What to do after being infected with AIDS

Once infected with AIDS, patients will feel very panicked and think that they have a terminal illness. At this time, they will often give up treatment. In fact, this idea is very wrong. With the development of medical technology, the treatment effect of AIDS is getting better and better. It can completely control the disease, improve the quality of life of patients, and delay the development of AIDS. Let's take a look at what to do after being infected with AIDS?

What to do after being infected with AIDS

2 to 6 weeks after having a history of contact with AIDS or engaging in unsafe behavior, you can go to the hospital to buy HIV test strips for testing. If the test is negative and you are still concerned, check again after 3 months. If it is still negative, the possibility of infection can basically be ruled out.

In the early stages of HIV infection, the so-called window period (the time required to produce HIV antibodies after HIV enters the human body). It is usually accompanied by fever, night sweats, diarrhea lasting for more than one month, weight loss of more than 10%, and systemic lymphadenopathy. But you don't have to wait until you experience the above symptoms before getting checked. It is best to detect it early and treat it early!

AIDS is divided into three stages

1. Acute phase

It usually occurs about 2-4 weeks after initial HIV infection. The main clinical manifestations are fever, sore throat, night sweats, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, joint pain, lymphadenopathy and neurological symptoms. Most patients have mild clinical symptoms, which last for 1-3 weeks before being relieved.

HIV-RNA and P24 antigen can be detected in the blood during this period, while HIV antibodies only appear several weeks after infection. The CD4+ T lymphocyte count decreases transiently, and the CD4/CD8 ratio may be inverted.

(II) Asymptomatic period

The patient may enter this stage from the acute phase, or may enter this stage directly without obvious acute phase symptoms.

This period usually lasts 6-8 years. But there are also those who progress rapidly and those who do not progress for a long time. The length of this period is related to many factors, including the number and type of infected viruses, the route of infection, and the body's immune status.

(III) AIDS stage

It is the final stage of HIV infection. The patient's CD4+ T lymphocyte count dropped significantly, more than 200/mm3, and the HIV plasma viral load increased significantly. The main clinical manifestations of this stage are HIV-related symptoms, various opportunistic infections and tumors.

HIV-related symptoms: mainly fever, night sweats, diarrhea lasting for more than one month; weight loss of more than 10%. Some patients show neuropsychiatric symptoms such as memory loss, apathy, personality changes, headaches, epilepsy and dementia. In addition, persistent systemic lymphadenopathy may occur, characterized by ①. There are swollen lymph nodes in two or more locations other than the groin; ②. Lymph node diameter ≥ 1 cm, no tenderness, no adhesion; ③ Duration more than 3 months.