HIV and AIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a disease that makes it difficult for the body to fight infectious
Diseases. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes AIDS by infecting and damaging part of the body's defenses
Infection control - its lymphocytes, the white blood cells are the immune system (which fight infection), which are
to fight off invading germs.
HIV can be transmitted through direct contact with blood or body fluids of someone who is infected with the virus.
This usually comes from sharing needles or through contact unprotected sex with an infected person. An infant could
HIV from a mother who is infected.
HIV and AIDS can be treated, but there is no vaccine or cure for it.
What HIV Does to the Body
The virus attacks specific lymphocytes called T-helper cells (also known as T-cells), it takes over and multiplies.
This destroys more T-cells, which damages the body's ability to fight off invading germs and disease.
If the number of T cells drops to a very low level, people with HIV are more susceptible to infections and
may receive certain types of cancer that a healthy body to be able to fight normally. This weakening of the immune system (or
Immunodeficiency) known as AIDS and can lead to severe life-threatening infections, some forms of cancer, and the result
Deterioration of the nervous system.
Although AIDS is always caused by HIV infection, not everyone with HIV has AIDS. In fact, some adults who are
infected with HIV appear healthy for years before developing AIDS.
How common is HIV / AIDS?
The first case of HIV was reported in 1981, but the disease can exist undetected for many years before that have. HIV
Infection leads to AIDS is a major cause of illness and death in children, adolescents and young adults worldwide.
In recent years, the rate of HIV infections have been increasing rapidly among adolescents and young adults. Half of all new HIV
Infections in the United States occur in people under 25 years, thousands of young people to acquire new HIV infections each
Year. Most new HIV cases in younger people is transmitted through unprotected sex, one-third of injected drugs
Use on the exchange of dirty needles contaminated with blood.
In children, most cases of HIV infections resulted from the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child
during pregnancy or childbirth or through breastfeeding. In rare cases, children were infected through sexual
abused someone living with HIV.
Fortunately, drugs that drastically reduces currently given to HIV-positive pregnant women, mother-to-child HIV
Transmission in the United States. These drugs are also to slow down or reduce some of the effects of the disease
People who are already infected.
But these drugs are not readily available globally, especially in the poorer countries hardest hit by the
Epidemic. With access to these life-saving treatments has become a topic of global importance.
How to transfer HIV
HIV is transmitted through direct contact with blood or body fluids of someone who is infected with the virus.
The three main ways HIV is passed on to a very young child are:
while the baby is developing in the uterus (intrauterine)
at birth
during lactation
Among adolescents the virus is most commonly spread by:
unprotected sex (oral, vaginal or anal sex)
Sharing needles used to deliver drugs or other substances (including contaminated needles to inject steroids and inject
Tattooing and body art)
In very rare cases, HIV was transmitted through direct contact with an open wound far from an infected person (the virus
can be inserted through a small cut or tear on the body of the healthy person) and through blood transfusions. Since
In 1985, the U.S. blood supply were carefully examined for HIV.
Signs and symptoms of HIV
Although there may be no immediate physical signs of HIV infection at birth, if not treated, it can appear within 2 to
3 months after a child is born. Children who are born with HIV can develop opportunistic infections are diseases that
may be in a weakened immune system, how to develop jirovicii Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).
An untreated child with HIV can also be more severe bouts of other common childhood infections, such as Epstein-Barr
Virus (EBV) infection, which typically causes mild illness in most children. In developing countries, tuberculosis is a
very common problem and often the cause of death of children and adults living with HIV.
A baby born with HIV infection most likely to appear healthy. But within 2-3 months after birth, an infected baby
might begin to appear ill, with poor weight gain, repeated fungal mouth infections (thrush), enlarged lymph nodes,
enlarged liver or spleen, neurological problems, and several bacterial infections, including pneumonia.
