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The first symptoms
to appear are signals that the immune system is
responding to an infection, Most of us have experienced
similar symptoms as a result of infections other
than HIV: things like swollen lymph nodes, fatigue,
fever, diarrhea, weight loss, night sweats. The
symptoms gradually become more severe and include
a variety of viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
A person is diagnosed with AIDS only after particular
symptoms and diseases occur that fit an elaborate
clinical definition.
These AIDS-identifying diseases can include:
a parasitical pneumonia (pneumocystis carinii pneumonia,
"PCP");
a cancer of the blood vessels and connective tissue
(Kaposi's sarcoma, "KS");
a non-Hodgkin's lymph node cancer;
combinations of viral, bacterial and fungal infections
ranging in seriousness from thrush, which is a yeast
infection, to tuberculosis and meningitis;
wasting syndrome;
Many of the diseases are the result of organisms
the person had been exposed to before they were
infected with HIV. Those pathogens or illness-producing
agents were controlled by the healthy immune system.
A person with a damaged immune system is also susceptible
to new infections which can be life threatening.
A person usually dies a direct result of the diseases
that take over the body because of AIDS, not as
a direct result of HIV itself. The symptoms of AIDS
vary widely from person to person and from time
to time because so many different infections and
diseases are involved.
The symptoms can include purple or brown lesions,
harsh dry cough, confusion, motor function impairment,
severe weakness, blindness, and severe digestion
problems. There can be many other symptoms and medical
problems. |
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