HIV and AIDS - The Dreaded Diseases!

HIV and AIDS - The Dreaded Diseases

HIV and AIDS are arguably the most well-known and most feared STDs of today. AIDS, which is better defined as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a serious form of sexually transmitted disease that attacks and weakens the immune system. It leaves the body susceptible to diseases that would lead its victims to fatal consequences.

AIDS is a type of immunodeficiency disorder wherein a portion of the components of the immune system becomes missing. It is the final phase of progression of the diseases that have resulted from a viral infection identified as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV or AIDS virus). These diseases bring along some severe and unusual infections, incapacitating illnesses, and some other conditions that affects the central nervous system and the brain. Opportunistic infections affect almost every organ system of people suffering from AIDS. It also increases the risk of developing certain cancers, such as cervical cancers, Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphomas.

AIDS patients develop different opportunistic infections depending on how widespread such infections are on the area where the patient is located. The HIV virus remains in ones body forever and may remain undetected for several months or years until symptoms of AIDS or HIV appears. As time progresses for many years and even decades, the cells in the immune systems become gradually destroyed that would leave the body unprotected against these opportunistic infections. These parasites, viruses and cancer cells will multiply inside a victim's body heavily unchallenged. The typical opportunistic infections that struck the body of HIV victims are tuberculosis, yeast infection in vagina, throat, or mouth, pneumocystis cariniipneumonia, cytomegalovirus retinitis and shingles.

AIDS symptoms are mainly the effects of conditions that normally don't manifest on people having healthy immune systems. Often times these are systemic symptoms of an infection, such as heavy sweats mainly during night time, fevers, chills, swollen glands, weaknesses and loss of weight.