Teens and young adults who contract HIV usually show no symptoms at the time of infection. In fact, it can take up to 10
Years or more for symptoms to show. During this time they may be on the virus without knowing it, they have it happen
themselves. Once the symptoms of AIDS appear, they can include rapid weight loss, intense fatigue, swollen lymph nodes,
persistent diarrhea, night sweats, or pneumonia. They are also susceptible to life-threatening opportunistic
Infections.
Diagnosis of HIV infection and AIDS
Every pregnant woman should be tested for HIV, to have a better chance of preventing transmission to her unborn child.
If a woman knows she is HIV-infected and already have children, it is recommended that all of them are tested for HIV. Also
older children who appear healthy can have HIV infection if she was HIV positive at the time they were born. A blood
Test is necessary to know for sure.
Newer tests can help doctors determine if a baby is infected born to an HIV-positive mother in the first few months of the year
Life.
Older children, adolescents and adults pay for HIV infection through a number of different tests that look for antibodies to the tested
Virus proteins, the coating of the virus or the presence of the virus itself Antibodies are proteins, which the body
produced to fight infection, HIV-specific antibodies are produced in response to infection with HIV. Someone with
Antibodies against HIV is HIV-positive.
If any test is positive, it is repeated or confirmed with another test.
Kids Can Spread HIV?
Anywhere in the U.S., only a handful of cases have reported where HIV infection was contagious from one child
another person. All of these cases involved direct blood contact within a household. The typical baby secretions (urine,
drool, spit, vomit, feces, etc.) do not seem to transmit the virus, so the routine care of babies with HIV is considered
sure.
Despite widespread concerns no transmissions of HIV are reported within a school or childcare setting. Since the
At risk of transmitting HIV involves direct contact with blood, personnel in schools and childcare programs should
routinely gloves when every child has a cutting scrape, or bleeding.
Transmission of HIV among teens
Among adolescents, HIV is usually spread through unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person or sharing intravenous drug needles.
Education of children and young people is extremely important to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and other
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, syphilis and HPV
(They can cause genital warts or lead to various cancers).
Many STDs cause irritation, inflammation or ulceration of the skin and mucous membranes, that the virus can happen. After a
STD such as genital herpes, for example, has been proven to reduce the risk of HIV, where the person to increase
unprotected sex with someone who is HIV-positive.
HIV is not spread by:
casual contact such as hugging or shaking hands
Drinking glasses
sneezes
Cough
Mosquitoes or other insects
Towels
Toilet Seats
Doorknobs
Opportunistic infections
Opportunistic infections (infections that take advantage of a person's weakened immune system) are the most common
Complication of HIV / AIDS.
Sometimes adults with HIV / AIDS, an infection caused by germs that normally do not get to the cause of illness in a healthy person
(How Cryptococcus). People with AIDS (especially children) can be a severe version of a common infection, such as
Chickenpox.
These opportunistic infections and conditions can frequently occur in children with HIV:
called viral infections, such as a form of chronic lymphocytic walking pneumonia interstitial pneumonia (LIP), herpes
simplex virus, herpes zoster, and cytomegalovirus infections
parasitic infections such as PCP (a pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovicii, a microscopic parasite that can not be caused,
resisted by a weakened immune system) and toxoplasmosis
severe bacterial infections, such as bacterial meningitis, tuberculosis and salmonellosis
Fungal infections such as esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) and candidiasis or thrush (yeast infection)
Other complications
Children with HIV are also at higher risk for some cancers because of their weakened immune systems. Lymphomas
associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are more common in older children with HIV.
Difficult complications in the treatment of children who have HIV / AIDS, including the wasting syndrome (inability to maintain the Body
By long-term weight loss of appetite and other infections associated with HIV disease) and HIV encephalopathy (due to HIV
Causing infection of the brain, and then the swelling of the brain tissue damage over time).
HIV encephalopathy may cause dementia, especially in adults. Wasting syndrome can sometimes be helped with
Nutritional advice and daily calorie supplements, but prevents HIV encephalopathy remains extremely difficult.
