Doctors seeing more patients with unusual and severe syphilis symptoms, study shows
Best Ways To Treat HIV Symptoms
You have HIV. Now, you're getting symptoms you've never had before. Perhaps you're dropping weight for no reason or can't seem to shake a nagging cough.
Why are you feeling sick?
It's possible your HIV isn't under control. That's most likely to happen if you're not on antiretroviral therapy (ART), medicines that fight the virus. However, it can also happen if you aren't taking ART correctly, or if the drugs aren't working for you.
When HIV grows uncontrollably, the amount of virus in your blood goes up and hurts your immune system. It destroys cells called CD4s. Without enough of these, your body has a hard time fighting common infections and other health problems that it could normally handle easily.
Call your doctor if you get new symptoms. They can get to the bottom of what's wrong and find ways to help you feel better.
Weight loss: Shedding pounds without trying is an obvious sign that your HIV may be going in the wrong direction. Untreated HIV itself or infections you get because of it can make you lose weight. Plus, if you're sick, you may not feel like eating.
If you lose 10% or more of your body weight (like 15 pounds if you weigh 150 pounds), you could have what's called wasting syndrome. You also have diarrhea, weakness or a fever for about a month. This mostly affects people with advanced HIV.
It's important to try to put weight back on. In addition to taking your HIV medications, a few things can help:
Skin problems: Dry, itchy skin is a common issue for people whose immune systems are damaged from HIV. Skin infections like impetigo or tinea can be a problem, too.
Treatments include:
Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection that causes small, flesh-colored bumps on the skin. The virus can grow out of control in people with HIV, so see a dermatologist for treatment right away.
Painful, blistering rash: It could be shingles if you've ever had chickenpox – the same virus causes both. Usually, shingles affect people over age 50. But if you have HIV, you can get it even if you're younger.
It's important to see your doctor if you think you have shingles. Antiviral medicines can help you get over it more quickly – but you need to start taking them as soon as possible.
Other treatments include:
Fever: Running a temperature usually means your body is fighting an infection. Your doctor may do some tests to figure out what's causing your fever so they can decide how to treat the problem.
Your doctor may also suggest these things to help bring the fever down:
Nagging cough: A cough isn't always a sign of something serious. But one that hangs around for weeks can be.
People with low CD4 counts are more likely to get a lung infection called pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). It can cause a dry cough, shortness of breath, and make you feel very tired.
Be sure you talk to your doctor if you have the symptoms of this infection – without treatment, it can be deadly. You may need to be admitted to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment.
People with weak immune systems are more likely to get tuberculosis (TB). You may bring up lots of phlegm when you cough and have chest pain, fever, and weight loss, too. If tests show that you have TB, you'll need to take antibiotics for several months.
Night sweats: Do you wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat? It can be a symptom of HIV itself or other infections (like TB). The sweating will stop when your doctor figures out what's causing the problem and treats it.
What else can you do in the meantime?
Mouth problems: It's not unusual for people with HIV to have sores in their mouths. Infections can cause problems like thrush or cold sores as the disease gets worse.
These conditions can make it painful to chew and swallow your food. Your doctor may suggest medicines to fight the infection and the pain.
Long-lasting diarrhea: People with weak immune systems can get infections that cause diarrhea. It can last for a few weeks. Your doctor will do a thorough workup to figure out the problem.
To control symptoms, your doctor may suggest:
Let your doctor know if your diarrhea gets worse or you get a fever, vomiting, or pain.
The symptoms and illnesses described above are likely the result of advanced HIV, which means that the virus has been growing unchecked in your body for months to years.
If you're not on ART or you're not taking it exactly as you're supposed to, now is the time to start taking it correctly. These medications will lower the amount of the virus in your blood so your immune system can recover. Even people with uncontrolled HIV can get the right treatment and go on to live a healthy life. Make sure to follow your doctor's advice regarding your HIV medicine and other medicines prescribed for your specific conditions.
You may need to change your meds or how you are taking them if you can't stand the side effects or if they're not controlling your disease well. But don't stop taking them before you talk to your doctor.
Patients With HIV Had Reduced Frequency, Severity Of Long COVID Symptoms
Symptoms associated with long COVID were less frequent in patients living with HIV.
Lower-severity symptoms and reduced frequency of symptoms of long COVID (LC) were reported in people living with HIV (PLWH), according to a study published in Frontiers in Immunology.1 However, PLWH had increased cardiovascular risk factors compared with those who were not living with HIV.
LC is defined as symptoms of the COVID-19 virus persisting beyond 4 weeks of the onset of the infection. This can include delayed complications that last for months. Approximately 43 million in the United States have reported ever having LC,2 with about 3 in 10 adults who have had COVID-19 reporting LC, which can have implications on the patient's quality of life. An elevated risk of LC could be possible for PLWH who are taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), but data are limited in this subset.1 In this study, PLWH were compared with people not living with HIV (PNLWH) to assess the differences in characteristics, vaccination status, cardiovascular biomarkers, common symptoms, and levels of inflammatory factors in all patients who had LC.
The outpatient department at the Tengchong People's Hopsital in Yunnan Province, China, was used to recruit patients for the comparative study conducted in May and June 2023. LC was defined as having symptoms of COVID-19 for 4 or more weeks after the initial infection. This included respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal symptoms. All participants were aged 18 to 60 years, completed a survey, had relevant blood laboratory testing, had a blood sample collection, and joined the survey 6 months after a confirmed infection with COVID-19.
