AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) was first reported in
the United States in 1981 and has since become a major worldwide
epidemic. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV). By killing or damaging cells of the body's immune system,
HIV progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections
and certain cancers. People diagnosed with AIDS may get
life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections, which
are caused by microbes such as viruses or bacteria that usually
do not make healthy people sick.
More than 700,000 cases of AIDS have been reported in the United
States since 1981, and as many as 900,000 Americans may be
infected with HIV. The epidemic is growing most rapidly among
minority populations and is a leading killer of African American
males. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), AIDS affects six times more African Americans
than whites and three times more Hispanics than whites.
Transmission
HIV is spread most commonly by having sex with an infected
partner. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the
vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex.
HIV also is spread through contact with infected blood. Before
blood was screened for evidence of HIV infection and before
heat-treating techniques to destroy HIV in blood products were
introduced, HIV was transmitted through transfusions of
contaminated blood or blood components. Today, because of blood
screening and heat treatment, the risk of getting HIV from such
transfusions is extremely small.
HIV frequently is spread among injection drug users by the
sharing of needles or syringes contaminated with very small
quantities of blood from someone infected with the virus. It is
rare, however, for a patient to give HIV to a health care worker
or vice-versa by accidental sticks with contaminated needles or
other medical instruments.
Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or birth.
Approximately one-quarter to one-third of all untreated pregnant
women infected with HIV will pass the infection to their babies.
HIV also can be spread to babies through the breast milk of
mothers infected with the virus. If the mother takes the drug AZT
during pregnancy, she can reduce significantly the chances that
her baby will be infected with HIV. If doctors treat mothers with
AZT and deliver their babies by cesarean section, the chances of
the baby being infected can be reduced to a rate of 1 percent.
A study sponsored by NIAID in Uganda found a highly effective and
safe drug regimen for preventing transmission of HIV from an
infected mother to her newborn that is more affordable and
practical than any other examined to date. Interim results from
the study show that a single oral dose of the antiretroviral drug
nevirapine (NVP) given to an HIV-infected woman in labor and
another to her baby within three days of birth reduces the
transmission rate by half compared with a similar short course of
AZT.
Although researchers have detected HIV in the saliva of infected
individuals, no evidence exists that the virus is spread by
contact with saliva. Laboratory studies reveal that saliva has
natural properties that limit the power of HIV to infect.
Research studies of people infected with HIV have found no
evidence that the virus is spread to others through saliva such
as by kissing. No one knows, however, whether so-called
"deep kissing," involving the exchange of large amounts
of saliva, or oral intercourse increase the risk of infection.
Scientists also have found no evidence that HIV is spread through
sweat, tears, urine, or feces.
Studies of families of HIV-infected people have shown clearly
that HIV is not spread through casual contact such as the sharing
of food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones,
or toilet seats. HIV is not spread by biting insects such as
mosquitoes or bedbugs.
HIV can infect anyone who practices risky behaviors such as:
1. sharing drug needles or syringes
2. having sexual contact with an infected person without using a
condom or with someone whose HIV status is unknown
Having a sexually transmitted disease such as syphilis, genital
herpes, chlamydial infection, gonorrhea, or bacterial vaginosis
appears to make people more susceptible to acquiring HIV
infection during sex with infected partners.
Early Symptoms
Many people do not develop any symptoms when they first become
infected with HIV. Some people, however, have a flu-like illness
within a month or two after exposure to the virus. This illness
may include fever, headache, tiredness, and enlarged lymph nodes
(organs of the immune system easily felt in the neck and groin).
These symptoms usually disappear within a week to a month and are
often mistaken for those of another viral infection. During this
period, people are very infectious, and HIV is present in large
quantities in genital fluids.
More persistent or severe symptoms may not surface for a decade
or more after HIV first enters the body in adults, or within two
years in children born with HIV infection. This period of
"asymptomatic" infection is highly individual. Some
people may begin to have symptoms as soon as a few months, while
others may be symptom-free for more than 10 years. During the
asymptomatic period, however, the virus is actively multiplying,
infecting, and killing cells of the immune system. HIV's effect
is seen most obviously in a decline in the blood levels of CD4+ T
cells (also called T4 cells) -- the immune system's key infection
fighters. At the beginning of its life in the human body, the
virus disables or destroys these cells without causing symptoms.
