NOTE: Vaccinations stimulate the immune system and may thus increase the number of immune cells infected with HIV; vaccinations may also increase the progression of AIDS; for this reason, you may wish to only get those vaccinations you really need, and to get your vaccinations as early as possible, before you get AIDS!
A new vaccine may be in the works that helps prevent PCP and that does not require the vaccinated person's CD4 cells--which often remain low in persons with AIDS, even when they receive HART (highly active antiretroviral therapy)--to mount a strong response to the vaccine!
(Recommended for all persons who are sexually active or share needles, whether or not they have HIV!)
(Recommended for all persons who test positive for HIV--Streptococcal pneumonia is a bacterial infection, transmitted on tiny droplets of moisture in the air; and is extremely infectious.)
(This section is under development.)
Many treatments for cryptosporidiosis have not been effective, but some new medications are now available. However, it's best to be careful about the water you drink, bathe in, or swim in--as cryptosporidiosis is often in the water supply! Harmful bacteria and protozoa such as cryptosporidiosis are more common in the water in poorer countries, according to a 2001 article reprinted in Medscape--but cryptosporidiosis has also been found in some U.S. water supplies according to Laurie Garrett (1994)! Try drinking hot drinks--such as cocoa or tea. Try also drinking distilled--or perhaps ozonated and UV treated spring water (bottled and sold in stores). Certain kinds of water filters can also help! Positive Living (l'Heureux, July, 2000) recommends that all water filters be NSF-certified for the removal of cryptosporidioum. (Filtered or distilled water should be used to prepare infant formula, even when the infant is HIV negative, as infants are more susceptible to the microbes in water than are healthy adults.) Another way cryptosporidiosis is transmitted is by the oral-fecal route--both for children and for persons who have oral or anal sex. Frequent hand washing is the best way to prevent this, and of course, condoms or alternative forms of sex for persons having sex!
It's also worthwhile to follow the tips at Putting It All Together: Healing (and Preventing Wasting)--try enzymes, and anti-colon-allergics; reduce lactose, substituting soy for some milk products; and reduce fats.
Toxoplasmis is a protozoa that infects meat, but is not too harmful to persons and animals with healthy immune systems. It can infect pregnant women. And,it can be transmitted by meat and animal feces. Cook all meats well. Since some cats have toxoplasmis, use gloves and wash your hands before changing cat litter. If you have HIV or AIDS, you may wish to get tested for toxoplasmis.
Leucovorin rescue is a B vitamin which can help prevent some of the damage to the white blood cells caused by taking Bactrim (TMP/SMX), a sulfa drug in which trimethoprim is a component. It is generally recommended that persons with HIV start on Bactrim as a preventive measure when their T-cell count falls below 200, or when they develop Thrush, a yeast infection associated with HIV.
The old-fashioned Apple Cider Vinegar cure--which, according to Mark Konlee (April 10, 2000; Spring, 2000; Positive Health News) is gentle yet effective at destroying viral membranes and rendering viruses non-infectious--can help to eliminate cold and flue viruses trapped in the throat in this author's experience.
Herpes is spread by skin-to-skin contact during an outbreak. Herpes is highly contagious during an outbreak, though it may be washed off with soap and water if washed quickly enough. It is not infectious except during an outbreak--when there are blisters. Herpes Simplex, common in persons who are sexually active whether or not they have HIV, infects areas of the genitals, as well as the lips that are not covered by condoms, so condoms are not as effective in preventing the transmission of Herpes as they are in preventing illnesses transmitted by the mucosal linings and fluids! The best suggestion is to avoid skin-to-skin contact whenever you see blisters or sores.
This section is under development.
Yogurt, taken orally, and also for vaginal infections, inserted into the vagina using a tampon applicator, is a common first-line therapy. The yogurt should contain active cultures. The microbes treated this way are less likely to develop resistance to the treatment than microbes treated with lotrimin, since the active cultures will mutate to respond to the microbes!
Many treatments for cryptosporidiosis have not been effective, although cryptosporidiosis may be controlled, according to The Body.com. Some new medications show promise. Zithromax or Azithromycin is being used in trials, sometimes in combination with Paromycin. Paromycin is not effective alone!
