Question
Should I be worried if I get flu-like symptoms?
14 July 2010. Related: All topics, Opportunistic infections.
Hi,
I’m male, 30 years old, diagnosed as HIV positive in April of this year. I have a CD4 count of 360 and a viral load of 5000.
I wanted to ask what should I do, or how worried should I be if I get cold or flu-like symptoms? Due to the nature of my job, I often get throat infections/sore throats, but more recently have felt a bit chesty, run-down and headachey. Normally, I wouldn’t worry and would expect to get better after some rest and relaxation but since my diagnosis, I’m wondering what should I do when I feel ill?
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Everyone gets colds and throat infections whether HIV positive or not. You should not worry about getting these infections but you should try to contact your doctor whenever they occur to ensure that the infection is treated before it becomes too severe.
The key if you are HIV positive is to try to include time for rest and relaxation on a regular basis to ensure that you don’t get run down.
Taking multivitamins can also help to maintain good health. For more information about which vitamins and minerals to take please follow this link
With a CD4 count of 360, you should start thinking about medication and preparing yourself for starting treatment. For some overall information about HIV treatment please see this link to the i-Base ‘Introduction to Combination Therapy’
T-cells are one of the cells that make up our bodies immune system and fight off any infections that we get. The CD4 and CD8 refers to different types of T-cell. CD4 cells are the ones which HIV infects, CD8 cells are also called ‘killer cells’ because they kill off any foreign particles entering our body which shouldn’t be there such as bad bacteria and viruses.
What are T-cells CD4 and CD8. Please explain thank you.