Oxford University Press; AIDS and opportunistic infections. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pollack TM, et al. Primary care of the HIV-infected adult. John's Wort. Natural Medicines. HIV Basics. HIV treatment as prevention. Human immunodeficiency virus HIV infection: Wasting syndrome.
Mayo Clinic; Mahmood M expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. Who should get tested? Accessed Oct. Human immunodeficiency virus HIV infection: Antiretroviral therapy. Human immunodeficiency virus HIV infection: Risk factors. Testing overview. Most people with HIV take a combination of medicines. It's vital these are taken every day as recommended by your doctor. The goal of HIV treatment is to have an undetectable viral load.
This means the level of HIV virus in your body is low enough to not be detected by a test. Without treatment, the immune system will become severely damaged, and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and severe infections can occur.
If you're planning on getting pregnant, it's important to talk to a GP. Although rare, it's possible to transmit HIV to your baby. Anyone who has sex without a condom or shares needles is at risk of HIV infection.
Oil-based lubricants such as petroleum jelly should not be used because they may dissolve latex, reducing the condom's effectiveness. Other measures can help. For men, circumcision, an inexpensive, safe procedure, reduces the risk of becoming infected during vaginal intercourse with an infected woman by about half.
Whether circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection in other circumstances is unclear. Because circumcision provides only partial protection against HIV infection, people should also use other measures to prevent HIV infection. For example, if either partner has a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection, it should be treated, and condoms should be used correctly and consistently. People who are likely to come into contact with blood or other body fluids at their job should wear protective latex gloves, masks, and eye shields.
These precautions apply to body fluids from all people, not just those from people with HIV, and are thus called universal precautions. Universal precautions are taken for two reasons:. Viruses that cause other serious disorders such as hepatitis B and C can be transmitted by body fluids.
Surfaces contaminated with HIV can easily be cleaned and disinfected because HIV is inactivated by heat and by common disinfectants such as hydrogen peroxide and alcohol. Because HIV is not transmitted through the air or by casual contact such as touching, holding, or dry kissing , hospitals and clinics do not isolate HIV-infected people unless they have another contagious infection.
In the United States, the following have almost eliminated transmission of HIV infection by organ transplantation or blood transfusion:. Risk is reduced further by asking people with risk factors for HIV infection, regardless of their test results for HIV, not to donate blood or organs for transplantation.
However, developing countries have not consistently used sensitive HIV screening tests and have not restricted donors. Consequently, transmission by these routes is still a problem in these countries.
The following can help prevent HIV transmission from mother to newborn Prevention of transmission for infected mothers Human immunodeficiency virus HIV infection is a viral infection that progressively destroys certain white blood cells and causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS.
If they are infected, treating them with antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy and labor treatment during labor is especially important. After birth, treating the newborn with zidovudine , given intravenously, for 6 weeks. Such preventive treatment is called preexposure prophylaxis PrEP.
However, PrEP is expensive and is effective only if people take the drug every day. Thus, PrEP is recommended only for people who have a very high risk of becoming infected, such as people who have a partner who is infected with HIV.
PrEP may also be recommended for people who engage in high-risk sexual activities, such as the following:. Heterosexual men and women who do not regularly use condoms during sex with partners whose HIV status is unknown and who are at increased risk of HIV infection. People who use PrEP still need to use other methods to prevent HIV infection, including consistent use of condoms and not sharing needles to inject drugs.
People who have been exposed to HIV from a blood splash, needlestick, or sexual contact may reduce the chance of infection by taking antiretroviral drugs for 4 weeks. These drugs are more effective when they are started as soon as possible after the exposure. Taking two or more drugs is currently recommended. Doctors and the person who was exposed typically decide together whether to use these preventive drugs.
They base the decision on the estimated risk of infection and the possible side effects of the drugs. If they do not know whether the source is infected with HIV, they consider how likely the source is to be infected.
However, even when the source of the exposure is known to be infected with HIV, the risk of infection after exposure varies, depending on the type of exposure. For example, risk from a blood splash is less than that from a needlestick. People with HIV infection should have the following vaccinations for more information, see CDC immunization recommendations :. Conjugate pneumococcal vaccine Pneumococcal Vaccine Pneumococcal vaccines help protect against bacterial infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumococci.
Pneumococcal infections include ear infections, sinusitis, pneumonia, bloodstream Influenza vaccine Influenza Vaccine The influenza virus vaccine helps protect against influenza. Two types of influenza virus, type A and type B, regularly cause seasonal epidemics of influenza in the United States. There are Hepatitis B vaccine Hepatitis B Vaccine The hepatitis B vaccine helps protect against hepatitis B and its complications chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Generally, hepatitis B is more serious than hepatitis A and Typically, hepatitis A is less serious than hepatitis B.
Hepatitis A often causes no symptoms, although it can cause fever, nausea Meningococcal vaccine Meningococcal Vaccine The meningococcal vaccine protects against infections caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis meningococci.
