Contents:
- Medical Video: Medical Animation: HIV and AIDS
- AIDS is a continuation of HIV infection
- What happens to the body after getting AIDS?
- AIDS reduces chances of survival
- The right treatment extends the age of PLWHA
- Don't forget to check with your doctor regularly
Medical Video: Medical Animation: HIV and AIDS
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This disease is a continuation of HIV infection. Since it was first discovered in Bali in 1987, the total number of HIV cases recorded in the Ministry of Health up to March 2017 was 242,699 while the total AIDS cases were 87,453 people. Come on, learn more about this disease so you know how to prevent and treat it right.
AIDS is a continuation of HIV infection
You can get AIDS if you already have HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) that attacks the immune system. Once you are infected with HIV, you will have it for life.
However, people who have the HIV virus may not realize that they have contracted it. Because, HIV infection can quietly eat away the body for 10 years or even more without any symptoms appearing.
When this infection is not detected and treated in the long term, the body's immune system will be damaged gradually so that it develops into AIDS.
Thus, it can be said that AIDS is a chronic disease that raises a group of symptoms associated with a decrease in endurance.
What happens to the body after getting AIDS?
AIDS starts from long-term HIV infection. HIV is a virus that attacks CD4 cells (T cells) in the specific immune system that fight infection.
This infection causes the CD4 cell count to drop dramatically so that your body's immune system is not strong enough to fight infection. As a result, the number of HIV viral loads can increase. When your viral load is high, that means your immune system has failed to work against HIV properly.
HIV sufferers can be said to have contracted AIDS when their CD4 cell counts dropped to less than 200 cells per 1 ml or 1 cc of blood, and were diagnosed with 4th-level HIV-related opportunistic infections such as shingles (snake pox or fire pox), Kaposi's sarcoma , non-Hodgkins lymphoma, tuberculosis, cancer, and / or pneumonia.
Common signs and symptoms of AIDS can include:
- Hard to breathe
- Tired all the time without obvious causes
- Fever lasts up to 10 days when contracting an infection
- Sweating a lot at night
- Recurrent fever
- Chronic diarrhea
- Easy bruising or unexplained bleeding
- Stubborn white spots or lesions on the tongue or in the mouth
- Unexplained drastic weight loss
- Skin rash or lump without cause
AIDS reduces chances of survival
An ODHA may not experience any symptoms for 10 years or more. But if you are not careful, AIDS can narrow down the chances of living with an sufferer.
Without treatment, people with HIV who have AIDS usually can survive for around 3 years. Once you have a dangerous opportunistic disease, the expectation of life without treatment drops to around 1 year.
On the other hand, not all people with HIV will automatically have AIDS later on. There are many people with HIV who manage their disease with proper treatment so they don't have the disease for the rest of their lives.
The right treatment extends the age of PLWHA
Thanks to advances in medical technology and HIV drugs, the life expectancy of an AIDS sufferer is now far better than before. HIV / AIDS is now no longer labeled a disease of death.
The trend of the death rate due to AIDS in Indonesia has generally been reported to tend to continue to decline, from 13.86% in 2004 to 1.08% in December 2017. This proves that the HIV / AIDS treatment efforts carried out so far have succeeded in reducing the risk of death from AIDS.
To achieve this target, every person with HIV is very stressed to get treatment as soon as possible and comply with it at all times. The combination of antiretroviral drugs, known as ART therapy, can help you build and strengthen the body's immune system by increasing CD4 cell production.
You will also be highly recommended to take these medicines despite experiencing uncomfortable side effects. Because the drugs also function to prevent opportunistic infections and reduce the risk of transmission of the HIV virus to others.
Don't forget to check with your doctor regularly
Keep in mind that not all PLWHA will immediately react positively to ART treatment. Antiretroviral drugs also have the risk of side effects and complications that you need to watch out for.
However, do not change or stop the dose or change your type of HIV medication without the doctor's knowledge because of this.
Doctors prescribe the drug because they understand that the benefits for your health will outweigh the risks. Without proper treatment, an ODHA can still transmit the virus to other people.
If you are still hesitant or worried, you should consult your doctor further about your treatment plan.
