One of the worst things that can happen to anyone is the manifestation of HIV symptoms. To most, an HIV infection is an automatic death sentence. This fear is the main reason why many people dont get tested, even though they know they are at risk. Perhaps the strongest weapon used to combat this hesitance is information. There are a lot of myths circulating out there regarding HIV symptoms and AIDS symptoms. And until these are negated, a significant proportion of adults will remain uneducated.
First of all, HIV isnt AIDS, but rather AIDS is a stage in the HIV infection. An HIV infection progresses through three main stages: acute infection, chronic infection, and then AIDS. While HIV symptoms tend to be vague, especially in the first two stages, a few key conditions are night sweats, severe weight loss and swollen lymph nodes.
There is no guarantee that a person who has been diagnosed with HIV, and is showing the classic HIV symptoms, will ever develop AIDS. In persons who do progress, the first AIDS symptoms typically become evident within 10 to 15 years of first contracting the disease. In a small percentage of individuals, the onset of all AIDS symptoms can be as short as 3 years after infection. Sadly, the initial stages of HIV often exhibit no symptoms so by the time a patient shows all AIDS symptoms, their immune system has already been compromised.
AIDS symptoms is itself a misleading term as there is no one set of signs that can be used to make an accurate diagnosis without a blood test. That being said, there are some conditions that may point to a possible case of AIDS. They are similar to those of a stage 1 or stage 2 HIV infection but tend to be more acute. All AIDS symptoms include fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, a fever lasting more than 10 days, unexplained weight loss, purplish spots on the skin, shortness of breath, severe or chronic diarrhea, yeast infections in the mouth or vagina, easy bruising or unexplained bleeding and the most well known of all AIDS symptoms, night sweats.
It is clear that all AIDS symptoms are debilitating, but some can be explained by other conditions, such as food poisoning or even heart disease. Therefore, there is generally no reason to worry if youre just running a fever or youve been tired for the past few days. However, if youre exhibiting three or more of these symptoms, much less all AIDS symptoms or HIV symptoms, and you havent been tested, you need to get yourself to a doctor. Even if you have none of the conditions listed and you know that you may have possibly been exposed, get tested. Its the only smart thing to have done.
Tags:
Accurate Diagnosis,
Acute Infection,
Aids Hiv,
Aids Symptoms,
Automatic Death Sentence,
Chronic Diarrhea,
Chronic Infection,
Hiv Aids,
Hiv Infection,
Hiv Symptoms,
Initial Stages,
Misleading Term,
Night Sweats,
Shortness Of Breath,
Stage 1,
Stage 2,
Stages Of Hiv,
Swollen Lymph Nodes,
Unexplained Weight Loss,
Yeast Infections
Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. The disease is also called granulomatous enteritis, colitis, regional enteritis, regional ileitis, ileitis, or terminal ileitis and it causes ulcerations of the small and large intestine. The disease can affect the digestive system anywhere from the mouth to the anus, but distinctively affects the terminal ileum as well as demarcated areas of large bowel. The disease is named after the American physician, Burrill Bernard Crohn (18841983), who described the disease in 1932.
Crohns Disease Symptoms
Crohn’s disease symptoms may include:
Chronic diarrhea & disrupted digestion: It becomes difficult for the patients in the acute phase of the disease to eat and/or digest food.
Painful and debilitating inflammation
Fistulas of the colon
Hemorrhoids
Lipid absorption problems
Anemia: Persistent rectal bleeding may lead to anemia.
Bruising of the shins.
Fever, pain and psychological damage in many cases
Crohn’s disease in children may cause delayed development and stunted growth.
Crohns Disease Treatment
Crohn’s disease treatment may include medication, surgery, dietary advice and Helminthic therapy (current research).
- Medication Treatment
Acute treatment: steroids are used in the initial stages. Long-term steroid therapy is discouraged because of their side effects. Corticosteroids like prednisone are traditionally used medications. The side effects of steroids may include insulin resistance and frank diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), glaucoma, osteoporosis, severe psychological issues etc.
Chronic treatment (Steroid-sparing): The treatment may include Salicylates – 5-ASA derivates – 5-aminosalicylic acid compounds such as sulfasalazine (Azulfidine, Salazopyrin), mesalamine (Pentasa, Asacol), olsalazine, and balsalazide. Immunomodulating drugs such as azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate are given mainly in moderate-to-severe cases. Infliximab (brand name Remicade) is given in patients with therapy-resistant or fistulating Crohn’s. Adalimumab (brand name Humira) has been used in patients who show allergic reaction to infliximab. The drugs like thalidomide are under study trials.
- Surgery
In the case of widespread intractable Crohn’s colitis, the colon and rectum (protocolectomy) are removed by the surgery ileostomy. Surgery is generally avoided, as this does not cure the disease. Crohns disease can recur at the site of the anastomosis or ileostomy.
- Dietary Advice
Crohns patients should avoid the following foods and liquids:
Dairy foods
High fiber foods should be avoided during flare-ups.
Hot spicy foods
Alcohol & caffeine
Foods containing saturated fats, found in meat and dairy products. However some fats such as in fish oil may actually be helpful.
Products containing corn or gluten, those made from wheat, oats, barley, or triticale
Foods, such as soy, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes
Gas-producing foods such as cabbage family vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussels sprouts), dried peas and lentils, onions and chives, peppers and carbonated drinks
Foods that may irritate the intestine (particularly the cabbage family vegetables)
Simple sugars
Dried fruits or high-sugar fruits, such as grapes, watermelon, or pineapple
Sorbitol (an artificial sweetener)
Beneficial Foods:
Fluids to keep the body hydrated and prevent constipation
Fruits may be protective
A high protein diet with lean meats
Advice:
Eat small frequent meals
Prebiotics such as psyllium may help in the healing process.
