HIV has been in existence for a long time now, but despite the intense publicity made about the deadly nature of the virus, it remains a widespread flame that seem to get intense by the day. Recently, awareness about the virus was taken to a local region, I happen to know a nurse that works there, and you will be shocked at the reported survey of young ladies and young men who have the virus in that community, they know about the existence of the virus, but they never thought it would get to them personally, you had to see the great shock on their faces when they tested positive to the HIV. Let's talk about the virus and what we need to know about it's spread and prevention.
HIV cannot be spread through; shaking hands, sharing toilets, sharing the same plate and cutlery, it cannot also be shared through water, air, mosquito bite, ticks and other insect bites. What are the describable way to spread HIV, HIV can be gotten through direct contact with the body fluid of an infected person, the detectable fluids are; Semen, Blood, Vaginal fluid, breast milk.
There was a sad story of a young lady who was raped by some young men, it was a sad experience for the family as the young lady was traumatized, but the problem is, they never took her for any medical treatment, and she continued with her normal daily routine, after sometime, there was time to time ailment noticed, it was treated with herbs and over the counter medications. It was when the situation got out of hand and different form of reactions took over her body, that it was detected that she had AIDS, as at that time it was too late, and she passed on a few weeks later.
In order for a successful transmission process of HIV, the fluid must get into the bloodstream of an HIV negative person, passing through a mucous membrane, which could be through injection, as well as open sores and cuts. The spread of the virus is however different for those who take HIV medications as prescribed by medical experts, they are able to live healthy and live long.
HIV infects the white blood cells of the infected patient, the infected white blood cell is called CD4 cells or helper T cells. HIV destroys the CD4 cells, making the white blood cell count drop. When this happens, the immune system becomes unable to fight off infections.
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Different ways to get the HIV through contact is usually through one of these ways;
Vaginal or anal sex: Having anal or vaginal sex with a person who has the virus without using a condom is one of the fastest ways to get the virus.
Sharing injection drug equipments: Injection drug items like; needles, syringes is highly dangerous since these instruments may have blood in them.
Mother to child transmission: This transmission is called perinatal transmission, there are kids who have the virus from birth because they got it from their mother, the condition is now rarer with the use of the medicines and improved technologies lowering the risk of transmission from mother to child. The risk of transmission from mother to child can be reduced if mother properly takes her medication in due time.
Oral sex: It is very rare to have the virus through oral sex, the rare possibility is when a man who is HIV positive ejaculates into his partner's mouth, but this is even just a theoretical rule with no scientific backing yet. However, there is a chance of having the virus spread in the case of; bleeding gums, genital sores, oral ulcers, and other STDs.
*A bite from an HIV patent: The transmission of the virus through bite is in the case of a broken skin, or injury, when there is no case of a broken skin, there is no chance of transmission
Kissing: HIV is not spread through ordinary saliva, but, HIV is spread, when there is a case of bleeding gum and blood gets through the partner's bloodstream through that of the HIV infected person.
Pre-chewed food: It is usually babies who consume pre-chewed food, the transmission of HIV is through the blood of an infected HIV patient.
HIV viral load is the available amount of blood in a person with the HIV, HIV drugs also called antiretroviral therapy/ART, these drugs have the ability to reduce a person's HIV viral load to an extremely low point, this way the immune system continues to work perfectly, doing the good job of preventing illness from getting into the body. The medicine taken can also make the viral load of the virus extremely low to the point that, a standard laboratory test finds, it difficult to detect.
How to identify the presence of HIV.
Symptoms of HIV infection usually begins with the patient experiencing short flu-like illnesses which usually happens 2-6 weeks after infection, this flu would last for about 2 weeks. After these symptoms of the flu clear, there may be no shown HIV symptom for years, even if the virus consistently damages the immune system, this explains why a lot of people who live with the virus do not even know they are carriers. Fever, rash, sore throat, mouth ulcers, night sweats, muscle aches, swollen lymph noodles are other visible symptoms, regular test is advised for the people who stand at risk of having the virus. The only way to ascertain the presence of HIV is through an appropriate medical test. Medical experts conduct appropriate test on the blood and saliva of the suspected patient, if the result turns out negative, there may be no further requirement, but that is only if; there has been no exposure of any form within the past three months. After the first medical test has been conducted, patients are required to return for a follow-up test after sometime for adequate evaluation.
