Understanding Aids/HIV: Unveiling the Hidden Facts

When talking about diseases, we always focus our attentions on cancers, hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, but not many of us want to talk about AIDS/HIV. Whilst having known that these modern-day diseases have intruded human’s life, one “silent” disease called AIDS/HIV has taken millions lives of housewives, children, hawkers, technicians, lawyers and people from other social status worldwide. Most people unaware that they’ve been infected with AIDS/HIV as they don’t either check with a doctor or get themselves a medical examination done.

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Yesterday, 1st December 2008, was a World AIDS Day. It is celebrated annually on 1^st of December to raise people’s awareness towards AIDS/HIV. World AIDS Day is also served as a “terminal stop” for people to come togather to focus on raising awareness and highlighting the reality life with AIDS/HIV.

What is AIDS/HIV?

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HIV, or scientifically known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a type of virus that attacks the cells of living organisms by making new copies from the original “codes” (means make up the human body and replicate within those infected cells), weakening immune system (a natural defence against disease), while attacking a particular immune system cell called CD4 lymphocyte. When the immune system is weakened, it leads to chronic and progressive illness. The HIV then advances to a stage of illness called AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, causing the infected individuals vulnerable towards other infections and illnesses. As it is regarded as an opportunistic disease, it may also lead to death.

The virus is commonly transmitted via sexual contact to get into the bloodstream or it might pass through delicate mucous membranes (such as lining in the vagina, rectum or urethra if there’s bleeding, sore, cut and etc.), and also via a deadly virus called HPV (more details about HPV on my previous article here). In a nutshell, HIV can be transmitted from one person to another, if one of them gets in touch with each other with the bodily fluids that have been infected with HIV.

Also read: Little Known Facts About AIDS (more pictures here).

How Does AIDS/HIV Pass On?

There’s by far no test that can guarantee that anyone are free from the infection of HIV. HIV infection is extremely common and can anytime be infected by both male and female if precautionary step is not taken.

First, people who have sex at an early age or those who have many sex partners are more likely to get HIV. Either a sex partner is engaged with many partners or he or she always exchanges the sex partners with others is at high risk of infected by HIV.

Second, an individual has sexual intercourse with a HIV infected partner.

Third, a virus is passed on to an unborn baby by an infected mother. The virus may also be transmitted during pregnancy, delivery of a baby, or via breastfeeding.

Forth, an individual shares a syringe or a needle that has been infected with HIV while injecting drug into the body. Sharing needle or syringe has been regarded as the most effective way to transmit blood-borne viruses (such as Hepatitis C, HIV and etc.). It is also clinically documented that sharing spoons, filters, syringes and needles with blood-contaminated water may expose the individual three times higher risk of getting HIV.  Bear in mind that the disinfection of the HIV infected equipments doesn’t eliminate the virus thoroughly though it can reduce the chance of transmission.

Fifth, oral sex (licking or sucking the penis) with an infected individual may pose a risk of getting HIV infection. In this case, the infected fluids or infected sexual fluids (For a male, sexual fluids here mean the semen fluids that come out of the penis before and while having sexual intercourse; while for a female, they refer to HIV is in the vaginal fluids which are produced by the vagina to keep it clean besides aiding in the sexual intercourse) will enter into the bloodstream via bleeding gums, ulcers or tiny sores in the mouth of the partner. However, saliva does not pose a similar risk.

Sixth, receptive anal intercourse transmits HIV more effectively via the lining of the anus and thus a male who takes his insertive (”top”) position with an infected female while having anal sexual intercourse is more likely to be infected with HIV. Remember, any transmissions that involve blood during sexual intercourse may carry the risk of being infected.

Seventh,  a male is at high risk while having vaginal intercourse without wearing condom as the HIV can bridge through the female’s body via the lining of the vagina, womb and cervix. The risk is particularly obvious when female has a cut, sore or wound around or inside her vagina as this will become an entry for the virus to get into her bloodstream. Similarly, if a female has a sexual intercourse with a male without a condom putting on, the virus can bridge through a sore, cut, or wound found on his penis or may also get into his urethra (the tube that runs down the penis) or the inside of his foreskin. Sexually transmitted infections like Herps, warts, HPV and gonorrhoea can also give “a free admission” to the virus.

How to Avoid AIDS/HIV?

