What happens when we get AIDS? & bull; hello healthy

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 at the Ministry of Health up to March 2017 was 242,699 while the total number of AIDS cases was 87,453 people. Come on, learn more about this disease so you know how to prevent and treat it properly.

AIDS is a continuation of HIV infection

You can get AIDS if you have previously had HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) which 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 even realize that they have been infected. The reason is that HIV infection can quietly eat away at the body for 10 years or even more without causing any symptoms.

When this infection is not detected and treated in the long term, the body's immune system will gradually break down, leading to AIDS.

Thus, it can be said that AIDS is a chronic disease that produces a group of symptoms related to decreased immune system.

What happens to the body after getting AIDS?

AIDS starts with long-term HIV infection. HIV is a virus that attacks CD4 cells (T cells) in the immune system specifically for fighting infection.

This infection causes your CD4 cell count to drop dramatically so that your immune system is not strong enough to fight off the infection. As a result, the number of HIV viral loads can increase. When your viral load is high, it means that your immune system has failed to work properly against HIV.

People with HIV can be said to have AIDS when the CD4 cell count in their body drops to less than 200 cells per 1 ml or 1 cc of blood, and are diagnosed with opportunistic infections related to HIV grade-4 such as herpes zoster (shingles or shingles), 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 with no apparent cause
Fever lasts up to 10 days when contracting an infection
Sweating profusely 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 bumps for no reason

AIDS decreases the chances of survival

An ODHA may not experience any symptoms for 10 years or more. However, if not careful, AIDS can narrow the chances of living with it.

Without treatment, people with HIV who already have AIDS can usually survive about 3 years. Once you have a dangerous opportunistic disease, life expectancy without treatment drops to about 1 year.

On the other hand, not all people with HIV will automatically have AIDS in the future. There are many people living with HIV who manage to control their disease with the right treatment and do not have the disease for the rest of their lives.

Appropriate treatment prolongs the life of PLWHA

Thanks to advances in medical technology and HIV medicine, the life expectancy of a person with AIDS is now much better than before. HIV / AIDS is no longer labeled a life-threatening disease.

The trend in the mortality rate due to AIDS in Indonesia is proven to have generally been reported to tend 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 living with HIV is strongly emphasized to get treatment as soon as possible and comply with it at all times. A combination of antiretroviral drugs, known as ART therapy, can help you build and strengthen your immune system by increasing the production of CD4 cells.

You will also be strongly recommended to take these drugs even if you experience uncomfortable side effects. The reason is, these drugs also simultaneously function to prevent opportunistic infections and reduce the risk of transmitting the HIV virus to other people.

Don't forget to regularly check with the doctor

It should be noted that not all PLWHA will immediately react positively to HAART treatment. Antiretroviral drugs also have a risk of side effects and complications that you need to be aware of.

However, never change or stop the dose or change the type of your HIV medicine without the doctor's knowledge because of this.

Doctors prescribe these drugs because they understand that the benefits to your health will outweigh the risks. Without proper treatment, a PLWHA can still transmit the virus to other people.

If you are still unsure or worried, you should further consult with your doctor about your treatment plan.