As the immune system deteriorates, a variety of complications
start to take over. For many people, their first sign of
infection is large lymph nodes or "swollen glands" that
may be enlarged for more than three months. Other symptoms often
experienced months to years before the onset of AIDS include:
1. lack of energy
2. weight loss
3. frequent fevers and sweats
4. persistent or frequent yeast infections (oral or vaginal)
5. persistent skin rashes or flaky skin
6. pelvic inflammatory disease in women that does not respond to
treatment
7. short-term memory loss
Some people develop frequent and severe herpes infections that
cause mouth, genital, or anal sores, or a painful nerve disease
called shingles. Children may grow slowly or be sick a lot.
AIDS
The term AIDS applies to the most advanced stages of HIV
infection. The CDC in Atlanta, GA, develops official criteria for
the definition of AIDS and is responsible for tracking the spread
of AIDS in the United States.
CDC's definition of AIDS includes all HIV-infected people who
have fewer than 200 CD4+ T cells per cubic millimeter of blood.
(Healthy adults usually have CD4+ T-cell counts of 1,000 or
more.) In addition, the definition includes 26 clinical
conditions that affect people with advanced HIV disease. Most of
these conditions are opportunistic infections, which rarely cause
harm in healthy people. In people with AIDS, these infections are
often severe and sometimes fatal because the immune system is so
ravaged by HIV that the body cannot fight off certain bacteria,
viruses, fungi, parasites, and other microbes.
Opportunistic infections common in people with AIDS cause
symptoms such as:
1. coughing and shortness of breath
2. seizures and lack of coordination
3. difficult or painful swallowing
4. mental symptoms such as confusion and forgetfulness
5. severe and persistent diarrhea
6. fever
7. vision loss
8. nausea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting
9. weight loss and extreme fatigue
10. severe headaches
11. coma
Although children with AIDS may get the same opportunistic
infections as adults with the disease, they also experience
severe forms of the bacterial infections which all children may
get, such as conjunctivitis (pink eye), ear infections, and
tonsillitis.
People with AIDS are particularly prone to developing various
cancers, especially those caused by viruses such as Kaposi's
sarcoma and cervical cancer, or cancers of the immune system
known as lymphomas. These cancers are usually more aggressive and
difficult to treat in people with AIDS. Signs of Kaposi's sarcoma
in light-skinned people are round brown, reddish, or purple spots
that develop in the skin or in the mouth. In dark-skinned people,
the spots are more pigmented.
During the course of HIV infection, most people experience a
gradual decline in the number of CD4+ T cells, although some may
have abrupt and dramatic drops in their CD4+ T-cell counts. A
person with CD4+ T cells above 200 may experience some of the
early symptoms of HIV disease. Others may have no symptoms even
though their CD4+ T-cell count is below 200.
Many people are so debilitated by the symptoms of AIDS that they
cannot hold steady employment or do household chores. Other
people with AIDS may experience phases of intense
life-threatening illness followed by phases in which they
function normally.
A small number of people (fewer than 50) initially infected with
HIV 10 or more years ago have not developed symptoms of AIDS.
Scientists are trying to determine what factors may account for
their lack of progression to AIDS, such as particular
characteristics of their immune systems or whether they were
infected with a less aggressive strain of the virus, or if their
genes may protect them from the effects of HIV. Scientists hope
that understanding the body's natural method of control may lead
to ideas for protective HIV vaccines and use of vaccines to
prevent the disease from progressing.
Diagnosis
Because early HIV infection often causes no symptoms, a doctor or
other health care worker usually can diagnose it by testing a
person's blood for the presence of antibodies (disease-fighting
proteins) to HIV. HIV antibodies generally do not reach levels in
the blood which the doctor can see until one to three months
following infection, and it may take the antibodies as long as
six months to be produced in quantities large enough to show up
in standard blood tests.
