Friday, February 1, 2008

what are the short term and long term effects of HIV/AIDS

what are the short term and long term effects of HIV/AIDS?
also HIV causes AIDS yet if you have HIV it doesn't mean you have AIDS. i think that is because there is an HIV and an HIV positive, but i'm not sure if thats right. If i am right what is the difference between the two, if i'm wrong can someone please explain these few questions that i have!
STDs - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
HIV positive means you have HIV. HIV negative means you don't have HIV. HIV eventually develops into AIDS. It can take up to 10 years for HIV to turn into AIDS.
2 :
Well , if you have HIV, that automatically means you are HIV positive. Yes, HIV is the thing that causes AIDS and but if you have HIV it doesn't mean you have AIDS yet....AIDS happens progessively after awhile, not automatically, but HIV infection does happen automatically when in contact with infected bodily fluids (blood, vaginal secretions, semen) . Long term, AIDS affects your t-cells, which means you are very vulnerable to infection and can die from illnesses that a healthy person might be able to fight, like the pneumonia or bronchitis.
3 :
HIV is the virus, HIV positive means you are infected with it. AIDS is a syndrome caused by HIV but it takes an average of 8-10 years for an HIV infection to develop into AIDS. AIDS is defined by a serious decline in your immune system (specifically, your CD4 positive T cells) and leaves you vulnerable to a wide variety of infections that people with healthy immune systems fight off easily. Other effects of being infected with HIV (and NOT caused by opportunistic infections) include dementia (cognitive decline), sensory neuropathy (losing your sense of touch), and glomerulonephropathy (which can lead to kidney failure and the need for dialysis).

Read more discussions :