Probiotics may also be helpful in aiding recovery of the intestines.
- Helminthic Therapy
Recent studies have come up with a promising Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis treatment. Helminthic therapy is a new treatment that has shown impressive results in clinical trials. It argues that the absence of intestinal worms (due primarily to higher hygiene standards) from the human intestinal tract may cause the immune system that is not evolutionary adapted to this condition, to over-react causing inflammation and other negative effects, and that reintroducing helminths through ingesting eggs of a certain species (which is not dangerous to humans) can help down regulate and normalize immune responses.
Helminthic therapy like the fecal bacterio therapy induces a characteristic TH2 white cell response in the diseased areas which seems to be the key in achieving and maintaining remission, and may prove to be of key significance in further research.
Tags:
6 Mercaptopurine,
Aminosalicylic Acid,
Balsalazide,
Chronic Diarrhea,
Chronic Inflammatory Disease,
Chronic Treatment,
Crohn S Disease,
Crohns Disease Symptoms,
Effects Of Steroids,
Immunomodulating Drugs,
Insulin Resistance,
Lipid Absorption,
Medication Treatment,
Pentasa,
Regional Ileitis,
Salazopyrin,
Side Effects Of Steroids,
Small And Large Intestine,
Steroid Therapy,
Terminal Ileitis
Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. The disease is also called granulomatous enteritis, colitis, regional enteritis, regional ileitis, ileitis, or terminal ileitis and it causes ulcerations of the small and large intestine. The disease can affect the digestive system anywhere from the mouth to the anus, but distinctively affects the terminal ileum as well as demarcated areas of large bowel. The disease is named after the American physician, Burrill Bernard Crohn (18841983), who described the disease in 1932.
Crohns Disease Symptoms
Crohn’s disease symptoms may include:
Chronic diarrhea & disrupted digestion: It becomes difficult for the patients in the acute phase of the disease to eat and/or digest food.
Painful and debilitating inflammation
Fistulas of the colon
Hemorrhoids
Lipid absorption problems
Anemia: Persistent rectal bleeding may lead to anemia.
Bruising of the shins.
Fever, pain and psychological damage in many cases
Crohn’s disease in children may cause delayed development and stunted growth.
Crohns Disease Treatment
Crohn’s disease treatment may include medication, surgery, dietary advice and Helminthic therapy (current research).
- Medication Treatment
Acute treatment: steroids are used in the initial stages. Long-term steroid therapy is discouraged because of their side effects. Corticosteroids like prednisone are traditionally used medications. The side effects of steroids may include insulin resistance and frank diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), glaucoma, osteoporosis, severe psychological issues etc.
Chronic treatment (Steroid-sparing): The treatment may include Salicylates – 5-ASA derivates – 5-aminosalicylic acid compounds such as sulfasalazine (Azulfidine, Salazopyrin), mesalamine (Pentasa, Asacol), olsalazine, and balsalazide. Immunomodulating drugs such as azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate are given mainly in moderate-to-severe cases. Infliximab (brand name Remicade) is given in patients with therapy-resistant or fistulating Crohn’s. Adalimumab (brand name Humira) has been used in patients who show allergic reaction to infliximab. The drugs like thalidomide are under study trials.
- Surgery
In the case of widespread intractable Crohn’s colitis, the colon and rectum (protocolectomy) are removed by the surgery ileostomy. Surgery is generally avoided, as this does not cure the disease. Crohns disease can recur at the site of the anastomosis or ileostomy.
- Dietary Advice
Crohns patients should avoid the following foods and liquids:
Dairy foods
High fiber foods should be avoided during flare-ups.
Hot spicy foods
Alcohol & caffeine
Foods containing saturated fats, found in meat and dairy products. However some fats such as in fish oil may actually be helpful.
Products containing corn or gluten, those made from wheat, oats, barley, or triticale
Foods, such as soy, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes
Gas-producing foods such as cabbage family vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussels sprouts), dried peas and lentils, onions and chives, peppers and carbonated drinks
Foods that may irritate the intestine (particularly the cabbage family vegetables)
Simple sugars
Dried fruits or high-sugar fruits, such as grapes, watermelon, or pineapple
Sorbitol (an artificial sweetener)
Beneficial Foods:
Fluids to keep the body hydrated and prevent constipation
Fruits may be protective
A high protein diet with lean meats
Advice:
Eat small frequent meals
Prebiotics such as psyllium may help in the healing process.
Probiotics may also be helpful in aiding recovery of the intestines.
- Helminthic Therapy
Recent studies have come up with a promising Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis treatment. Helminthic therapy is a new treatment that has shown impressive results in clinical trials. It argues that the absence of intestinal worms (due primarily to higher hygiene standards) from the human intestinal tract may cause the immune system that is not evolutionary adapted to this condition, to over-react causing inflammation and other negative effects, and that reintroducing helminths through ingesting eggs of a certain species (which is not dangerous to humans) can help down regulate and normalize immune responses.
Helminthic therapy like the fecal bacterio therapy induces a characteristic TH2 white cell response in the diseased areas which seems to be the key in achieving and maintaining remission, and may prove to be of key significance in further research.
Tags:
6 Mercaptopurine,
Aminosalicylic Acid,
Balsalazide,
Chronic Diarrhea,
Chronic Inflammatory Disease,
Chronic Treatment,
Crohn S Disease,
Crohns Disease Symptoms,
Effects Of Steroids,
Immunomodulating Drugs,
Insulin Resistance,
Lipid Absorption,
Medication Treatment,
Pentasa,
Regional Ileitis,
Salazopyrin,
Side Effects Of Steroids,
Small And Large Intestine,
Steroid Therapy,
Terminal Ileitis
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