Meningococcal infections can lead to meningitis an infection of tissue covering Tetanus-diphtheria vaccine Tetanus-Diphtheria Vaccine The tetanus-diphtheria Td vaccine protects against toxins produced by the tetanus and diphtheria bacteria, not against the bacteria themselves. There is also a combination vaccine that adds People who have not received or completed a primary vaccination series of at least 3 doses of tetanus and diphtheria vaccine should begin or complete the series, and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis vaccine Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine The diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine is a combination vaccine that protects against these three diseases: Diphtheria usually causes inflammation of the throat and mucous membranes People who have completed a primary series but have not previously received the Tdap, should receive Tdap for their next Td booster.
The herpes zoster vaccine Herpes Zoster Vaccine There are two herpes zoster vaccines. The newer herpes zoster vaccine is preferred over the older herpes zoster vaccine because it provides better and longer-lasting protection.
The newer vaccine However, the original live-attenuated zoster vaccine is not given in people with a weakened immune system and if the CD4 count is below cells per microliter of blood. However, recommendations regarding use of the newer recombinant zoster vaccine in people with HIV have not yet been made. Treatment with antiretroviral drugs is recommended for almost all people with HIV infection because without treatment, HIV infection can lead to serious complications and because newer, less toxic drugs have been developed.
For most people, early treatment has the best results. Research has shown that people who are promptly treated with antiretroviral drugs are less likely to develop AIDS-related complications and to die of them. Treatment cannot eliminate the virus from the body, although the HIV level often decreases so much that it cannot be detected in blood or other fluids or tissues.
The goals of treatment are. Thus, people need to take antiretroviral drugs for their lifetime. Taking the drugs as directed for a life time is demanding.
Some people skip doses or stop taking the drugs for a time called a drug holiday. These practices are dangerous because they enable HIV to develop resistance to the drugs. Because taking HIV drugs irregularly often leads to drug resistance, health care practitioners try to make sure that people are both willing and able to adhere to the treatment regimen. To simplify the drug schedule and to help people take the drugs as directed, doctors often prescribe treatment that combines two or more drugs in one tablet that can be taken only once a day.
Exposure to HIV does not always lead to infection, and some people who have had repeated exposures over many years remain uninfected. Moreover, many HIV-infected people remain well for more than a decade.
A very few HIV-infected, untreated people have remained well for over 20 years. Why some people become ill so much sooner than others is not fully understood, but a number of genetic factors appear to influence both susceptibility to infection and progression to AIDS after infection. If infected people are not treated, AIDS develops in most of them. Generally, experts estimate that if untreated, people develop AIDS at the following rates:.
However, with effective treatment, the HIV RNA level decreases to undetectable levels, CD4 counts increase dramatically, and people can continue to lead productive, active lives.
The risk of illness and death decreases but remains higher than that of people who are of similar age and who are not infected with HIV. However, if people cannot tolerate or take drugs consistently, HIV infection and immune deficiency progresses, causing serious symptoms and complications. Usually, HIV infection does not directly cause death.
Instead, HIV infection leads to a substantial loss of weight wasting , opportunistic infections, cancers, and other disorders, which then lead to death.
Cure has been thought to be impossible, although intensive research on how to eliminate all of the latent HIV from infected people continues. Because death rarely occurs suddenly in people with AIDS, people usually have time to make plans for the kind of their health care they want if their condition worsens. Other legal documents, including powers of attorney and wills, should be prepared.
These documents are particularly important for those patients whose partners, loved ones, or caregivers are not legally recognized, which may result in those partners or other loved ones being unable to visit or be involved in decision-making or carry out funeral and burial wishes, being excluded from inheriting assets, possibly including the family home, or other dire consequences.
Near the end of life, many people have pain and other distressing symptoms such as agitation and usually lose their appetite. Hospice programs Hospice Care Hospice is a concept and a program of care that is specifically designed to minimize suffering for dying people and their family members. In the United States, hospice is the only widely available They can provide comprehensive support and care, which focuses on managing symptoms, helping dying people maintain their independence, and supporting their caregivers.
Some health departments or community-based organizations also provide self-test kits for free. Read the U. Self-testing allows people to get tested for HIV while still following stay-at-home orders and social distancing practices. Ask your local health department or HIV service organization if they offer self-testing kits.
Content Source: HIV. Many Federal agencies have developed public awareness and education campaigns to address HIV prevention, treatment, care, and research.
Also included is information about campaigns related to the prevention and diagnosis of hepatitis B and C. El VIH es una amenaza de salud grave para las comunidades latinas, quienes se encuentran en gran desventaja respecto de la incidencia de esta enfermedad en los Estados Unidos. Want to stay abreast of changes in prevention, care, treatment or research or other public health arenas that affect our collective response to the HIV epidemic?
0コメント