Thoughts about AIDS and HIV

The never-ending caption between reading the lines of sex is the transitioning of disease called AIDS through HIV. This has scattered as rumors that sex has always been tied to as an illness on a case basis. Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is the one that causes AIDS. Normal illness affect immune system but is controllable by doctor medication. HIV is a virus that scatters on the human immune system that supports illness. CD4 is the type of white blood cells that targets the infection. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are the most developed type of illness that can be seen in HIV. AIDS are caused by HIV. Long term side effects of the illness make a person die due to AIDS.

Difference between HIV and AIDS:

The difference between HIV and AIDS is, you cannot not have AIDS if you already have HIV. For a couple of years, you can never determine or see the effects or signs of the disease. As for our generation today, people infected by HIV can now be under be medication and treatment. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can determine if the person has AIDS if they go on lab tests and are positive in HIV, they had had at least one positive of the 21 AIDS-defining opportunistic infections and has the CD4 cell result of less than 200 cells.

Signs that positive HIV:

We can never say and pin-point the symptoms of the infection not, unless you’ll take an HIV test. It usually ended up to 12 weeks for an HIV test result to be positive. Exposure to HIV symptoms usually occurs two to four weeks.  If in case you go on positive with the HIV test, so therefore your body is infected; which means that the immune system will take some antibodies to battle the virus. It also includes fever, muscle aches and rashes and swollen glands.

We have common misconceptions in line with HIV and AIDS. The much rumored misconception is “HIV doesn’t cause AIDS”. The truth beyond the myth is that – if you don’t have HIV, you don’t have AIDS as well. And, if you have AIDS, you have HIV. The second much rumored misconception is – “the medicines, they take that killed people and not the AIDS.” The truth beyond the myth is that HIV treatment called antiretroviral, don’t cure people with HIV, but they can keep the person healthy for a couple of years. And the last misconception is – “AIDS test can’t be tested”. The truth beyond the myth is – AIDS test measures the body response to HIV, which is called the antibodies. One of the reliable HIV antibody test sources for is ELISA. The CDC is 99% accurate.

HIV is transmitted not only through sex but also in many different ways. HIV is multiplied through body fluids like vaginal fluids, breast milk, blood and semen and other male sexual fluids. You cannot transmit HIV from tears, sweat and spit of saliva. The most common way in which HIV is transmitted is through re-using of needles to inject heroin, drugs and methamphetamine. This process can be reduced by using a bleach solution to cleanse the needle before use of other purposes. Body piercing and tattoo should also be under the license professional to operate equipment. Unsafe sex is the most common HIV transition – may it be anal, oral or vaginal. Barriers such as dental dams, condoms or even latex gloves help reduce the risk substantially in having HIV. Mother-to-child transmission such as breast-feeding, birth and pregnancy, is also one way of transmitting HIV. Mothers with positive HIV can pass the infection to their babies while pregnant, during birth and while on breastfeeding. Mothers with positive HIV should not breast-feed their babies for safer purposes.

Uncommon transmission of HIV

Using a razor is very unusual for HIV transmission, but – it really did infect a number of people already. Using a toothbrush immediately after use of the other person who has HIV could also transmit the virus but on rare cases only. One rare documented case of HIV transmission is “French Kissing” with two individuals having severe dental problems. For safer purposes, avoid contact with blood and sex fluids so as not to be transmitted from HIV.

Facts on HIV and AIDS that you Need to Know

• Due to media sensationalism and lack of information, many people believe that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) only affects the gay population. This myth that keeps coming back has been disproved by health professionals because the truth is, HIV can be contracted by anybody of any age (even babies can get this virus too), ethnicity or sexual orientation from blood-to-blood contact, sharing of needles with an infected person and unsafe sexual activity. Although generally penetrative sex acts carry a risk of transmitting HIV, there is a higher risk of contracting HIV through anal than vaginal sex due to a much weaker lining of the rectum than that of the vagina. Ordinary condoms are also not reliable when used in anal sex because they tend to easily tear apart.
• Having HIV doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to die. Diagnosed HIV patients can now live longer and have a healthy life compared in the past, thanks to the medical breakthroughs.
• It is true that you can get HIV from oral sex. Whether sex is penetrative or receptive, as long as it is unprotected, you can get the virus. HIV can be transmitted from one person to another through exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Thus, make sure you don’t get any vaginal secretions (including menstrual blood) or semen in your mouth because if you do, you make a very strong and perfect candidate of getting HIV.
• The difference between HIV and AIDS is that HIV is a virus, which may lead to AIDS while the latter is a group of diseases that the body cannot fight off. Therefore, they are not the same.
• Unfortunately, a cure or a vaccine for HIV has not been found and discovered yet. HIV medications only control the virus but do not get rid of them.
• To confirm your suspicions if you have been infected, it is very important to have yourself tested immediately. Not only will an early diagnosis help you but you will also be able to prevent the spread to other people. However, you have to wait at least 3 months to have yourself tested for HIV after having unsafe sex. But if you insist to get tested right away, your results may be inaccurate since HIV antibodies may take up to 12 weeks to be developed.
• HIV does not affect fertility therefore; women infected with HIV can have children. A pregnant HIV infected woman can even have a healthy baby but the chances of transferring the disease to your child is normally 15-30% and reduced to 2-3% upon adhering to medical guidelines. So seek medical advice to discuss things with your doctor. You also need to know that HIV can be transmitted to your babies through breastfeeding.
• It is believed that Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), a pathogen circulating in Chimpanzees, is a predecessor of HIV, probably transferred to humans by means of blood contact during the hunting of an infected animal. The first ever recorded HIV death was in Congo in 1959.
• It is a faulty notion that swallowing bleach will kill HIV. This bizarre AIDS myth does not kill the virus but kills you.
• The widespread-forwarded email message stating madmen leaving syringes containing HIV infected blood to pass on a disease to innocent people are nothing but a lousy scare. Movie theater chairs, random injections at night clubs, coin slots on payphones and gas pump handles are all possible means to get the virus. However, none of them qualified as a real threat for there are no recorded instances of people acquiring the virus through any of these methods. But if you are still worried to death about this matter, perhaps the following specifics can help you: first, the HIV virus cannot survive long enough outside its host hence discarded needles are not likely to be a danger and second, there is approximately a one in 200 chance of becoming infected with HIV even if injected with a syringe of fresh HIV infected blood.
• You cannot get AIDS via mosquito bites because the way mosquitoes spread the likes of yellow fever and malaria is not how the HIV is transmitted. Mosquitoes transmit through their saliva and not by injecting blood to their victims.
• Having one sexual partner does not save you from HIV. You’ll never know what your partner has done in the past so it pays to be careful and protect yourself always.

