HIV wasting syndrome

A person with HIV wasting syndrome loses at least 10 percent of her body weight and has at least 30 days of either diarrhea or weakness and fever. A person with HIV-associated wasting is considered to have AIDS. Severe loss of weight and muscle, or lean body mass, leads to muscle weakness and organ failure. Wasting is caused by many things:

• Not wanting to eat (poor appetite)
• Side effects from drugs, like a change in your sense of taste
• No energy to shop and prepare food
• Sore mouth
• Problems swallowing
• Diarrhea
• Nausea or vomiting
• Problems absorbing nutrients
• Feeling full from only a small amount of food because your stomach doesn't empty right
• Depression

Here are some tips to help you keep weight on and treat weight loss:

• Try to prevent or treat opportunistic infections that interfere with eating.
• Talk to your doctor about medicines to increase your appetite and to treat nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Eat healthy foods. To find out what foods are good for you, talk to your doctor or a nutritionist. There are nutritionists who specialize in HIV/AIDS.
• Ask your doctor about keeping fit and about resistance training, which involves lifting small weights to build muscle.