HIV/AIDS

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INTRODUCTION
AIDS, considered the world's most famous communicable disease, is a dreadful disease that is often seen by many as a death sentence.

While AIDS is a disease, HIV is just the code name for the Virus that causes the disease AIDS.

HIV means Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
AIDS means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

HOW DOES HIV CAUSES AIDS

When this Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) enters the body, it acts so true to its name by attacking the immune system up to the point that its sufferer's immune system will be so deficient to offer adequate protection from even the day to day infections that we are constantly exposed to.
Our immune system is actually the military base of our body with soldiers that help us fight infections, and most of the time wins without us taking medications.

What HIV does to the immune system is that it attacks a special unit of soldier cells in our military base. This attacked special cells are like the heartbeat of our immune system and thus paralyzing the whole Military base.
This special soldiers that HIV atttacks are known to doctors as the "CD4 T- CELLS". That is their code name. 
In the Hospital,  doctors are able to count this CD4 T-CELL, and this is what they're referring to when they say "CD4 COUNT", a term you probably might have heard before.

In the healthy state, the normal CD4 COUNT is between 500 - 1,200 cell/mm.
So with 500 of this special soldiers and above, your military base can function effectively in defending you against attacks. 

However when they come under HIV insurgency, and the CD COUNT starts to drop as the virus starts to kills the CD 4 T-CELL, the military base start to slack, becoming gradually deficient in its ability to serve and protect you from infection. 
If there no active intervention and the CD 4 COUNT keeps dropping, you'll continue to become immune deficient. 
Once the count reaches 200 and below, your immunity is all gone, your military base becomes paralyzed, you can no longer defend yourself against infections (attacks) again. 

Now you develop a disease from the slightest infection you get. You might even at some point develop cancer (because our immune system also play a major role in ensuring that we don't develop cancer). So you keep getting diseases after diseases. 

Because the same clinical features have been observed repeatedly by doctors in people with CD COUNT less than 200 over the years, they called them syndrome

These Syndrome that you've now Acquired as a result of Immune system Deficiency is what doctors calls AIDS.

Now all these diseases and cancers that the patient is likely to develop are what doctors calls AIDS Defining Illnesses. Yes because they simply defines what AIDS  itself stands for.

CLEAR???

IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE HIV WITHOUT HAVING AIDS?

Yes of course. Just as it is possible to get bitten by a mosquito and not have malaria (if you can take an antimalarial early enough).
Same way, if an HIV medication is taken. It will not progress to AIDS.

SO WHY IS IT THAT AN ANTIMALARIAL MEDICATION CURES MALARIA BUT ANTI-HIV MEDICATION (ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY) DOES NOT CURE HIV?

Good question. Let me explain why.

OKAY I'M ALL EARS, TELL ME.

Malaria is caused by plasmodium which is a parasite that is injected into our body each time the female anopheles mosquito come to suck our blood. But over the years,  scientists have been able to study this parasite into details and have been able to come up with a potent drugs to attack and kill this intruders.

Unlike Plasmodium which causes Malaria, HIV which causes AIDS is not an easy virus to study. HIV has up to this day proven that it is wiser than ALL the scientists in this world. But just as everyday other day can be for the thief, so also a potent drug against will be derived soon someday.

It is a very smart virus that behaves like an experienced criminal each time an attempt is made at policing it. It thinks like a human being and it's uniquely amazing in this ways.

Once it gets Into ones body, it does everything it can to remain there till at least for the rest of such person's life. Evading every moves of doctors, pharmacists and other health researchers in policing it. It has sadly beaten scientists over the years and am ready to admit this fact.

This notorious terrorist called HIV gets away through the following means;

1. Once it gets into ones body, it head straight for ones CD4 cells and live inside it. What this means is that if are going to kill it inside the CD4 cells, you will kill your own cells in the process, and kill yourself in the process. So just like every president, these viruses are well protected.

3. Oh! Just in case you're thinking of sacrificing the cells that these viruses are hiding and destroying them along with the viruses, let me quickly settle that by adding that before you even have a defining clue or hint that you might be having the virus in your body, these criminal have already multiplied and taking position in your body. So you will be killing a lot of cells by then.

BUT WHAT IF I'M SENSITIVE ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT I MIGHT BE EXPOSED TO THIS VIRUS. FOR EXAMPLE, AFTER HAVING UNPROTECTED SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH A GUY/LADY THAT NOW ADMIT TO ME THAT SHE HAS HIV, CAN THE VIRUS BE QUICKLY ATTACKED AND DESTROYED BEFORE IT TAKES POSITION  IN NUMEROUS CELLS OF MY BODY.

Yes it can. If you are ever exposd to HIV and you are able to make it to the hospital early enough, you will not have HIV/AIDS. A drug called POST EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PEP) will be given to you and this will settle it.

SO WITH THIS KIND OF AMAZING DRUG, WHY IS IT THAT THE RATE OF HIV INFECTION IS STILL ON THE INCREASE?

Majority of the People won't come to the hospital even when they know they've been exposed.
The few we see we administer it to them, and they are fine afterwards.
Majority often come in to the hospital so late, when the PEP can't work for them again.

MAYBE PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT CAUSES THESE HIV/AIDS.

It has been often said and worth repeating that You can and will get HIV if;

1. You have unprotected sexual inrercourse with a partner that is infected. This also extends to anal sex and oral sex.

2. If You have Multiple sexual partners.

3. If you are found of Sharing of sharp objects like razor.

5. If you are transfused with HIV INFECTED blood.

Another possibility is from an infected mother to her child during child birth or breastfeeding

You WILL NOT get HIV through;

1. Casual Handshake.
2. Hugging.
3. Sitting next to someone infected with HIV.
4. Dinning together.

HOW CAN I PREVENT HIV INFECTION

The primary ways of preventing HIV are as simple and easy as ABC

1. Abstinence- this is considered the best way.

2. Being faithful to one partner.

3. Correct and Consistent use of condom or femidom

4. HIV can secondarily be prevented by being so vigilant and coming to the hospital each time you are exposed. If you are cut with a razor that you just borrowed, quickly place the cut area under a running water and go to the hospital afterward. The viruses are not stupid and I must let you know this.

PEOPLE OFTEN SAY THAT IF YOU HAVE HIV, THAT IS THE END OF THE WORLD FOR YOU. IS THAT TRUE? 

NO. That's NOT True. Having HIV is just as having Plasmodium (the parasite that causes the disease called Malaria) in your body. The little difference is that Plasmodium can be killed be taking antimalarial drugs but HIV cannot (not yet, but someday).
What an Anti HIV drug does is to reduce the viral load in the body. With a low viral load, you will not develop AIDS.
Keeping the viral load low with this drug require total drug Compliance  and Adherence. 
Compliance means that you must not at any point stop the drug at your own discretion unless instructed to do so by your doctor.
Adherence means that you must always use the drug as directed by your doctor. At a particular time of the day, with a particular meal and so on as the case may be. 

CONCLUSION

Let me close on a more serious note. Nowadays, it is possible for a picture of a lady posing nude to hit 1000 shares within 10 minutes on the Internet, while issue that matters would be left unattended to. Prevention is still way better than cure and messages like this will go a long way in cutting down the rate of spread of this disease. let's endeavour to share this post today and see the result 5 years from now.
Thank you.