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Meet Other Women with HIV
If you are looking to contact women with HIV, FacetoFace Health can help. Use our site as a trusted, secure way to communicate with other HIV Women.
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to find others with HIV.
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More Information
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Site Activity
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Learning more about Women and HIV?
If you are a woman living with HIV you understand the importance of connecting with others. Our site is here to connect you with other women living with HIV. If you have any of the signs or symptoms listed here you should consult your physician immediately.
HIV Women with Early infection
Women infected with early HIV, may have no signs or symptoms at all, although it is more common to develop a brief flu-like illness two to four weeks after becoming infected. Signs and symptoms may include: Fever, Headache, Sore throat, Swollen lymph glands, Rash. Even if you do not have symptoms, you are still able to transmit the HIV virus. Once the virus enters your body, your own immune system also comes under attack.
HIV Women with Later infection
Many HIV people remain symptom-free for many years. As the virus continues to multiply destroying immune cells, you may develop mild infections or further symptoms such as: Swollen lymph nodes — often one of the first signs of HIV infection, Diarrhea, Weight loss, Fever, Cough and shortness of breath.
HIV Women and later phases of infection
The last phase of HIV occurs approximately ten or more years after the initial infection — more serious symptoms may begin to appear, and the infection may then meet the official definition of AIDS. Patients with serious signs of HIV show the following signs in the latest phase of infection:
- The development of an opportunistic infection — an infection that occurs when your immune system is impaired — such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)
- A CD4 lymphocyte count of 200 or less — a normal count ranges from 800 to 1,200
By the time the disease fully develops, your immune system has been severely damaged, making you susceptible to opportunistic infections. The signs and symptoms of some of these infections may include:
- Soaking night sweats
- Shaking chills or fever higher than 100 F (38 C) for several weeks
- Dry cough and shortness of breath
- Chronic diarrhea
- Persistent white spots or unusual lesions on your tongue or in your mouth
- Headaches
- Blurred and distorted vision
- Weight loss
You may also begin to experience signs and symptoms of later stage HIV infection itself, such as:
- Persistent, unexplained fatigue
- Soaking night sweats
- Shaking chills or fever higher than 100 F (38 C) for several weeks
- Swelling of lymph nodes for more than three months
- Chronic diarrhea
- Persistent headaches
Treatment for HIV Women
Doctors often recommend drug therapy for women with HIVwho are committed to taking all their medications and have a CD4 count below 350 cells/mL. Some HIV patients, including pregnant women and people with kidney or neurological problems related to HIV, may need treatment regardless of their CD4 count.
It is extremely important for HIV women to take all doses of their medications, otherwise the virus will quickly become resistant to the drugs. Therapy always involves a combination of antiviral drugs.
Patients with HIV infection need to become educated about the disease and treatment so that they can be active partners in making decisions with their health care provider.
STATISTICS
HIV/AIDS in 2005
(The following bullets, except for the last one, are based on data from 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.)
- HIV/AIDS was diagnosed for an estimated 9,708 women.
- High-risk heterosexual contact was the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections.
- Women accounted for 26% of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
- Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64% were black, 19% were white, 15% were Hispanic, 1% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native.
- The estimated number of HIV/AIDS in female adults or adolescents decreased from 11,941 in 2001 to 9,708 in 2005.
- According to a recent CDC study of more than 19,500 patients with HIV in 10 US cities, women were slightly less likely than men to receive prescriptions for the most effective treatments for HIV infection
AIDS in 2005
- Of 40,608 AIDS diagnoses in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 10,774 (26%) were for women.
- The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women (45.5/100,000 women) was approximately 23 times the rate for white women (2.0/100,000) and 4 times the rate for Hispanic women (11.2/100,000).
- An estimated 95,959 women were living with AIDS, representing 23% of the estimated 421,873 people living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- An estimated 4,128 women with AIDS died, representing 25% of the 16,316 persons with AIDS who died in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- From the beginning of the epidemic (1981) through 2005, women accounted for 181,802 diagnoses, a number that represents 19% of the 952,629 AIDS diagnoses in the 50 states and the District of Columbia during this period.
- From the beginning of the epidemic through 2005, an estimated 85,844 women with AIDS died, accounting for 16% of the 530,756 persons with AIDS who died in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Women with AIDS made up an increasing part of the epidemic. In 1992, women accounted for an estimated 14% of adults and adolescents living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. By the end of 2005, this proportion had grown to 23%.
- Data from the 2005 census show that together, black and Hispanic women represent 24% of all US women. However, women in these 2 groups accounted for 82% (8,807/10,774) of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for women in 2005.
Cited references:
MayoClinic on HIV
Google Health on HIV
CDC on HIV/AIDS
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