HIV & Herpes

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HIV and Herpes

HIV means Human Immuno Virus and Herpes are the two common sexually transmitted diseases. Being infected with genital herpes increases your chances of being infected by HIV that causes AIDS disease. The causative agent of Herpes is also a virus called Herpes simplex virus.

Herpes:

Herpes is caused by HSV or herpes simplex virus. Once you get infected with the virus, then the virus remains in your cells for life. Hence even if your infection is not showing symptoms still, you transmit the virus to others.

Herpes virus is of two types, both these viruses that can cause oral as well as the genital infection. The two types are:

1. HSV-I 
2. HSV-II

• Oral herpes is marked by tingling, and painful blisters found in the regions like nostrils, roof of the mouth and the gums. But the most affected region is the edge of the lips where the edge meets the skin surface.
• Genital herpes has the symptoms such as painful blisters in the region such as genitals and anal area. The condition is accompanied by fever, headache and muscle ache.

Transmission of HSV virus

It is very easily transferable disease. The virus can be transferred from the transmitted person to the healthy person via the mouth, genital and the anus. So any direct skin to skin contact with the infected blister like kissing and other sexual contacts. The very dangerous thing is that the disease can spread even by touching the-the blisters and transferring the fluid of the blisters to the other part of the skin like face or eye, etc. Eye infection is a very dangerous situation as the infection can result in further problems.

HSV can also pass to the baby if the pregnant women deliver the baby vaginally.

Precautions:

• Avoid sex (oral, vaginal, anal)
• Avoid using shared sex toys
• Avoid kissing if the cold sores are on the partners lip area
• Condom can provide only limited amount of protection as the area around the genitals may also get infected
• HSV-infected and pregnant should plan a caesarean delivery instead of vaginal birth.

Treatment:

There is no treatment of herpes until now for the complete eradication of virus from the body as the virus may remain nerve and skin cells for life. However certain medicines like Acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir are good for the reduction of the discomfort caused by the virus and reduce the amount of replication of the virus.

HIV:

HIV is Human Immuno Virus. It is the virus responsible for causing AIDS or Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. HIV causes the damage to the immune system of the body by attacking the immune cells. The condition of AIDS person is that due to the weakened immune system the person becomes vulnerable to a large number of infections. But if proper care is taken, then the person with HIV can live a long and healthy life.

Transmission:

HIV is found in the blood cells, genital fluids (sperm, vaginal fluids, rectal moisture and semen) and breast milk.

The ways of transmission of HIV:

• Anal, vaginal or oral sex
• Sharing of injections
• From mother to the baby, during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding

Precautions:

• HIV can be prevented by using condoms to have a safe sex
• HIV infection chances can be reduced by avoiding the use of previously used needles and syringes
• Avoid breastfeeding if the mother is infected with HIV

HIV treatment:

It is still a topic of huge research that whether HIV is curable or not. Up till now there is no cure for HIV, still if the proper treatment is taken, then the person With HIV can live a long and healthy life. The treatment of HIV/AIDS involves the use of combination retroviral drugs. The HIV medications help by stopping the reproduction process of the viral cells. The drug helps to boost the immune system by halting the multiplication rate of the HIV.

The major types of HIV medications are:

• Reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors
• Protease inhibitors 
• Fusion inhibitors
• Integrase inhibitors
• Multidrug combinations

These medications do not cure HIV, but they are effective in making the body healthy enough to fight the infection and live a longer and normal life. The infected person still inhibits the HIV and can transmit the virus to the other person via unsafe sex, infected needles and from mother to child.