Effects Of HIV On The Body

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a. Effect of HIV on the body
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, it’s known as a virus that causes aids. However, being HIV positive or having the HIV disease does not mean that you have aids. When a person is first affected with HIV they may not feel ill or have any signs or symptoms. They will not show any sign of the infection until the body has produced antibodies, this is when the person starts to experience flu like symptoms, which may last only a few weeks CITATION Gul14 \l 1033 (Gulanick & Myers, 2014). A person with the HIV infection may experience may signs and symptoms such as, extreme tiredness, headache, dizziness or lightheadedness; swollen glands in the neck, armpits or groin; fevers that are continuous or night sweats; rapid weight loss that’s not due to exercise or diet, purple or discolored growths on the skin or the mucous membranes (inside the mouth, anus or nasal passages); heavy, continual dry cough that is not from smoking or that has lasted too long to be cold or flu; continuing bouts of diarrhea; thrush, a thick whitish coating on the tongue or in the throat (everdayhealth.com ,2012). HIV can be asymptomatic for at least 10 years or more. HIV begins to infect the body by binding to the CD4 receptors. The primary targets of HIV infection are CD4 plus lymphocytes. This causes the immune system to fail, which can cause the patient to develop conditions such as cancers and other opportunistic infections. If the patient is HIV positive and their CD4 lymphocyte count falls below 200, the patient will become diagnosed with the AIDS virus CITATION Gul14 \l 1033 (Gulanick & Myers, 2014).
b. Transmission of HIV HIV is a virus that can be transmitted from person to person through fluids and tissue. The most likely fluids in which HIV is detected are blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. If a person is HIV positive they can transmit HIV to a person without HIV by means of these fluids through sexual contact, from mother to child by fetal transmission. Other ways would be the fluids coming in contact with a mucous membrane such as a tear, non-intact skin or be direct injection into the blood-stream by use of needle or syringe. HIV can’t be spread casually; it will always need a portal of entry (Livingstrong.com, 2011).
c. Nursing education related to HIV.
According to the CDC, early knowledge of HIV status helps decrease the spread of HIV infection. So, it is always good for a health care provider to obtain as much knowledge about the disease as possible, that way they are able to help and provide information to patients. Health care provider should provide education to all patients, those who are infected with HIV and those who are not. The education levels should be culturally sensitive and should fit the patient at risk situation. Provides should encourage and provide screenings, test and counseling. If a person is HIV positive the counseling will help the patient understand their result and assist them with informing their partners or drug needle sharers if they are drug users. Being knowledgeable in this are with help you assist he patient with risk factor reduction and care options. Health care providers should education patients, especially young patients on the use of condoms, which help prevent HIV transmission and most of all they should also be educated on how to protect yourself, not with just the patient you know are positive for viruses but those who you don’t know are as well CITATION Wil11 \l 1033 (Williams & Hopper, 2011)
d. Medication classifications, including possible side effects and drug interactions.
There is several medication classifications for the HIV virus such as, Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs or nukes), which produce reverse transcriptase and viral replication. Side effects of these drugs can be rash, nausea, high blood pressure, vomiting and headache and indications to these medications are