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Managing Your Health, 1999 edition

Your Immune System and HIV

WHAT ARE GERMS? How does your immune system protect you against germs? What happens when your immune system is damaged? What usually happens to the immune systems of people with HIV? The answers to these questions can help you understand how HIV is thought to affect your body and how your immune system works. This information can help you better understand what's happening to you and how to interpret terms used by your doctor. In order to understand how HIV is believed to work, it helps to know something about germs and about how your immune system keeps you healthy.

The information in this chapter is complex. Don't worry if you can't take it in all at once. You may want to go over it with a friend, your doctor, or staff at your nearest AIDS group . You can also contact the Community AIDS Treatment Information Exchange's HIV/AIDS treatment information network toll free at 1-800-263-1638.

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The Positive Side

Practical Guides

Decisions about particular medical treatments should always be made in consultation with a qualified medical practitioner who is knowledgeable about HIV-related illness and the treatments in question. MORE

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