People exposed to the virus should get an HIV test as soon as
they are likely to develop antibodies to the virus. By getting
tested early, they can get the right treatment at a time when
their immune systems are most able to combat HIV and thus prevent
the emergence of certain opportunistic infections (see Treatment
below). Early testing also alerts HIV-infected people to avoid
high-risk behaviors that could spread the virus to others.
Most doctors' offices or health clinics can do HIV testing and
will usually offer counseling to the patient at the same time. Of
course, individuals can be tested anonymously at many sites if
they are concerned about confidentiality.
Doctors diagnose HIV infection by using two different types of
antibody tests, ELISA and Western Blot. If a person is highly
likely to be infected with HIV and yet both tests are negative, a
doctor may look for HIV itself in the blood. The person also may
be told to repeat antibody testing at a later date, when
antibodies to HIV are more likely to have developed.
Babies born to mothers infected with HIV may or may not be
infected with the virus, but all carry their mothers' antibodies
to HIV for several months. If these babies lack symptoms, a
definitive diagnosis of HIV infection using standard antibody
tests cannot be made until after 15 months of age. By then,
babies are unlikely to still carry their mothers' antibodies and
will have produced their own, if they are infected. New
technologies to detect HIV itself are being used to more
accurately determine HIV infection in infants between ages 3
months and 15 months. A number of blood tests are being evaluated
to determine if they can diagnose HIV infection in babies younger
than 3 months.
Treatment
When AIDS first surfaced in the United States, no medicines were
available to combat the underlying immune deficiency and few
treatments existed for the opportunistic diseases that resulted.
Over the past 10 years, however, researchers have developed drugs
to fight both HIV infection and its associated infections and
cancers.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a number of drugs
for treating HIV infection. The first group of drugs used to
treat HIV infection, called nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT)
inhibitors, interrupts an early stage of the virus making copies
of itself. Included in this class of drugs (called nucleoside
analogs) are AZT (also known as zidovudine or ZDV), ddC
(zalcitabine), ddI (dideoxyinosine), d4T (stavudine), and 3TC
(lamivudine). These drugs may slow the spread of HIV in the body
and delay the onset of opportunistic infections.
Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), such as
delvaridine (Rescriptor) and nevirapine (Viramune), are also
available for use in combination with other antiretroviral drugs.
More recently, a second class of drugs has been approved for
treating HIV infection. These drugs, called protease inhibitors,
interrupt virus replication at a later step in its life cycle.
They include ritonavir (Norvir), saquinivir (Invirase), indinavir
(Crixivan), amprenivir (Agenerase), and nelfinavir (Viracept).
Because HIV can become resistant to both classes of drugs,
combination treatment using both is necessary to effectively
suppress the virus.
Currently available antiretroviral drugs do not cure people of
HIV infection or AIDS, however, and they all have side effects
that can be severe. Some of the nucleoside RT inhibitors may
cause a depletion of red or white blood cells, especially when
taken in the later stages of the disease. Some may also cause an
inflammation of the pancreas and painful nerve damage. Other
complications, including lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly
(enlarged liver) with steatosis (fatty liver) that may result in
liver failure and death, have also been reported with the use of
antiretroviral nucleoside analogs alone or in combination,
including AZT, ddI, ddC, 3TC, and abacavir.
The most common side effects associated with protease inhibitors
include nausea, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. In
addition, protease inhibitors can interact with other drugs
resulting in serious side effects.
Researchers have credited highly active antiretroviral therapy,
or HAART, as being a major factor in reducing the number of
deaths from AIDS in this country by 47 percent in 1997. HAART is
a combination of several drugs to treat patients. These drugs
include reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors.
Patients who are newly infected with HIV as well as AIDS patients
can take the combination.
HAART is not a cure. The health of HIV and AIDS patients has
benefited dramatically by combining protease inhibitors with
other AIDS drugs, but there are drawbacks. Also, though HIV may
not be found in the patients successfully treated with HAART,
researchers know that it is still present, lurking in hiding
places such as the lymph nodes, the brain, testes, and the retina
of the eye.
