AIDS Information and Info on HIV

Written by Carol Dickens

The Facts about AIDS and HIV The AIDS virus, as well as HIV, has continued to be a problem since it first became prevalent in the early 1980s.  Since that time, there have been many organizations and campaigns that devote their time to educating people about these illnesses.  Still, people often have many misconceptions about HIV and AIDS.  First you need to learn what these acronyms really stand for.  HIV means Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.  Both of these health problems are terrible and deadly.  Unfortunately, scientists and doctors have yet to develop a cure. HIV and AIDS primarily affect the immune system, although this is not usually what makes the disease fatal for people who have it. Instead, this immune system problem can make even the smallest, most common illness become deadly.  You often hear of people with AIDS or HIV dying of pneumonia or similar illnesses.  In reality, they died from pneumonia because the AIDS virus depleted their immune system so much that they could no longer fight off regular illnesses.    It can often be hard to tell if the AIDS information you are getting is real or not.  There are people out there who will tell you that AIDS was spread by homosexual males, and that it is their fault for the outbreak.  This isn't true.  Both hetero- and homosexual people can contract the disease, and no one lies at fault.  There are also a lot of rumors about how this illness can be spread.  If you know someone with AIDS or HIV, don't be afraid to hug them or shake their hand.  AIDS can only be contracted through the blood or other bodily fluids.  This means that most people who contract the disease got it from sharing needles or having unprotected sex.  If you protect yourself and are knowledgeable about the disease, you should have an easy time of avoiding it. Birth control like the contraceptive pill does not protect against AIDS.  The only way to do this is to completely avoid the other person's fluids.  The best method for this is the use of condoms.  Condoms do a great job of helping people avoid the virus.  Since AIDS first became a problem, there has been a lot of effort to inform people about this method of protecting yourself and others.  The more popular the use of condoms is, much less people with become affected by this disease. While efforts in America to stop AIDs and HIV has been somewhat successful, it is currently a very bad problem in many parts of Africa.  Because of lack of awareness and proper education, people there don't know about the dangers of the disease.  Not only is it hurting the adults that currently live there, but the children born with the disease as well. The best way to handle AIDS and HIV is to continue the awareness.  If you can, you should donate your time or money to the cause.  Every little bit helps.  This donation can go to help people all over the world, including the United States and Africa.  The more donations, help and awareness that people receive, the bigger the chance that this terrible health problem can be contained. Donations also go to help find a cure.  Scientists and doctors are working tirelessly to find new medications that can help infected individuals.  They hope to someday find a cure so that people won't have to deal with this terrible and fatal virus any longer.  As you can see, there is a lot of effort out there by individuals to help thecause. This is an amazing thing that is important to the human race.

 

Next >