Those who stand at the risk of developing the virus are;
Those who have other sexually transmitted disease stand a higher chance of getting the virus.
Those who inject drugs with needles shared with others.
Bisexual or gay.
Those who engage in unprotected/ unsafe random sex.
Receiving unsafe injections, tissue transplants, blood transfusion, basically receiving medical care in unsafe places.
Accidental needle stick injuries amongst health workers.
The most advanced stage of HIV is AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), this is the final stage of HIV, when a person with HIV does not get appropriate treatment, the virus would weaken the immune system of that person, the viral stage would progress to AIDS.
Those with AIDS, have a terribly damaged immune system, giving them lots of illnesses, the illnesses are termed as "opportunistic infections". They also come with symptoms such as; rapid weight loss, genital or mouth ulcers, night sweats, fever, skin discolorations, extreme tiredness and even cancers. The chances of an HIV case resulting to AIDS is very low, as long as the HIV patient takes prescribed medications and keep their viral load as healthy as possible, it will not result to AIDS.
The chances of getting HIV, can be reduced if;
People get tested and know their status.
Practice safer sex hygiene by reducing the number of sexual partners, use protection.
Get tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Stay away from injecting drugs.
Fast detection of the virus is very important, as it will aid swift treatment and help control the spread of the virus, it will also reduce the risk of frequent illness.
In the case of rape or sudden unprotected sex, where there is a possible chance of having the virus like the story shared above, taking an anti-HIV medicine known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), may stop the infection, but that is only when the medication is taken 72 hours of the period of possible exposure to the virus.
There are basically three types of HIV test, let's get through them quickly;
Home test: This simple test kit are usually done with a soft, flexible tip to rub the gums, then the stick tube is placed in a special solution where test result is gotten within 15-20 minutes. Another type of home test is done by pricking the finger with a small needle, and having the blood drop on a medical card, this will determine the presence of the HIV virus or not after it has been taken to the laboratory.
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**Antigen/Antibody Tests: HIV antigen and antibody tests looks out for the markers on the surface of HIV known as p24, it also looks out for the chemicals made when there is a reaction to those markers. In order to carry out this test, a medical expert, takes out a little blood sample from patient's arm with a needle. The extracted blood is taken to the laboratory for test and to determine the presence of p24 and antibodies. This antigen/antibody form of test, is usually able to detect HIV within 18-45 days after exposure.
Nucleic acid tests (NATs): This test search for the presence of HIV in the blood, a medical expert takes out a little quantity of blood sample from the patient and it is sent to the laboratory fotr test. An appropriate NAT test would take around 10-33 days for the detection of HIV in the blood. When the blood comes out positive, medical experts would most likely suggest other test options to properly access patients health.
The recommended tests are; chest x-ray, CD4 count, Pap smear, Viral hepatitis screening, and even tuberculosis.
Antiretroviral medications are used for HIV treatment, the medication functions by stopping the virus from replicating in the body, this way the immune system is able to repair itself and prevent every form of future damage. Although, HIV has the ability to develop resistance towards a single HIV medicine, however, the combination of different medicines, makes it less likely for resistance development. Bearing in mind, that, the importance of HIV medication is to develop an undetectable viral load in patients, what this means is that, the viral level in the body is extremely low to the point where it cannot be detectable by a medical test.
Asides from taking prescribed medications, patients are also advised to; exercise regularly, quit smoking, eat healthy.
Conclusion.
HIV is a serious viral condition that should not be taken lightly, those who stand at a risk of getting the virus should go for test as frequent as they can, safety is also a very great consideration when it comes to anything that would lead to the generation of the virus as described above. Those with the virus can live a healthy long life once they take their medications adequately and appropriately.
References.
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/hiv-transmission/ways-people-get-hiv.html
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/hiv-transmission/ways-people-get-hiv.html
https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/how-is-hiv-transmitted
https://medlineplus.gov/hivaids.html
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hiv-and-aids/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4251-hiv-aids