Hopefully this information will help the readers of this article to better understand a disease that has much half-truths.

What is AIDS?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is caused by a virus called HIV, human immunodeficiency virus. If the virus gets into the bloodstream, it attacks parts of the body’s immune system. It means that the body cannot fight off any disease because the immune system is not functioning normally. Luc Monatagnier and Robert Gallo reported the discovery of AIDS in 1980, although it was reported that AIDS existed in Africa before that period.

AIDS will be a health problem for a long time. It is important for you to know how to avoid infection. As a young individual, you need to take responsibility for protecting your own health. Correct decisions and values can help avoid many serious problems later.

AIDS is a pandemic or global disease. There is growing evidence that HIV/ AIDS pandemic has reached the major areas of the world. The prevalence is increasing among persons with multiple sexual partners, such as among the commercial sex workers or prostitutes and men who have a male sex partner. This is also true to the intravenous (IV) drug users.

AIDS is deadly because there is no cure for it at present and there is no vaccine against it. It is accepted that one prevention strategy for AIDS is through education. Adolescence is the best time to learn about AIDS because of the secondary physical changes taking place. Adolescent tent to experiment with many types of behavior, some of which may be dangerous. It is hoped that education should fully inform you about HIV, AIDS, STD infection, transmission and prevention. This type of education should give you the opportunity to develop skills in making responsible decisions, particularly on your own sexual behavior. You have the right to say “no” to sex because you can get AIDS virus or HIV from even one sexual experience alone. Saying “no” now does not mean “no” forever. When you say “no”, you are postponing sex, and you are preparing to say “yes” later when you make a life-long decision in marriage.

The following are five ways that a person can get infected of AIDS:

• Having sex with someone who is infected with the AIDS virus.
• Sharing intravenous (IV) needles with someone who is infected with the virus.
• Receiving blood transfusion or blood products from someone who is infected with the AIDS virus.
• Using sperm from an infected donor for artificial insemination.
• Being born to a woman who is infected with the AIDS virus.

This means that you will not get AIDS/ HIV from a handshake, a hug , a cough or sneeze, sweat or tears, pets or eating food prepared or served by someone infected with the virus. Nor will you get it from using the toilet bowls and other facilities or swimming pools, food utensils, chairs or bus seats, drinking fountains or sport’s equipment.

The following signs and symptoms are present and common in other illnesses. However, in AIDS, they tend to be longer lasting or more severe. It is best to consult a qualified physician when any of these symptoms are felt:

• Unexplained and persistent fatigue
• Unexplained fever, chills, or night sweats for weeks
• Unexplained weight loss of more than ten pounds
• Swollen glands or enlarged lymph nodes for more than two weeks
• Persistent and unusual white spots in the mouth
• Persistent diarrhea
• Unusual bruises or bleeding

The person suffering from AIDS shows the following characteristics: pneumocystic carinii, which is an infection that produces pneumonia with shortness of breath, persistent dry cough, sharp chest pain and difficulty of breathing. Another problem is kaposis sarcoma, which is a form of skin cancer. It produces purple or brown lesions that do not heal. The lesions can occur on any part of the body, such as the nose, mouth or rectum. Meningitis can also occur.

Prevention is possible through information and education.  It should be designed to help young people like teens to modify behavior or to refrain from behavior that carries a risk to HIV infection. One should know how it spread and what virus can cause it.

One should attend counseling and similar social services in order to avoid the behavior that carries the risk of HIV transmission. One should understand, appreciate and practice the social norms and policies with respect to the rights and dignity of people infected with HIV and people with AIDS. In fact, the whole world is united against AIDS. There is a global mobilization to prevent AIDS in 140 countries, which are participating in and support in various programs to stop its spread. It is but best to remember that “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!”