There are over 1 million HIV-positive people in the United States as of 2010, according to the CDC. It is typical for an HIV patient to be asymptomatic for years, though even during this time the HIV virus keeps killing the CD4 lymphocytes that defend the body against infections, eventually leading the individual to start getting the initial symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, fever and diarrhea. With proper care, many patients never enter the last stage of HIV called AIDS.
Definition
According to the CDC, when an HIV patient's CD4 lymphocyte count drops to fewer than 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood, she meets the official definition for AIDS. Another criterion is that she begins to suffer from so called opportunistic infections that a healthy person with a normal immune system can easily fight off.
Opportunistic Infections and Symptoms
According to Drugs.com, the list of the opportunistic infections is long, and contains such illnesses as herpes simplex viruses, human papillomavirus, pneumocystis pneumonia, malaria, tuberculosis and toxoplasmosis. Having one of these illnesses does not necessarily mean that a person has HIV, however. Also, not all of the conditions listed as "opportunistic infections" are infections. For example, some cancer types are listed among these conditions. Besides opportunistic infections, the person in the last stages of AIDS also gets other symptoms such as high fever, constant diarrhea, headaches and blurred vision. Frequently, the patient also loses a significant amount of weight, suffers from night sweats and gets white spots in his mouth. The cognitive functioning deteriorate rapidly during this stage, and the patient is said to suffer from AIDS dementia.
Medication
HIV medication cannot cure the virus, but can stop people from becoming ill for many years. According to The Body website, a popular way to treat HIV is to take a combination of three or more anti-HIV drugs. This is called Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. Unfortunately, during the last stages of AIDS, the side effects of these drugs grow stronger and their effectiveness drops significantly. The most common side effects of HIV medication include diarrhea, fatigue and nausea.