A number of drugs are available to help treat opportunistic
infections to which people with HIV are especially prone. These
drugs include foscarnet and ganciclovir, used to treat
cytomegalovirus eye infections, fluconazole to treat yeast and
other fungal infections, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
(TMP/SMX) or pentamidine to treat Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
(PCP).
In addition to antiretroviral therapy, adults with HIV whose CD4+
T-cell counts drop below 200 are given treatment to prevent the
occurrence of PCP, which is one of the most common and deadly
opportunistic infections associated with HIV. Children are given
PCP preventive therapy when their CD4+ T-cell counts drop to
levels considered below normal for their age group. Regardless of
their CD4+ T-cell counts, HIV-infected children and adults who
have survived an episode of PCP are given drugs for the rest of
their lives to prevent a recurrence of the pneumonia.
HIV-infected individuals who develop Kaposi's sarcoma or other
cancers are treated with radiation, chemotherapy or injections of
alpha interferon, a genetically engineered naturally occurring
protein.
Prevention
Because no vaccine for HIV is available, the only way to prevent
infection by the virus is to avoid behaviors that put a person at
risk of infection, such as sharing needles and having unprotected
sex.
Many people infected with HIV have no symptoms. Therefore, there
is no way of knowing with certainty whether a sexual partner is
infected unless he or she has repeatedly tested negative for the
virus -- and has not engaged in any risky behavior.
People should either abstain from having sex or or use latex
condoms, which may offer partial protection, during oral, anal,
or vaginal sex. Only condoms made of latex should be used, and
water-based lubricants should be used with latex condoms.
Although some laboratory evidence shows that spermicides can kill
HIV, researchers have not found that these products can prevent a
person from getting HIV.
The risk of HIV transmission from a pregnant woman to her baby is
significantly reduced if she takes AZT during pregnancy, labor
and delivery, and her baby takes it for the first six weeks of
life.
Research
NIAID-supported investigators are conducting an abundance of
research on HIV infection, including the development and testing
of HIV vaccines and new therapies for the disease and some of its
associated conditions. Twenty-eight HIV vaccines are being tested
in people, and many drugs for HIV infection or AIDS-associated
opportunistic infections are either being developed or being
tested. Researchers also are investigating exactly how HIV
damages the immune system. This research is suggesting new and
more effective targets for drugs and vaccines. NIAID-supported
investigators also continue to trace how the disease progresses
in different people.
Scientists are investigating and testing chemical barriers, such
as topical microbicides, that people can use in the vagina or in
the rectum during sex to prevent HIV transmission. They also are
looking at other ways to prevent transmission such as controlling
sexually transmitted diseases and modifying people's behavior as
well as ways to prevent transmission from mother to child.
My name is Helen and I'm a very outgoing when it comes to sex. I have a very demanding job at the State Capital working for the State Legislature and don't have much time to meet guys. I have a lot of different preferences when it comes to men; it depends on the way I feel. Sometimes I want a romantic encounter and the closeness of being with someone, and other times I want to fuck a guy and never know his name.
Most of the men I work with (and spend most of my time with) are very sexy, but I've been down that road and I don't want to ever fuck someone I work with again. It's hard to keep things on a professional level after spending a few nights 'working late'. All guys have conquest issues; I don't care what anyone says. I actually left a company because I had sex with half a dozen guys in the building over a two year period, and I swear they all must have been taking notes and sharing them. After I let one guy come on my face, the next three I slept with wanted the same thing way too early in the relationship to be normal.
It took a new years resolution to set me straight, but it also required a plan. I started asking every woman I knew how they found their husband/boyfriends and it's amazing how many people have hooked up through the Internet these days. I asked so many questions I think a lot of women thought I was after their man and digging for clues, but it was worth it.
I considered doing many different things, but joining an online dating service seemed like the best way to go. I originally signed up on one at my computer at work and was a little scared people would see what I was doing, so I ended up putting my search off until I bought a computer for my apartment. It took a few days, and I wasn't checking to see if anyone was interested in me. When I finally logged on at home I was amazed to find out I had over a dozen guys trying to contact me. It was too easy I had a date that night- with a gorgeous guy who happened to have a huge cock. He wasn't very bright, but he sure could fuck. He was the type of guy I didn't want to know anything about. It was just a one-night stand, but it was an awesome night.
