HIV is the first sign

AIDS or HIV infection is a dangerous disease that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. It is characterized, first of all, by the defeat of the patient's immune system and by a variety of clinical manifestations (tumor-like processes and opportunistic diseases). The cause of this disease are retroviruses, so far only two of them have been well studied, these are HIV-1 and HIV-2. In nature, there are several other variants of this pathogen, but there is no reliable information about what they are and how they behave towards the human body.

What is HIV ?

The first sign of this infection can be determined by the presence of a retrovirus in the blood. Retroviruses are characterized by pronounced lymphotropism, namely the preference for lymphocytes, immune system cells. HIV has a high variability - 1 gene has more than 1,000 mutations, which is many times greater than the influenza virus. The causative agent of HIV infection is found in T-lymphocytes and in other organs and tissues of the human body (macrophages, monocytes, Langerhans cells, megakaryocytes, eosinophils, neurons, intestinal epithelial cells). The virus is also found in the blood, sperm, saliva, breast milk of HIV-infected mothers, tear fluid.

HIV. The first sign of infection.

The duration of the incubation period for HIV infection can be from 4-6 months to 4 years or more, in the literature there is information about the incubation period of 15 years. So, how can we first suspect a person's HIV infection? The first signs of infection can be manifested in the form of lymphadenopathy and fever (elevated body temperature), such symptoms develop only 5-6 weeks after infection. It is accepted to allocate still the average period between the appearance in the blood of specific antibodies and the development of the first signs of AIDS, this period can be 7-10 years.

The first signs of HIV infection in men and women

Modern authors distinguish 9 symptoms of HIV infection, the first sign of which can be completely missed and missed.

1. Sharp weight loss (for 6 months by 10% or more);
2. The fever lasts longer than one month;
3. Diarrhea chronic more than one month;
4. Generalized itching dermatitis;
5. Persistent cough;
6. Recurrent shingles;
7. Candidiasis of the oropharynx;
8. Herpes simplex or recurrent;
9. Generalized lymphadenopathy.

What should I look for?

In some patients with suspected HIV, the first sign can be expressed in neurological symptoms: eye pain, photophobia, headache, signs of peripheral neuropathy and meningoencephalitis. This means that the early damage to the nervous system began. In some cases, there may be a rash on the body of a spotted nature like rubella or measles, hair loss, the appearance of ulcers on the mucous membranes. Very often acute stage of HIV infection is confused with mononucleosis, cytomegalovirus infection, toxoplasmosis, rubella and other infections. Nevertheless, for acute HIV infection, the acute beginning is more typical, in contrast to some forms of infectious mononucleosis, with the presence of ulcers and a weak defeat of the tonsils.

The first signs of HIV infection are not a verdict!

In any case, the first signs of HIV infection in women and men are about poor health in the human body, they should be the first signal that the patient will have to undergo an additional examination. However, the presence of several signs is not at all a pretext for stating such a serious diagnosis as AIDS. To make such a diagnosis, the patient will be asked to undergo special testing, which is conducted, both openly and anonymously, and only after several confirmed tests will be diagnosed. Do not forget that early diagnosis of the disease refers to the most important anti-epidemic measures, and timely prescribed antiviral therapy can significantly delay or prevent the development of AIDS.