My girlfriend and I have been having this on-going debate. Yes, it's silly. But we find dumb things to debate about who's right or wrong. She thinks a person that is infected with HIV/AIDs can be overweight and stay overweight, not lose any weight and be 300 lbs. without knowing they have the disease. I say it's impossible for this to happen, because of all the side effects of the disease an overweight person would surely lose some weight in over 5 years - not gain the weight? She also seems to think that a person could go undiagnosed for years because unless a patient asks to be tested for it - they won't be tested for it. I am almost positive if a person goes for blood work they would see some kind of discrepancy in the red and white cells and would have to further investigate that and figure out that the person was infected. What do you guys think? I think we need to stop watching the medical channel and finding crazy things like this to debate over lol.
STDs - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Someone could be infected and not have any symptoms for years. So I would say she is right. It would be rare. Also, you could both start doing research to substantiate your viewpoint. That can be interesting and informative.
2 :
Yes, a person can certainly maintain weight while being infected with HIV. Until the immune system is really depressed and they actually become ill, most people feel healthy. That is why blood testing is so imprtant. And no, a normal CBC (complete blood count) would not give any clues to HIV infection, that is until the disease has progressed enough so that the white count becomes depleted. Most people would be feeling pretty ill at the point, so suspicion for disease would already be high.
3 :
With HIV, medications, proper eating and exercise can help a person to live longer. It is when the HIV virus turns to AIDS when a person's body can no longer fight the infections of the common colds and flu that a person HIV negative can. Usually with that, a person with AIDS would tend to lose weight unexpectedly and perhaps drastically due to possible improper eating, medication side effects, when their ill, and also because their immune system can no longer maintain it's health. However, many people with HIV do not know they have HIV because they may think they have another form of illness and that is unfortunate when their body tends to turn to AIDS quicker than of those who found out they were HIV+ from the beginning. That is why it is important to get tested always to know your status. The earlier they are to detect HIV, the better the doctors can help you live a longer life. Unfortunately, PEOPLE in general can be in denial of situations. HIV is probably the second worse fear of everyone next to death. PEOPLE need to take responsibility within their own hands and get tested. Stop living in denial and get tested. In my experience, I was raped by a person I knew. He tested negative and I took the courage to test over 20 times within and outside the window period of HIV testing. I was deathly scared, but I had to do it. I wanted to save my life and I did not want to put my future partner(s)/possible children at risk. Yes, I wanted to be in denial and act like life is grand, but I couldn't. I knew that I had to go get a HIV TEST because I was exposed from a rape. THANK GOODNESS, I turned out HIV NEGATIVE after all of it. GET TESTED and stop living in denial. If you are sexually active, whether condoms or not, always get tested. That is the bottom line.
4 :
She's right. People who take retrovirals on a regular basis lose weight. Those who don't may not show any signs or symptoms for years. http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/
5 :
Yes of course
6 :
Regarding SYMPTOMS: There are rarely any symptoms of HIV soon after infection, possibly for several years. Some people have flu-like symptoms, but not everyone does. The lack of symptoms is the reason testing is so important. Many times, people pass the virus on to others without even realizing they themselves are infected. Symptoms often don't show up until the person's immune system is severely damaged, leaving the person susceptible to other illnesses such as colds, flu, and pneumonia. ***Regarding TESTING: In order to diagnose HIV, testing specifically for the antibodies to HIV (most commonly) or the virus itself (more expensive followup test) must be done. It can not be diagnosed by routine blood test. ***Also, your girlfriend is correct about testing. By law, a person CAN NOT be tested for HIV unless he/she signs a consent form and specifically requests the test. The only situation I know of in which HIV testing is mandatory is blood donation. Blood is tested for HIV and other diseases. If HIV or Hep is found, the blood must be discarded, and the person is notified of their result and informed that they can no longer donate blood. Also, people who have had recent risky behaviors, and possible recent HIV infection (within the past 3 months), are told not to donate because even if they are infected, the antibodies may not show up on tests yet.
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