• Don’t share needles or syringes, or any items which include spoons, forks, toothbrushes, razors, or shavers that have been infected with HIV.
• Make sure that the donated blood has been examined for HIV before undergoing any blood transfusions or injections from the clinics, hospitals, and etc. Please require to screen for the blood for your own safety.
• Pack a medical certified needles, syringes, blood products (used by people with haemophilia) or any other items that you’ll need for injection before your trip. Also, prior to travelling, prepare a suture kit that includes sterile needles, syringes and suture materials if you need to use them.  
• If you’re planning to receive body-piercing, acupunture, tatooing or any other skin-piercing procedures, make sure that the equipments have not infected with HIV and the owners have followed the hygiene regulations correctly and accordingly. For your information, if the equipments for tatooing or any other skin-piercing purposes do not sterile or disinfect properly, there could be a potential risk of getting AIDS/HIV.
• Make sure you use condom (latex, or if allergic, use polyurethane instead) appropriately and consistently for each sexual contact activity. Though condoms may reduce/prevent HIV transmission, they don’t guarantee you 100% free of the infection of HIV.
• Remember to avoid having sexual intercourse with multiple partners.
• Don’t have oral, anal or vaginal sexual intercourse with commercial sex workers (such as those in the lounge, pub, Karaoke lounge, and etc.) or strangers.
• Attention, young females! You’re warned not to receive any sexual invitations with a Sugar Daddy (those who tempts a young female with gifts, money, high-paid salary, company’s position or any other benefits for having sexual contact with him).

Under What Situations Will You Not Get AIDS/HIV?

• HIV cannot be transmitted through hugging, sneezing, coughing, spitting, sharing items (such as cutlery, glasses, and etc.) or musical instruments. The reason is that HIV cannot survive outside the living host as it’s unable to reproduce under this environmental surrounding. Also, the open air has discouraged the virus from reproducing. There’s also no record stating that HIV can be transmitted in the swimming pools, showers, or by sharing toilet seats, or washing facilities.
• There’s also no HIV transmission risk via mouth-to mouth kissing. The saliva does contain some HIV, but the viruses only present in a very small quality that are not able to cause HIV infection. To get infected, there must be sufficient amount of the viruses or fluids entering your body. Unless, both partners are found to have severe bleeding gums, sores or ulcers in their mouths while kissing. In this case, the risk of being infected by HIV is potentially high.
• Many researchers show no evidence of HIV transmission via insect biting  (such as mosquitoes) as they believe that HIV cannot reproduce inside an insect. That means even the HIV virus entered the mosquitoes or any sucking, or biting insects’ bodies, the insects don’t get infected with HIV as HIV only lives for a short time. Due to this reason, sucking or biting insects cannot transmit HIV to humans that they bite/suck/sting/feed on.

What are the Symptoms of AIDS/HIV?

The infected individuals will not have symptoms for 10 years or more. This tells you that an infected individual will look just as normal and feel perfectly well for years without knowing that they’ve been infected with HIV. Nevertheless, they’ll have to go through an initial flu-like period, in which within this symptom-free period, the infection progresses relentlessly. That means they can transmit the HIV virus to needle sharers or sexual partners. Furthermore, within this symptom-free flu-like period, infected individuals may occasionally experience loss of appetite, extreme tiredness, sudden weight loss or fever. At the last stage of HIV infection, the onset of opportunistic infections and cancers can occur among them. Meanwhile, during this period, they may also suffer unusual types of pneumonia (such as pneumocystis carinii), precancerous or cancerous skin disease (such as Kaposi’s sarcoma), or other types of cancers, which may eventually lead them to death.

Read more on Kaposi’s sarcoma here.

What are the Treatments of AIDS/HIV?

Photo credit: Dr. Law Heng Yew

Currently, AIDS cannot be cured. However, several drugs have been developed to slow the progression of HIV disease. These drugs are difficult to take, costly and some may even have side effects. Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NRTI), non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NNRTI) and Protease Inhibitor (PI) are some of the most commonly used drugs to delay the rapid progression of HIV disease. In fact, the anti-AIDS/HIV drugs can help prolong the time between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS. Or else, the infected individual who is malnourised may progress rapidly to AIDS which may cause life to be taken in a short time. So, AIDS/HIV patients must take care of their diets.

Final Remark

This article is aimed to raise people’s awareness towards AIDS/HIV. Knowing the facts of AIDS/HIV is essential to protect your family, your beloved one, your friend and anyone to avoid from getting AIDS/HIV.  Don’t take chance for AIDS as it’ll alter your life forever. Please don’t let yourself be among them! I URGE you all not to become one of the victims of AIDS/HIV. REMEMBER, AIDS/HIV will RUIN and SPOIL your life and future !