What is HIV and AIDS?

What is HIV and AIDS, what are the symptoms, and how can it be cured?

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Symptoms? Wow.

Here are a few, but these are not completely inclusive either:
1. Rapid weight loss
2. Dry cough
3. Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
4. Profound and unexplained fatigue
5. Swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
6. Diarrhea that lasts for more than a week
7. White spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth, or in the throat
8. Pneumonia
9. Red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
10. Memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders


No cure as of yet.

jaboyak gave a very good answer - if you think you have been exposed to or may have HIV or AIDs you need to go to a health clinic and be tested. You can do this anonymously but it must be done. There is no cure but there is treatment. In the HIV stage they are making new strides in research daily so it is not the death sentence it used to be, so long as a person does not ignore the possibility that he/she has been exposed. By asking what they are I don't know if you know the way the virus is transmitted. You can contract HIV/AIDS by body fluid contact - ie. sex, shared needles, unclean dental/medical instruments (that is very unusual today because of strict OSHA rule and regulations on sterilization.) You CANNOT contract the virus from touching someone or being around someone or kissing or living in the same house. I would suggest you find a health clinic - go be tested - and request all information on the subject. I truly hope this was just curiosity but either way I wish you the best and will say a prayer.

God bless
fishergirl

I gave 'Jaboyak' a thumbs down by accident. Sorry!! Actually I agreed with what he said.

Perhaps I could just point out that HIV is a virus, and there is a difference between testing positive for HIV and having "full-blown AIDS". Some people with HIV remain healthy for many years, particularly if they have a healthy life-style and take their medication regularly.

Also, HIV does not live long outside the human body and is not in fact that infectious: you have to have intimate contact or a contaminated blood transfusion to catch it.

That said, full-blown AIDS is a horrible way to die: it's actually a collection or series of different "opportunistic" infections and/or cancers which take advantage of the person's weakened immune system.