I'm now very comfortable with meeting people online and I do it all the time. So far the best guy I've met is Randy. He lives in a quiet town called Auburn about an hour's drive from my place were he works as a fireman for Placer County. He lives far enough away to be discrete, but not so far that it's inconvenient.
When we first met online we chatted for a while in a private room and described what we would like to do to each other. It was clear he had a healthy sexual appetite but wasn't into anything too freaky- exactly my type.
I was a little disappointed to find out he was married, but it wasn't enough to stop me from seeing him. Randy has an amazing body and I was very curious if he's used a picture of his own cock in one of our online exchanges. Our first time together I didn't waste anytime pulling it out and examining it up close. I'm still not sure if he used his own cock for the picture, but it was beautiful. I sucked him off and then we fucked for an hour. He was wonderful and a very thoughtful lover, making sure I got as much pleasure out of it as he did. It was so good he had me begging him to do me whenever he could get away from his wife.
I don't know how long I'll let Randy string me along, (I'm not stupid enough to think we have anything special) but for now it's a lot of fun. When I get tired of him I'll just move on to the next guy I meet online. It's not hard, and my life is a lot less complicated.
Folsom Fucker Gets Lucky
I've always been a very outgoing person, so it was a bit odd to be first one in my group of friends to try an online dating service. I'm not looking for a husband or a sweet boyfriend to hold me, and I don't have trouble finding men, but I thought I'd try something new. Everything turned out awesome and I had such a great time I have to tell as many people as I can about it. My best friend was very shocked when I told her I had done, but after she heard the story of my first encounter she went online as well.
I just came out of a serious relationship so I guess a lot of people would say my online search was rebound thing. Maybe it was, I don't know, but what I do know is that right now in my life I want to fuck as many guys as I can, and I've already noticed I can find better quality dates on the Net. It's easy to use and I don't have to worry about getting into another relationship because I don't even have to tell anyone my real name.
The first guy I met through an online dating service was 24 and he was rich and gorgeous. He picked me up in a Porche he just bought from Niello Porsche Audi and we went for a long drive that ended at his place in Folsom. I've never driven in a car that fast before and it was a thrill. We didn't really have a plan for where we were going or anything, but I started things off by running my hand up the inside of his thigh while he drove and he took the hint.
We ripped each other's clothes off inside his house in Lexington Hills and to tease him I did a strip show on his couch, playing with my pussy and telling him he couldn't come near me until I told him he could. He watched intently as I fingered my pussy and I noticed a large bulge appear in his crotch. He wasn't silent though the show though, he asked me to do things and it was very erotic. He seemed particularly interested in getting me to lick my fingers after playing with my clit. When I finally told him he could touch me he pounced and I was very close to my first orgasm.
It was exhilarating. The first thing I did was push his head between my legs and he lapped my clit with his tongue only a few times before I exploded all over her face. The heat from his mouth was incredible, and it was mixed with a slightly cool breeze from his heavy breathing. I came with such a rush it was a good thing I lying on my back, otherwise I probably would have collapsed.
Once I was taken care of all hell broke loose. He got naked and we fucked like we were the last two people on earth. He kept me on the edge of my second orgasm for almost an eternity and it was driving me crazy, then he increased the tempo when he was close. His timing was perfect. We came together and it was a wonderful sensation.
I hung around his place in Folsom the whole day, we watched some movies and he made dinner for me. It was very comfortable to be around him, and it was obvious he knew I wasn't interested in him seriously. We ended up doing it all over again, only instead of on the couch we made it to his bedroom. He was such a good lover it was like we could read each other's mind.
The second time he was very slow and methodical, it was very romantic. At times I tried increasing the temp by gyrating my hips, but he was one step ahead of me with every movement and prolonging my orgasm made it a lot better.
The next morning he dropped me off in Sacramento where we started our date. I think I'm going to get him to fuck me again, but already I've made so many dates online I've kind of got a full schedule for the next couple of weeks. We'll see how things turn out. I hope your readers enjoyed my story. I know I enjoyed living it.
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