WARNING: Parents, please be advised that this post contains adult material associated with AIDS/HIV/STIs. It is not recommended for children under the age of 18. If you are under 18 years of age, please get your parents’ permission before reading this post. I am also NOT a doctor or medical professional. Please read my disclaimer.
AIDS vs Autoimmune Diseases
When diagnosed with an incurable disease, people go to the internet for information. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis fall into the category of autoimmune diseases. People hear the words “autoimmune disease” and think “AIDS.” When others hear that term they back up and cross themselves for fear of becoming infected. There are big differences between the two conditions, though.
March is Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month. Because of this, I am taking this opportunity to explain those differences. While these two diseases share some symptoms, they are two distinct illnesses.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
First, let’s take a look at AIDS. More than 1.2 Americans suffer from AIDS. AIDS is the advanced form of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). HIV spreads through sexual intercourse, contaminated blood transfusions, and needles. It is also transmitted from mother to child during childbirth. Bodily fluids such as saliva and tears do not pass on HIV. Unlike autoimmune diseases, AIDS is a disease limited to the human immune system. In other words, AIDS attacks the immune system.
Symptoms of HIV/AIDS
Upon initial infection, you may have no symptoms. And the progression of the disease varies from person to person. This stage of the disease may last months to ten years or more. During this time, the virus quickly multiplies. Then it begins to destroy the cells in the immune system as well as cells designed to kill infections. Once the immune system is weakened, people may experience the following HIV symptoms:
- fatigue
- weight loss
- fevers/night sweats
- frequent yeast infections
- skin rashes
- memory loss (mostly short-term)
- mouth, genital or anal sores (herpes)
In AIDS nearly every organ is affected. The most common symptoms include:
- cough
- shortness of breath
- seizures
- difficult or painful swallowing
- confusion
- severe diarrhea
- vision loss
- nausea and vomiting
- headaches
- coma
TREATMENT
Like Crohn’s and UC, there is no cure for HIV. However, the progression of the disease slowsdown with antiretroviral treatment. With treatment, people can expect to live normal lives. As with most treatments and medicines, it is expensive and there are risks of side-effects. Without treatment, though, life expectancy is anywhere from 6 to 11 years. After AIDS develops, life expectancy drops to as little as 2 years if left untreated.
TRANSMISSION
One of the biggest misconceptions is that HIV spreads through casual, non-sexual contact. You cannot contract HIV through kissing or the sharing food and drink of an infected person. HIV cannot infect you through tears or saliva. The fluids that can infect you are as follows:
- blood
- semen
- pre-seminal fluid
- rectal fluids
- vaginal fluids
- breast milk
Autoimmune Disease
Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases develop when your immune system mistakes healthy cells for foreign ones and begin attacking them. There are different types of autoimmune diseases that attack one or more tissues in the body.
It is said that there are approximately 80 known autoimmune diseases. Some of them have very similar symptoms, making it hard to pinpoint a diagnosis. These autoimmune diseases include:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Vitiligo
- Psoriasis
- Lupus
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Type 1 Diabetes
This is by no means an extensive list. You can have one or many autoimmune diseases. And if you develop one you are more likely to develop another. Autoimmune diseases often fluctuate between periods of remission and periods of active disease (known as flareups). As stated before there is no cure for autoimmune diseases and treatment varies from person to person. The severity of these diseases also varies. Because of these factors, it is difficult to determine the appropriate treatment.
Autoimmune diseases are not contagious, but they can run in families. The cause of these diseases is unknown but it is believed to have something to do with a persons genetics. Thankfully, people with an autoimmune disease can live relatively normal lives with a normal life expectancy. However, many complications of these diseases can be very fatal. In fact, without the medical advancements we’ve made, many people would have died without treatment.