The treatment of HIV / AIDS
The last 20 years have brought two significant developments in the treatment of HIV / AIDS:
Drugs that inhibit the virus, preventing or delaying the onset of AIDS and people with HIV to stay
free of symptoms more
To help drugs that reduce transmission of the virus from an HIV-infected mother to her child
As medical understanding of how the virus enters the body and multiplies within the cells increases, drugs that inhibit its
Growth and developed to slow its spread. Drug treatment for HIV / AIDS is complicated and expensive, but highly effective
in slowing the replication (reproduction) of the virus and to prevent or reduce some of the effects of the disease.
Drugs for HIV / AIDS treatment use several strategies, including:
interfere with the reproduction of HIV its genetic material (called nucleoside or nucleotide antiretroviral drugs)
Damage of the enzyme HIV needs to take certain cells of the body (these drugs called protease inhibitors)
HIV interfere with the ability to tackle the genetic material in the virus code - ie, the genetic "script" HIV has
able to reproduce. These drugs are called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI).
newer types of drugs (CCR5 inhibitors and integrase inhibitors) using different strategies
Because these drugs work in different ways, doctors usually prescribe a "combination cocktail" of drugs that is
taken every day. This regime is known as HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) treatment. Doctors may also
Prescribe medication to prevent certain opportunistic infections when a person's immune system is very weak - for example,
Some antibiotics can help, PCP, especially in children.
A number of drugs can contribute to the treatment of HIV infection and slow the onset of AIDS, but they must be made available and maintained
properly on a round-the-clock schedule. Otherwise, the virus can quickly become resistant to particular "cocktail".
HIV is very adaptable and finds ways and means in order to outsmart medical treatments that are not adhered to properly. This means that when
not taken prescribed medication at the correct times each day, they will soon not have to keep HIV from reproducing and
Acquisition of the body. When that happens, a new regime with various drugs must be established. And if this new mix of
Drugs are not made correctly, the virus is likely to be resistant to it, and finally the person running
of treatment options.
Apart from the difficulty young children to take their medication on a timed schedule, present the drugs
other problems. Some have unpleasant side effects such as bad taste, while others are only available in the form of tablets,
that can be difficult to swallow for children.
Parents who give their child need this drug, you can ask your doctor or pharmacist for suggestions on what they
easier to take. Many pharmacies can add flavors to bad tasting medication or your doctor may recommend mixing with pills
Applesauce or pudding.
Because drug options are still limited, doctors are concerned that if the children do not take their medications as prescribed
(Even missing only a few doses), the virus could eventually develop resistance to existing HIV drugs - which
Treatment difficult or impossible. So it is very important for children to take their medications as directed.
One of the most important home treatment news for any parent or caregiver is that the child will take all
Medications consistently, indicating the time of prescription. This can be difficult - but many HIV / AIDS, family
Self-help groups and experienced medical providers offer practical suggestions to help families to be successful with the
Day-to-day challenges they face.
Many of the new drugs to combat HIV infection are very expensive. In the United States, special programs can pay
for medicine for all HIV-positive children. Unfortunately, many people do not have access to these drugs in other parts of
the world, especially in developing countries.
Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
If an HIV-infected pregnant woman receives good medical care early and takes antiviral medication regularly during their
Pregnancy is the chance that it reduces HIV passed to her unborn baby dramatically.
It is important that every pregnant woman she knows is to take HIV positive start prenatal care as soon as possible
the benefits of such treatments. The sooner treat a mother, the greater the likelihood that their baby will not
Get HIV.
