AIDS Symptoms

HIV Symptoms
Some people will not have any symptoms but still carry the disease. HIV may affect the patient right away with these symptoms, or it may lay dormant in the cells for and indefinate period of time. These symptoms are usually experienced once the immune system begins to weaken. Home testing kits for AIDS are available, however they are not 100% accurate. The only sure way to know if you're infected is to get a blood test with a doctor.

Opportunistic Infections
HIV destroys a person's immune system and then the infected person has little or no natural defences against other dieases. The diseases that infects people when they have low immunity is called an opportunistic disease. With AIDS, a patient will be very susceptible to these diseases and must be careful. Bacteria in older foods and viruses from other people that may not seem like much may seriously harm an AIDS infected person. They also have to watch out for protozoa, fungal, and other types of less common infections.

Common Opportunistic Infections Head Lungs Guts
Side Effects of Treatments
While receiving treatments for AIDS, many undesirable side effects are often experienced. These vary from drug to drug and some are quite damaging than others. For example, AZT will cause nausea, headache, and malaise in patients. Some will even experience vomiting, insomnia, or dairrhea. A few patients will even experience some bone marrow destruction. Every drug has its own side effects and each individual will experience different effects for a drug. Unfortunately, all the drugs will cause side effects.

Common Side Effects of Treatments
ddI
ddC
d4T
3TC
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