Want this question answered?
opportunistic infections
Opportunistic infections of the brain such as progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML) and meningitis, other opportunistic infections such as herpes zoster (shingles ), peripheral neuropathy , depression , and AIDS-related dementia.
The development of opportunistic infections marks the transition from HIV to AIDS.
These infections are called "opportunistic infections." They are called opportunistic because a weakened immune system is necessary for them to cause serious infection.
The specific opportunistic infections that AIDS patients develop depend in part on the prevalence of these infections in the geographic area in which the patient lives. See related link.
KS is considered an opportunistic infection. People with healthy, fully-functioning immune systems are not at risk for developing this kind of cancer. Opportunistic infections occur in AIDS patients due to the level of immune suppression that happens when someone is infected with HIV. However, opportunistic infections also happen among people who suffer from other health issues that affect the immune system like lupus.
The progressive decrease in immune function leads to the onset of AIDS. AIDS is diagnosed at a certain cell count or when certain opportunistic infections are diagnosed.
AIDS can produce a wide variety of symptoms because of the opportunistic infections that can result, however, the particular symptom that you describe would be more typical of gonorrhea or other urogenital infections than of AIDS.
OI= Opportunistic Infection. It is a term that describes a number of different infections, or symptoms that can occur while the immune system weakend by the AIDS virus.
A person with AIDS is treated with antiviral drugs to control the viral infection. In addition, they require treatment or preventive medication for opportunistic infections.
HIV infection will bring in the dreaded syndrome called as AIDS. It may take up to eight years to develop the AIDS. If you are on proper therapy, the duration to develop the AIDS is prolonged to many years. In case of AIDS, you immunity is suppressed. You get infections by opportunistic infections.
AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome and is characterized by destruction of a component of the immune system called helper T cells (or CD4 cells). This inhibits the functioning of the entire immune system and makes one more susceptible to opportunistic infections or infections that people with normally functioning immune systems seldom succumb to.