Friday, February 18, 2011

What Does being HIV Positive Mean For You

By Geoff James


A diagnosis of being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence. Being treated by an experienced HIV specialist is the vital first step. There is no doubt that two way communication between yourself & the doctor has to be the cornerstone of your ongoing treatment.

The process of diagnosing you.

At the outset the physician will take a history asking about the whole health and habits, do a physical exam & take some blood for a number of tests. This is the opening of many possibilities you'll have to ask appropriate questions. Women should possibly have a cervical smear and pregnancy test in addition.

Questions you might want to raise

There will almost certainly be many doubts buzzing around the cranium. Some points to bring up may include the hazards and benefits of HIV medication, how your chances of developing other conditions may be worsened, lifestyle changes, changes you could make to keep yourself healthy and avoid passing on the virus.

The blood investigation you will undergo.

When you are first diagnosed and frequently afterwards you will undergo a string of blood tests to verify a baseline and enable the efficiency of the management to be measured.

Your CD4 count determines the number of CD4 cells you've got. They are an important part of your immune system & assist the body to combat disease. HIV infection damages your CD4 cells, thus leaving the immune system inefficient. The amount of CD4 cells you have is a complete suggestion of your immune system function and has a bearing on the HIV signs and symptoms.

The viral lode test just looks at the quantity of virus that is present in your blood. It really is another gauge of the efficiency of the body in fighting the virus. you'll undergo a HIV RNA amplification or a branched chain DNA test. It doesn't if truth be told make much difference which you undergo as long as you continuously have the same one done for reliability.

Like loads of bacterium & viruses HIV can transform as it spreads so before any action decisions are ready you'll have drug resistance testing carried out. This will help to advise the combination of medicines most probable to be successful.

Additionally you'll probably also have a number of routine blood test completed, similar to those which are carried out in all diseases. They embrace FBC, LFTs, kidney function and pee examination.

With all these blood results handy it enables you and the health professional to talk about the therapy options & plan accordingly for a long existence. The science being completed all over the planet means improvements are being produced every day so therapy is constantly evolving.




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