AIDS are a lot more common than you think

Post Reply New Topic

You don't need to get a virus in order to get AIDS, nor does it have to be transmitted. You can develop it all on your own. As you grow older, and you don't exercise a lot, or don't eat healthy, your immune system might deteriorate with age. You might get colds more easilly and this kind of stuff. If you will, you can call it, too, an Acquired Immunnodeficienty Syndrome (AIDS). So, the virus is only ONE of the many many causes of AIDS. Of course, the AIDS that is caused by the virus is a lot more severe, and probably the only kind that is deadly. But on a good side it is not as common as other kids of AIDS. Most kinds of AIDS are not a big deal. You just don't have a strong immune system from common colds, so what.

Maybe, although a gradual decay from old age, lack of exercise, etc does not usually lead to the profound immune problems seen with HIV infection. If it is a mild or moderate decline, the term AIDS might not be appropriate.

HIV is undoubtedly a very nasty virus that is deadly if untreated (and the treatments are far from perfect, - they don't work forever, and can be toxic).

The problem, though, is that in the abbreviation for AIDS they didn't insert that it is serious or deadly. All they said was that it is immunity deficit. Well, if I read it AS IT SAYS, without inserting any of my prior knowledge into it, the immune deficit doesn't sound that bad.

Yes, I see your point. But AIDS has taken on a meaning different from the 4 words that were used to create it.

How is this relevant to AS? Also, an immune deficiency caused by lack of exercise or getting older can't be compared to a compromised immune system caused by a deadly virus. That's comparing apples to oranges.

Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection.

I've really never heard Immune Deficiencies (outside of HIV) refered to as AIDS. I have heard them refered to as Immune Deficincies. Which, yes, when you get older, you can obtain them, but you can obtain them even if you eat well and are healthy. Sometimes the body fights against itself, and there is no food or excersise that can stop it. Fibromylagia, Myofascia, and some other diseases that are technically under the Immune Deficincy umbrella are things that have nothing to do with age.

You don't work for Mbeki do you?

What were they supposed to call it, "Deadly, Evil, You'-re-Going-to-Die Immunodeficiency Syndrome?" They named it AIDS, and that refers to a specific condition. Just as having a "cold" is a specific condition. If you're a bit chilly because it's 25 degrees outside, you don't say, "I'm cold, therefore I have a cold. They called it a cold, right, therefore I can look at the name and make up my own definitions for what a cold is." Your argument makes no sense. You don't get to make up your own definitions for what a disease is based on the name. Well, you can, but you're wrong. Another example would be saying, "Clearly this one month old baby has alexia because he can't read." Technically the word "alexia" means "inability to read," but the actual condition refers to damage to the brain which renders someone unable to read.

I agree thats comparing apples to oranges. The quesiton though is which of the two do the words that spell out the abbreviation refer to? Naive reader would say they refer to the lack of exercise thing. Just think about it. Suppose someone said to you they have a bad immune system. Would you decide they have HIV? No, you will assume they don't exercise much. Now, "immunodeficiency" is just a fancy way of saying "poor imune system" so why should it be any different

Well, AIDS stand for "Acquired IMMUNE DEFICIENCY Syndrome", so here is "immune deficiency" right there.

Cool, but the "coined" word would be AIDS since 99% of the time ppl use abbreviation. So, if instead of sayign AIDS I would spell it out as "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome" my argument would still stand.

Thus, if you are a doctor and you are about to tell someone they have AIDS you can make a "white lie" to make them feel better by simply spelling out abbreviation with words:)

Yeah, that is another fascinating thing about this name. Until you reach your final stage you are said to be "HIV positive". So, everyone is HIV SOMETHING, some ppl are negative, some are positive. So they HAPPENED to be positive, so what? They don't *have* anything other ppl don't have.

I think that this whole terminology for HIV/AIDS is specifically designed to comfort ppl or at least not scare them too much

1)If someone is HIV positive, you tell them that they don't *have* AIDS they just HAPPENED to pick the "positive" option out of the too.

2)If someoen has AIDS you just tell them that they just have poor immune system, so what? We all do to one extend or the other.

Yeah, you missed the point. When doctors refer to it they refer to it as immune deficiency not Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. That was the point I was making.

OK, let me try to explain myself in this way.

In medicine, immunodeficiency (or immune deficiency) is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired ("secondary") but some people are born with defects in the immune system, or primary immunodeficiency. A person who has an immunodeficiency of any kind is said to be immunocompromised. An immunocompromised person may be particularly vulnerable to opportunistic infections, in addition to normal infections that could affect everyone.

Immune deficiency may also be the result of particular external processes or diseases; the resultant state is called "secondary" or "acquired" immunodeficiency. Common causes for secondary immunodeficiency are malnutrition, aging and particular medications (e.g. chemotherapy, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplants, glucocorticoids).

Many specific diseases directly or indirectly impair the immune system. This include many types of cancer, particularly those of the bone marrow and blood cells (leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma), and certain chronic infections. Immunodeficiency is also the hallmark of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV directly attacks the immune system.


Of course these aren't my words. So what I was trying to say is that HIV can cause an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, but when doctors tell you have an immune deficiency they don't use the word acquired, they may use secondary. I think if they use the term acquired, everyone would freak.

Well, if you are not born with it then it is "acquired" isn't it. So the immunodeficiency that comes with aging or medications or other things you listed is also acquired.