READ CHINWE'S HIV STORY AND LEARN AMAZING FACTS ABOUT HIV/AIDS

The Awareness of HIV/AIDS has been on for quite a while, particularly about the importance of voluntary screening for those who are exposed to the risk factors of HIV/AIDS but it seems young people are still reluctant to appreciate this message of caution.

In an interview with Chinwe, a 27year old graduate and civil servant, she narrated to Pharma-Guide Nigeria how she discovered she was HIV positive.

According to her, after watching a TV documentary about the importance of routine screening and the great benefits of early detection and treatment if one is positive, she voluntarily subjected herself for screening and to her greatest surprise, she was tested positive. What seemed like a fairy tale became reality as confirmatory test proved she was indeed positive.

For 3 years now, Chinwe, an obviously looking healthy beautiful lady, has lived an absolutely normal life without anti-retroviral drugs because her CD4+ count has consistently remained very high making her ineligible for commencement of antiretroviral therapy (ART). She has however been on Cotrimoxazole therapy as stipulated for prevention of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), Toxoplasmosis and some other opportunistic bacterial infections. She describes herself as feeling okay and satisfied with life. She however admitted feeling bad initially about contacting the virus but expressed happiness that she detected it early and that she doesn’t feel sick. She also revealed that having HIV hasn’t prevented her from living a normal life. She is in a relationship and getting ready for marriage. She advised young people especially those who are sexually active or who are exposed to risk factors to have themselves tested to know their HIV status. Chinwe’s story is real and similar to many others.

As the sensitization on HIV continues, it is sad to note that mostly women present at adult clinics for HIV therapy. Many of these women only discovered they were HIV positive during ante-natal visits or prior to delivery. Young adults especially the male folks hardly voluntarily check their status while some often deny their status while seeking secretly some treatment elsewhere.

Here are some facts to note:

1. HIV/AIDS is real and cannot be detected by mere looking at a carrier (e no dey show for face).

2. Early detection and prompt commencement of therapy is key to survival

3. HIV + persons who take their drugs appropriately and religiously live normal lives

4. Couples exist where one partner is positive and the other negative; HIV is mainly transmitted by carriers with heavy viral load.

5. HIV couples are readily having HIV-negative children through the PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION (PMTCT) programme.

6. HIV infection is increasingly rampant in Men who sleep with men (MSM) of whom many are bisexual (and as such they spread to females). Anal sex is rated as the highest-risk sexual behavior. For the HIV-negative partner, receptive anal sex (bottoming) is riskier than insertive (topping). Vaginal sex is next to anal sex in the risk rating. (cdc.gov)

7. Persons who are accidentally exposed to sources of HIV such as during rape, needle prick, condom rupture, anal sex, unprotected vaginal sex, etc MUST report to the nearest ART or HEART-2-HEART facility within 72hours for POST-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PEP) in order to prevent HIV Infection.

8. HIV isn’t spread through hugging, shaking of hands, sleeping alongside persons with HIV (see more ways of transmission http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/transmission.html)

9. As at the year 2014, over 3.4million Nigerians were living with HIV and about 50% or more are women (UNAIDS).

10. Stigmatizing against people living with HIV makes more and more people afraid to turn up for treatment and as such infection spread continues to rise.

JUST IMAGINE!

Isn’t it funny and folly how we suddenly tend to avoid and stigmatize people living with HIV/AIDS when we daily encounter them in our work places, buy from them at the market, taught by many of them who are teachers and enjoy the prayers of many of them who are clergy men and women? SPREAD THE NEWS & NOT THE VIRUS

IN THE EVENT OF RAPE, ACCIDENTAL EXPOSURE OR GENERAL COUNSELLING AND QUESTIONS ON HIV/AIDS, DRUG RELATED ADVICE, CALL +2348112871892 or email pharmaguidenigeria@gmail.com

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