An HIV Diagnosis Is A Shock

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

By Geoff James


A diagnosis of being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence. You have to receive skilled & knowledgeable treatment and advice from trained specialists . There is no doubt that two way communication between yourself & the doctor has to be the cornerstone of your ongoing treatment.

What the doctor will do.

Firstly the physician should get a history asking about the general health and habits, examine you and take a blood sample for a number of checks. This is the first of lots of opportunities you will have to ask important questions. Women should probably undergo a cervical smear & pregnancy test too.

Inquiries you might require to raise

There will almost certainly be plenty of questions buzzing around the mind. Some factors to bring up might take in the hazards & benefits of HIV therapy, how your chances of having other conditions could be affected, lifestyle alterations, corrections you might make to keep yourself healthy & avoid passing on the virus.

The blood investigation you will undergo.

When you are first diagnosed and frequently onwards you will undergo a succession of blood assessments to determine a baseline and allow the effectiveness of the treatment to be quantified.

Your CD4 count determines the number of CD4 cells in your blood. They're a vital component of the immune system and help out the body to combat ill health. HIV infection affects your CD4 cells, so leaving your immune system inefficient. The amount of CD4 cells you have is a straightforward indication of the immune system function and has an impression on your HIV signs and symptoms.

The viral lode test just looks at how much of the HIV virus is present in the blood. It's another measure of the efficiency of the body in combating the virus. you will undergo a HIV RNA amplification or a branched chain DNA test. It doesn't if truth be told make much difference which you have so long as you continuously have the identical test done for uniformity.

Like many microorganisms and viruses HIV can change as it spreads so before any therapy conclusions are made you will have drug resistance testing carried out. This will help to recommend the mixture of medicines most probable to be successful.

Additionally you'll probably also undergo a number of regular blood test carried out, similar to those which are carried out in all diseases. They embrace full blood count, protein levels, urea & electrolytes and urine examination.

With all these test numbers handy it enables you & the doctor to discuss the therapy options & plan as a result for a long life. The investigation being prepared all over the planet means improvements are being reported every day so therapy is constantly improving.




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