An HIV-infected mother can receive medical treatment:
antiviral treatments given to the mother during pregnancy can prevent HIV transmission: before the birth of their baby
to the baby
at birth: antiviral drugs, both for the mother and the newborn are given to reduce the risk of HIV
Transmission that may occur during childbirth (which makes the newborn the mother's blood and liquids), in
In addition, the mother of the formula-feed will be promoted rather than breastfeed because HIV can be transmitted to her baby
through breast milk
during lactation: breast-feeding, because it is not recommended for HIV-infected mothers, this type of transmission is rare
in the United States. But to mix in places in the world with limited access to formula or a clean water supply,
both the mother and child with drugs, are treated to reduce the risk of HIV infection baby.
Were routinely given before antiviral drugs, developed nearly 25% of children born to HIV-infected mothers
Disease and died by 24 months old. Now, studies show that mothers with HIV get good prenatal care and regular
antiviral medication use during pregnancy have less than 1% chance of HIV to their babies. If these children do
get the HIV virus, they tend to be with a lower viral load (less HIV virus in their body) are born and have a
better chance of long-term disease-free survival.
Long-Term Care of Kids With HIV / AIDS
Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in children are complicated and should be managed by experienced healthcare
Professionals. Children need their treatment schedules closely monitored and adjusted regularly. All infections
that might need to be life-threatening can be quickly identified and treated.
Medicines are adapted in relation to the child viral load. The child's health is also monitored by frequent
Measuring the T cell level, because these are the cells which are the HIV virus destroyed. A good T-cell count is a positive
Sign that medical treatments are working to keep the disease under control.
Children should see their doctor often for blood work, physical examinations and discussions about how they and
their families are socially dealing with any stress of their illness.
Some immunizations during routine visits be slightly different, for infants or children with HIV / AIDS. A child whose
Severely impaired immune system does not receive live virus vaccines such as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and
Varicella (chickenpox). All other routine immunizations are given, as usual, and an annual influenza vaccine (flu shot) is
recommended.
If a family seeking health care in a hospital emergency department, the parents, the nurse who say registers should be sure
the child that the child has HIV. This will alert medical caregivers look closely for signs of disease
opportunistic infections and the best possible treatment.
Outlook for HIV / AIDS
There is no vaccine to prevent HIV and AIDS, although researchers are working to develop one. Combinations of anti-viral
Drugs and medicines that have allowed strengthen the immune system to resist many people with HIV to stay healthy, and
living longer, and many children are born with HIV who treated early reach adulthood.
Prevention of HIV and AIDS
Prevention of HIV is of global importance. Despite much research, there is no vaccine to prevent HIV
Infection. Infection can by never sharing needles, and abstaining from oral, vaginal or anal sex can be prevented. Since
Most people at some point sexually active at some point in their lives, always with condoms for all types of
Sexual intercourse can dramatically reduce the risk of HIV.
Multiple testing of all pregnant women during pregnancy may also help. If the result is positive, immediate treatment
can begin before the baby is born to prevent the transmission of HIV.
Talking with children about HIV / AIDS
Talking about HIV / AIDS means talking about sex and drugs - and it is not always easy for parents to talk about sexual
Feelings and behavior with their children. Similarly, it is not always easy for young people to open or to believe that questions
such as HIV / AIDS can affect them.
Doctors and consultants suggest that parents competently and comfortably about sex and others become difficult
Problems early, before the teenage years. After all issues involved - the understanding of the body and sexuality,
Adopting healthy behaviors, to respect others, and dealing with emotions - are topics that have meaning in all age groups
(Although, as parents talk to their children is to understand the child's age and ability to vary). Open
Communication and good listening skills are important.
Doctors, teachers and counselors can help. Many schools offer age-appropriate information about HIV / AIDS, since
designed to educate children about the disease. Studies show that such training makes a huge difference in preventing
Risk behavior among young people. Pediatricians, adolescent medicine specialists and family doctors can also help you to
comfortable about talking with your children and spend time talking to your child about how to be safe, and to prevent
HIV infection.
Ultimately parents about how HIV and who talk with their children regularly well informed about healthy prevent
Behaviors, feelings and sexuality can make a big difference in preventing HIV infections and help children grow up to
be healthy adults.