Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, more commonly known as AIDS, is a potentially life-threatening and chronic condition caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). HIV damages the immune system and destroys your body’s ability to destroy diseases. HIV is usually a sexually transmitted disease, but can be spread through blood contact. While there is no cure, there are treatments that help reduce how quickly the virus progresses. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms below, please contact us for HIV treatment Los Angeles.

Symptoms

Symptoms of HIV/AIDS will depend on which phase you are in.

  • Acute HIV (primary infection) – Flu-like symptoms will appear about a month or so after the HIV virus has entered your body and will last several weeks This is the stage where the virus is spread easiest. Some symptoms include:
    • Headache
    • Fever
    • Rash
    • Sore throat
    • Mouth sores
    • Muscle and joint pain
    • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Chronic HIV (Clinical latent infection) – Swollen lymph nodes can be persistent at this stage; however, there aren’t many specific symptoms in this stage. HIV will remain in your body and continue to infect your white blood cells. The chronic HIV stage can last for about 10 years if antiretroviral therapy is not being used. With treatment, this stage can linger for decades.
  • Symptomatic HIV Infection – When the virus progresses, it will destroy your immune system and you can develop chronic symptoms including:
    • Shingles
    • Weight loss
    • Fever
    • Fatigue
    • Diarrhea
    • Yeast Infection
    • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Thanks to the US’s superior antiviral treatments, it is unlikely that your HIV will progress to AIDS. But if left untreated, it will turn into AIDS within 10 years. If HIV finally progresses to AIDS, it means that your immune system is severely damaged and you are far more susceptible to cancers or infections. Symptoms of AIDs include:
    • Recurring fever
    • Chronic diarrhea
    • Weight loss
    • Rashes or bumps
    • Severe night sweats
    • White spots in your mouth
    • Unexplained fatigue

Causes

HIV is a virus that is spread through blood or sexual contact and is caused when infected vaginal secretions, semen, or blood enters your body. The virus can enter your body in several ways, including through sexual contact, blood transfusion, sharing needles, and during pregnancy or breastfeeding (passed from mother to her child).

Treatment

There is no cure for the virus that causes HIV and AIDS, but there are drugs classified under antiretroviral therapy (ART) that help the slow the progression of the virus. There are different classes of the drug and each fight the virus differently. Most recommend combining three of the drugs from two different classes because this will also help to avoid creating a drug-resistant strain of the virus.

The different classes of HIV treatment drugs include:

  • Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
  • Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors
  • Protease inhibitors
  • Entry or fusion inhibitors
  • Integrase inhibitors

If you are experiencing any of the listed symptoms or suspect that you may have contracted HIV, please contact our office at (213) 261-4090 or schedule an appointment online for HIV testing Los Angeles.