Patients with HIV had less frequent symptoms of long COVID compared with those living without HIVImage credit: Parradee - stock.Adobe.Com
All PLWH in this study were being treated with ART. All participants took the survey 6 months after their initial diagnosis of COVID-19, where they self-reported their symptoms of LC. Age, sex, occupation, education level, and vaccination status were all collected from participants, alongside the time to the onset of symptoms. All participants had blood drawn for the purposes of the study.
There were 84 participants included in this study, of whom 42 were PLWH and 42 were PNLWH. There were no significant differences found in age and sex between the 2 groups. The majority of PLWH had an education level of primary school or lower (71.4%) compared with only 42.9% of those in the PNLWH group. A total of 71.4% of the PNLWH group had been vaccinated 3 times and 19.0% received 2 doses; 83.3% of the PLWH had received 3 doses and 9.5% had received 4 doses.
Onset of symptoms was significantly different between the 2 groups, with the majority of participants in the PNLWH reporting symptoms 2 to 4 days after contact with a person with COVID-19 (59.5%) compared with less than 24 hours being the most common in the PLWH group (92.9%).
PNLWH showed more symptoms of LC compared with the PLWH group overall. PNLWH more often reported fatigue (88.1% vs 14.3%), joint pain (47.6% vs 14.3%), insomnia (40.5% vs 11.9%), weakness (90.5% vs 45.2%), sweating (57.1% vs 4.8%), anxiety (23.8% vs 2.4%), depression (23.8% vs 4.8%), appetite loss (31.0% vs 4.8%), attentional decline (16.7% vs 0.0%), and sore throat (54.8% vs 2.4%) compared with PLWH. PNLWH also had median blood serum levels of cardiovascular biomarkers that were lower compared with PLWH.
The researchers concluded that PLWH who were using ART had milder symptoms of LC compared with PNLWH. "This observation may be attributed to the use of ART, which has been shown to improve the prognosis of COVID-19 in individuals co-infected with HIV and coronavirus," they wrote.
Future studies should use randomized control trial designs with larger sample sizes to confirm the findings, the investigators concluded.
References
What Does A HIV Rash Look Like And How Is It Treated?
A rash may occur after you contract HIV. It commonly appears on the face and chest but can also appear in other places. Medications used to treat HIV as well as certain infections may also cause rashes, including serious ones.
A rash is a symptom of acute HIV infection that usually occurs within the first 2 months after contracting the virus. Like other initial symptoms of HIV, it's easy to mistake this rash for a symptom of another viral infection. Therefore, it's important to learn how to identify and treat this rash.
According to UC San Diego Health, 90% of people living with HIV experience skin symptoms and changes at some stage of the disease.
The rash can develop because of conditions caused by HIV, or it can be a side effect of medications that treat HIV, called antiretroviral drugs (ART), or by other infections that may be more prevalent in patients with HIV.
Medication alert
Skin rashes associated with antiretroviral therapy are usually not serious and disappear within a few weeks. They're often managed with symptomatic treatment to reduce any discomfort or itchiness. Sometimes, the antiretroviral medication may be changed to a different one.
NNRTIs like nevirapine (Viramune) are a common cause of medication skin rashes. Abacavir (Ziagen) is an NRTI drug that can cause skin rashes. PIs that are likely to cause rashes include tipranavir (Aptivus).
Whether caused by an HIV medication or by HIV itself, the rash typically appears as a red, flattened area on the skin that's usually covered with small red bumps.
The rash may be itchy. It can appear on any part of the body, but it most often occurs on the face, chest, and sometimes on the feet and hands.
Range of severity
Some rashes associated with acute HIV infection or HIV medications are mild. Other rashes can cause serious damage to the skin, causing them to be life threatening.
One rare but potentially serious skin rash that can develop through the use of antiretroviral drugs is Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). When this condition covers 30% of the body, it's called toxic epidermal necrolysis. The symptoms of SJS include:
Your treatment plan for an HIV rash will depend on the cause of the rash. If you are HIV positive and experience a rash that isn't relieved by over-the-counter drugs like hydrocortisone cream or diphenhydramine (Benadryl), see a healthcare professional who can determine the cause.
If your rash is a result of the infection itself, HIV medications can help your skin by restoring your immune system and reducing your viral load.
However, if the rash turns out to be caused by your current drug regimen, it may be treated by changing medications as determined by your doctor.
Lifestyle changes
In addition to medication, some lifestyle changes may help alleviate the symptoms of the mild form of this rash. Avoiding heat and direct sunlight can improve some rashes. Hot showers and baths can make the rash worse.
Sometimes, starting a new medication, trying a new soap, or eating a particular food may coincide with developing a rash. In this case, an allergy may be the cause. People living with HIV should contact their healthcare professionals if they notice a rash or are unsure about the cause.
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about HIV rash.
How do I know if my rash is related to HIV?
The only definitive way to know whether your rash is related to HIV is to see a healthcare professional. A doctor or dermatologist can evaluate the rash, order testing, and confirm a diagnosis. If you're concerned about your risk of HIV infection, it's important to talk with a healthcare professional for guidance.
What part of the body does an HIV rash appear on?
The rash can appear anywhere on the body but commonly occurs on the face, chest, feet, and hands.
Does HIV rash appear suddenly?
The rash can appear suddenly and is often accompanied by an itchy, burning sensation.
What does HIV rash look like?
The rash typically appears as a red, flattened area on the skin covered with small red bumps. It may range from mild to severe. Rashes can indicate many different conditions, so it's important to consult with a healthcare professional.
Someone unsure of the cause of their rash and thinks they may have been exposed to HIV should make an appointment with their healthcare professional. Let them know of any skin changes you have developed. This will help the healthcare professional make a diagnosis.
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