Another drug, Nitazoxanide has been made available to treat cryptosporidiosis through expanded access programs. Holistic therapies for diarrhea include fiber. A favorite remedy of the Indians was fresh dandelion leaves, picked from the field, according to the Cherokee Nation. Dandelion root also stimulates the digestive system and helps digestion!
It's also worthwhile to follow the tips at Putting It All Together: Healing (and Preventing Wasting)--try enzymes, and anti-colon-allergics; reduce lactose, substituting soy for some milk products; and reduce fats.
Leucovorin rescue is a B vitamin which can help prevent some of the damage to the white blood cells caused by taking Bactrim (TMP/SMX), a sulfa drug in which trimethoprim is a component. It is generally recommended that persons with symptoms of PCP (a dry deep cough or night sweats) begin taking Bactrim.
Before World War II antibiotic discoveries, early-stage syphilis was treated with small doses of mercury! However, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, women often were denied such treatment due to physicians' ideas about morality. As a result, infections were rampant among women and children, and among prostitutes and the men who visited them! (Note: it's not clear how the mercury, which is a deadly poison, was administered, or in what doses.) By the 19th century, colloidal silver was listed as a treatment for a number of infections including syphilis, and is still used by many looking for alternate therapies today. Colloidal silver is much less toxic than mercury. Today also, rocephin (an antibiotic made from spores and injected), doxycycline, and azithromycin may be used to treat syphilis, though treatment gets more difficult in later stages. The syphilis bacterium is related to another rickettsial bacterium which causes lyme disease, a tick-borne illness, which was thoroughly controlled although not cured after four months of severe infection using a short course of doxycycline alternating with zithromax (both at half the normal dosage), and then a maintenance therapy of one-to-two tablespoons of liquid chlorophyl administered once or twice daily with a few drops of cinnamon leaf essential oil; and a half teaspoon of pennyroyal tincture administered once or twice daily. Nutritional supplements taken with this regimen included: coenzyme Q10 (which helps mitochondrial cellular energy, and the mitochondrial role in immune function, as well as provides nutritional support for the heart); melatonin (a pigment produced by the hyper-thymus which may help immune function); Barlean's Greens (rich in B vitamins and also some immune system nutritional supporters); and dairy whey! The addition of a teaspoon of boiled pokeweed berries--berries from a common North American plant used by the Natives of this country to treat a number of infections, including syphilis sores when syphilis erupted in the fifteenth century--seemed to reduce the lyme bacteria further. (The berries should be simmered slowly and boiled over a period of an hour or two to remove the toxins.) However, pokeweed and most alternative treatments for syphilis have not been studied adequately, according to the Gale Encyclopedia for Alternative Medicine, and remedies that have been effective for one person or genotype may not be as effective for others. Pokeweed proteins are also being studied as a possible controller of HIV! (Unfortunately, after a year, the lyme returned, albeit with almost no heart infection and only moderate chills--I was not always completely faithful to the regimen described above; today I'm trying joint supplements and melatonin, plus occasional anti-oxidants; sunlight and the outdoors are helpful, too.)
Licorice and Milk thistle are two herbs being studied for their effects against Hepatitis and for their benefits to the liver. Alpha Interferon injection therapy has been the standard therapy, but is effective only some of the time, and has strong side effects. Synthetic Thymic Modulators have shown promise in the treatment of Hepatitis B, and may be studied for their effectiveness in combatting Hepatitis C in the near future.
The shingles caused by Herpes may be treated topically. One topical, Trifluridine, is currently in drug trials; its side effects seem to be only 'transient burning and stinging.' In addition, several drugs, including Foscarnet (oral or topical), which can cause temporary and sometimes long-term kidney damage if taken orally, help to control Herpes. (Potassium Glutanate--available as an inexpensive supplement, together with lots of water, may be helpful in reducing the kidney damage caused by oral doses of Foscarnet!) Topical Foscarnet, like topical Trifluridine, has little or no side effects.
Since the skin cancer, Kaposi's Sarcoma, may be caused by a Herpes virus, Foscarnet is also being tried as a treatment for this. Kaposi's Sarcoma, of course, may also be treated topically with a derivative of vitamin A, Panretin (9-cis-retoinic acid)--but this author is not sure if anything similar would work for Shingles!
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