HIV

            
             The disease Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been around for many years. It was mostly brought to America's attention when basketball player, Magic Johnson, announced that he had the HIV virus. Since then the HIV virus has been greatly publicized and more discoveries to help the disease have been made.
             Signs and Symptoms.
             HIV has been found to have many signs and symptoms. The seventeen cardinal signs are the ones that doctors use to diagnose HIV. These signs and symptoms are weight loss, anorexia, increasing debility, adverse drug experiences, fevers, rigors, night sweats, headache, change in vision, diplopia, dysphagia, dyspnea, diarrhea, change in mental status, changing lymphadenopathy, oral lesions, and rashes.
             When HIV becomes AIDS, the signs and symptoms change slightly. These signs and symptoms are flu like illness, lymph nodes become swollen, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, rashes, night sweats, and fatigue. Memory loss, confusion, and various mental problems are also signs. .
             Opportunistic Diseases.
             The disease HIV also has other diseases involved. HIV can either lead to these diseases .
             or can have these diseases attached. These diseases come in four different categories.
             Category N- Not symptomatic (no signs or only one of category A).
             Category A- Mildly symptomatic (two or more from the list below, none from B or C).
             o Lymphadenopathy.
             o Hempatomegaly.
             o Splenomegaly.
             o Dermatitis.
             o Parotitis.
             o Recurrent or persistent upper respiratory infection, sinusitis, or obitis media.
             Category B- Moderately symptomatic (other than the ones in A or C).
             o Anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia.
             .
             o Bacterial meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis.
             - Candidiasis, oropharyngeal.
             o Cardiomyopathy.
             o Diarrhea, recurrent or chronic.
             o Hepatitis.
             o Herpes simplex virus stomatitis, recurrent.
             o HSV bronchitis, pneumonitis, esophagitis.
             o Herpes zoster.
             o Leiomuosarcoma.
             o Lymphoid interstitial pneumonia/pulmonary lymphoid hyperplasia complex.