection, and HIV antibodies. This test can confirm a diagnosis within days of infection. (Regular HIV test don't work this soon after infection; they can only detect antibodies.) You may be given anti-HIV drugs to take for a prescribed period of time. There may be unpleasant side effects to these drugs, but they may stop HIV from infecting you. Most people don't know they've been infected with HIV, but weeks later they may experience the symptoms of seroconversion. These symptoms mean the body is trying to fight HIV.
The Second Stage:
The Period without Symptoms of HIV 
 After the first seroconversion period, the immune system loses the battle with HIV and symptoms go away. HIV infection goes into its second stage, which can be a long period without symptoms, called the asymptomatic (or latent ) period. This is when people may not know they are infected and can pass HIV on to others. This period can last 10 or more years.
During this period without symptoms, HIV is slowly killing the CD4 T-cells and destroying the immune system. Blood tests during this time can reveal the number of these CD4 T-cells. Normally, a person has a CD4 T-cell count between 450 and 1,400 cells per microliter. This number changes constantly, depending on a person's state of health. For an HIV-infected person, the number of CD4 T-cells steadily drops, making them vulnerable to other infections -- and in danger of developing AIDS.

The Third Stage:

• HIV Infection and AIDS
• AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the advanced stage of HIV infection. When the CD4 T-cell number drops below 200, people are diagnosed with AIDS. Someone infected with HIV can also be diagnosed with AIDS if they have an “AIDS defining illness” such as Kaposi’s sarcoma (a form of skin cancer) or pneumonia (a lung disease).
• Fortunately, combination medications used to treat HIV -- a ''cocktail'' – can help rebuild the immune system. These drugs can be expensive and pose challenges with side effects, but it is critical to not stop taking them without talking to your doctor. It is also important not to take part of the medications without taking the others. People with low CD4 T-cells may also receive drugs to prevent infections. These preventative medications should be taken until the CD4 count has improved.

Some people don't know they were infected with HIV, and only discover their HIV infection after experiencing some of these HIV-related symptoms:

• Being tired all of the time
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck region
• Fever lasting for more than 10 days
• Night sweats
• Unexplained weight loss
• Purplish spots on the skin that don't go away
• Shortness of breath
• Severe, long-lasting diarrhoea
• Yeast infections in the mouth, throat, or vagina
• Easy bruising or unexplained bleeding

Cure for HIV:

Perhaps the most important development has been the case of the Berlin Patient (Timothy Ray Brown), the first person to be cured of HIV, which was first reported in 2008. The case provided a proof of principle that a cure was possible. Up until that point, AIDS research was largely a process of discovery. Now, knowing the key scientific questions that need to be answered, we’re moving into a new phase of problem-solving research that is more of a technological challenge. One of the technique used to increase the life span of HIV patients is Antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Antiretroviral therapy (ART):

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the combination of several antiretroviral medicines used to slow the rate at which HIV makes copies of itself (multiplies) in the body. A combination of three or more antiretroviral medicines is more effective than using just one medicine (monotherapy) to treat HIV.

The use of three or more antiretroviral medicines-sometimes referred to as an anti-HIV "cocktail"-is currently the standard treatment for HIV infection. So far, this treatment offers the best chance of preventing HIV from multiplying, which allows your immune system to stay healthy. The goal of antiretroviral therapy is to reduce the amount of virus in your body (viral load) to a level that can no longer be detected with current blood tests.

Antiretroviral medicines that are often used to treat HIV include:

• Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, also called nucleoside analogs, such as abacavir,emtricitabine ,  and tenofovir. These medicines are often combined for best results.
• Nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), such as efavirenz, etravirine, and nevirapine.
• Protease inhibitors (PIs), such as atazanavir,darunavir , and ritonavir.
• Entry inhibitors, such as enfuvirtide and maraviroc.
• Integrase inhibitors, such as dolutegravir and raltegravir.

Some medicines are available combined together in one pill. This reduces the number of pills to be taken each day.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health recommends using one of the following programs for people who begin treatment for HIV

• Efavirenz + tenofovir + emtricitabine
• Ritonavir-boosted atazanavir + tenofovir + emtricitabine
• Ritonavir-boosted darunavir + tenofovir + emtricitabine
• Raltegravir + tenofovir + emtricitabine

Other drug combinations are approved and may be used in some cases.

Also, studies have shown that if you are not infected with HIV, taking antiretroviral medicines can protect you against HIV. But to keep your risk low, you still need to use safer sex practices.