AIDS

AIDS is an immune system disorder in which the body's ability to defend itself is greatly diminished. When human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, the virus that causes AIDS) invades key white blood (immune) cells called T lymphocytes and multiplies, it causes a breakdown in the body's immune system, eventually leading to overwhelming infection and/or cancer – and, ultimately, to death. Most deaths among people with AIDS are not caused by AIDS itself, but by one of the many infections or cancers to which the syndrome makes the body vulnerable. Essentially AIDS is experienced as a series of various illnesses made possible by the initial HIV infection.

Many people who are infected with HIV are not even aware that they have it. While some people experience a mild flulike illness within two to four weeks of exposure to the virus, it generally takes at least two to five years before any symptoms of HIV infection appear. In many cases, the first symptoms of HIV and AIDS are nonspecific and variable. One of the most common is a tongue coated with white bumps. This is oral thrush, or candidiasis. Candidiasis indicates a compromised immune system. Intestinal parasites are another problem. Anyone with HIV or AIDS can make a major contribution to his or her survival and quality of life by getting into an early treatment program, especially a program in which immune enhancement is encouraged. People with HIV or AIDS need higher than normal amounts of all nutrients because malabsorption is a common problem.