AIDS

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening disease that requires lifelong care and treatment. At The Relief Clinic in Long Beach and Saucier, Mississippi, family medicine specialist Philip Levin, MD, and his team provide comprehensive care for AIDS to help slow the disease’s progression and relieve your uncomfortable symptoms. Call The Relief Clinic today or schedule an appointment online to learn more.

What is AIDS?

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, commonly known as AIDS, is a life-altering condition that damages the immune system. AIDS interferes with the immune system’s ability to fight viruses and infections, increasing your vulnerability to infectious diseases.

AIDS is the final stage of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Without proper treatment, HIV can evolve into AIDS. Both conditions are chronic and currently have no cure. The best way to prevent HIV from progressing into AIDS is to take medication that slows its advancement.

What are the symptoms of AIDS?

Most individuals remain physically fit and healthy for several years after contracting HIV. It can take more than 10 years for HIV to show noticeable symptoms. In its early stages, HIV may cause:

• Headache
• Fever
• Weight loss 
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Painful mouth sores
• Night sweats
• Neuropathic pain

Once the infection becomes chronic, oral yeast infections, shingles, and pneumonia can develop. Symptoms typically worsen if HIV progresses to AIDS. You may experience many of the early signs of HIV, as well as lesions in your mouth, extreme fatigue, and body rashes. Proper treatment is essential to manage AIDS once it starts causing symptoms.

What causes AIDS?

HIV causes AIDS, but certain risk factors can increase your chance of contracting the infection, including:

• Having oral or penetrative unprotected sex with someone who has HIV
• Sharing injectable drug equipment, like needles, with others
• Having multiple sexual partners
• Undergoing a blood transfusion or transplant

You can significantly reduce your risk of developing AIDS by protecting yourself against HIV. Using condoms when you have sex, never sharing drug equipment with others, and taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) before engaging in high-risk sexual activity can help protect you against HIV.

What are the treatments for AIDS?

While there is no cure for AIDS, treatments can slow the progression of the disease and help you manage your symptoms. If you have HIV, your provider may recommend antiretroviral therapy (ART). Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs) are two of the most common types of medications for AIDS.

In addition, your provider at The Relief Clinic may recommend medical marijuana to help treat the uncomfortable symptoms of AIDS, particularly neuropathic pain. Burning, tingling, and pain in the extremities may warrant a medical marijuana prescription in Mississippi.

Call The Relief Clinic today or schedule an appointment online to learn more about AIDS.