Bloggers Unite : AIDS
This post on AIDS/HIV is made in support of Bloggers Unite. On December 1, 2008, bloggers from around the world are uniting for World AIDS Day 2008. Why? To help raise awareness about the 33 million people in the world who are living with HIV. In the United States, an estimated one million Americans are living with HIV.
When I was growing up, the danger of unprotected sex was pregnancy or perhaps a nasty STD or Herpes. Intravenous drug use put you in danger of overdose, adulterated drugs or Hepatitis.
Today, you can contract HIV from one risky sexual encounter or one needle sharing incident.
Make sure you, your children and grandchildren know the dangers and protect themselves.
Also, ensure that they are educated about HIV/AIDS so they do not hold outdated ideas that could harm them or cause them to isolate friends and family that are infected.
What is HIV/AIDS?
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Unlike most viruses, HIV attacks the human immune system. The immune system gives our bodies the ability to fight infection and is severely compromised by HIV. Reducing the amount of virus in the body with anti-retroviral therapies can dramatically slow the destruction of a person’s immune system and the onset of AIDS.
AIDS is the final stage of the HIV virus, where the immune system is compromised, multiple systemic infections exist and T cells are almost non-existent. T cells belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which are crucial to the normal function of the human immune system.
The Past
Being diagnosed with AIDS used to be an automatic death sentence; a painful, lingering death. Many people died from AIDS without ever having a diagnosis of HIV first.
The Present
With access to treatment, people live for years with HIV without developing AIDS.
The Future
With research, hopefully a cure will be found for HIV/AIDS. Hopefully we will share this cure with countries whose populations are being decimated by AIDS.
Facts From aids.gov
HIV can be found in body fluids, including:
- blood
- semen
- vaginal fluids
- breast milk
- some body fluids sometimes handled by health-care workers (fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord, bone joints, and around an unborn baby)
HIV is passed from one person to another by:
- having sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) with a person who has HIV
- sharing needles with a drug user who has HIV
- during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding if a mother has HIV
- getting a blood transfusion from a person with HIV
Abstaining from (not having) sex is the most effective way to prevent HIV transmission. There are several ways to protect yourself or to prevent transmitting HIV during vaginal, oral, or anal sex if you choose to have sex:
- Get tested for HIV and know the HIV status of yourself and your partner
- Be faithful to your sexual partner
- Use condoms or other latex barriers during vaginal, oral, and anal sex, and never reuse condoms or latex barriers
HIV cannot be transmitted by casual contact. Here are the facts:
- You cannot get HIV from shaking hands or hugging a person with HIV/AIDS
- You cannot get HIV from using a public telephone, drinking fountain, restroom, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, or hot tub
- You cannot get HIV from sharing a drink
- You cannot get HIV from being coughed or sneezed on by a person with HIV/AIDS
- You cannot get HIV from giving blood
- You cannot get HIV from a mosquito bite
Transmission of HIV while getting a tattoo or through a body piercing is possible, but it can be prevented through:
- Single-use instruments intended to penetrate the skin being used only once, then disposed of
- Reusable instruments or devices that penetrate the skin and/or contact a client’s blood should be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized between clients according to medical guidelines
These guidelines are the same as those practiced within any medical facility where there is a risk of instruments coming into contact with blood.
