pat answers viewer's e-mail

Patricia Carroll, RN,BC, CEN, RRT, MS

Allergy Shots, HIV / AIDS,  and Summer Sneezes

To watch this interview, click here

This month, I have the pleasure of responding to viewer e-mail from viewers who wrote in after my last television appearance.

Allergy Shots

Q. Diane wrote: "What is the difference between allergy shots and a special shot a friend of mine carries in her purse in case she gets stung by a bee?"

A. Allergy shots work on the theory of "having a little hair of the dog that bit you." If you have a known allergy, you can get shots once or twice a week that provide tiny but gradually increasing doses of the substance to which you are allergic. As your body is exposed to the substance, it comes to recognize it as normal and not as a foreign invader that needs to be fought off with a major allergic response. They can be started on children from age 6. The initial series typically takes at least six months and can last for years on a less frequent basis.

The "emergency shot" contains adrenalin -- medical name epinephrine -- a powerful drug used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions in which there are hives all over the body and the person has trouble breathing. Hopefully, people who carry these will never need them, but if you are with someone who needs to use one, call local emergency medical services immediately. The shot doesn't cure the problem -- it buys time to get to the ER.

Click here for more detail about allergy shots.

HIV/AIDS

Q. David wrote, "Please explain the difference between HIV and AIDS. Why do people on TV talk about the HIV Virus? Is that something different?"

A. HIV stands for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.  Infection with this virus may or may not lead to AIDS.  Everyone with AIDS has HIV, but not everyone with HIV gets AIDS. As more antiviral drugs are discovered and more people now live longer with HIV, we are learning much more about how the virus behaves. The "V" in HIV stands for virus, so saying "HIV virus" is like saying "virus virus." The term "HIV" says it all. 

For example, people diagnosed as "HIV positive" (meaning they have been infected with the virus, whether they feel sick or not) who survive for 5 years from diagnosis has risen from 11% of people diagnosed in 1984 and 1985 to 60% of people diagnosed in 1996. Those are the most recent data from the CDC -- the percentage is no doubt higher today.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS is a separate diagnosis that is made when (1) someone who is HIV positive gets sick with one of a number of unusual infections that people with healthy immune systems normally fight off or (2) measurements of immune function show that their immune systems are seriously impaired and will not be able to fight off disease.

Back in the 1980s when this horrible epidemic began, most people were diagnosed with AIDS at the same time they were found to be HIV positive because there was nothing to stop the virus from attacking the immune system. Today, AIDS is a very different illness from HIV. People can now be HIV positive, take their medication, and their tests show tiny amounts of the virus in their blood. Their immune systems stay strong, and they don't get sick. Magic Johnson, the basketball player, is in this group. He's HIV positive, but has not been sick with a bad infection -- he doesn't have AIDS.

When deaths from HIV infection that has progressed to AIDS are studied, the age group most carefully examined is people from 25 to 44 years old because of all AIDS heaths, 70% have happened in this age group. HIV infection was the leading cause of death in 1994 and 1995, causing about 20% of all deaths. It fell to 5th place in 1996, and in 2000, HIV infection caused 6% of total deaths in this age group -- at 8,000 -- still too many. See the slide here

You can learn more from the CDC here and see this entire slide show here

Summer Sneezes

Q. Tony wrote, "When I get a stuffy nose in August, how do I know if it's a cold or if I should take allergy medicine?"

A. This is a common question, and it's really pretty simple:

Learn more about summertime allergies here 

Written: August 2003