Aids Essays

Hiv/Aids Essays Hiv/Aids Essay Hiv/Aids Essay There have been studies on HIV/AIDS, but there is currently no cure for the virus/disease. There is a misconception that AIDS is transmitted, but what people don’t know is that the virus HIV is what is transmitted; leading to the disease AIDS. The risk factors, major health promoting behaviors and symptoms that can alleviate the hardships that come with the virus/disease, can cause stress, frustration and conflict managing the illness. The impact of the medical condition on the mental health and the therapeutic approaches are also discussed. Statistics tell us that 25 million people have died from AIDS since1981. In our world today many viruses and diseases have no cures. One of these diseases is AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. A virus, called Human Immunodeficiency Virus better known as HIV, causes AIDS. HIV is a virus that gradually attacks the immune system. Many people have the misconception that they can get infected with AIDS, but in actuality it is the virus you are infected with first. The virus then progressively gets worse and worse leading to the disease. There are many concerns that come along with the virus such as the risk factors of health, emotional and mental impact. HIV can be transmitted different ways some of the common ways are as follows. It can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. Both pre-cum and semen can transmit HIV to their sexual partner. Also, transmission can occur by sharing needles with someone that is infected with the virus. This is common with people that use drugs. Another way is when a person gets a tattoo, and the tattoo artist uses a dirty needle. Lastly, it can be passed to a newborn if the mother is infected with the virus. Even if the mother is not infected at the time of birth, and becomes infected afterwards; the baby can still receive the virus through breast milk. An uncommon way of coming in contact with the disease is a blood transfusion. It can happen, though there is a low percentage that the blood transferred to you can have HIV in it. There are other ways of getting infected, but they are not as common as what is listed previously. Having this virus in your body can put a person at very high risk for any type of infection. This virus attacks your immune system. What our immune system does in our body is fight bacteria and unwanted waste. For example, a person without the virus a common cold can be taken care of simply by just taking tylenol or any over the counter drug. However, when you are infected with this virus it takes much more then just an over the counter drug and the common cold could lead to death; because your immune system is not functioning properly any type of bacteria or germ that you come in contact with can be extremely dangerous. Although there is no cure for the virus/disease there are ways you can ease the symptoms. Specifically, there are eight ways to alleviate the symptoms of the virus/disease they are as follows. The most common one is medication. Medication can only do so much for a person you must apply other factors to fight the virus/disease. To enhance the effectiveness of the medication; health advisors suggest to learn how to comfort yourself when feeling depressed or sad. One way of doing this is involving yourself in daily activities and events. Eating habits should be adjusted by eating at least 5 to 6 times per day, eat high calorie and high protein foods such as dairy products, nuts, peanut butter and dried fruits. Some HIV patients experience extreme loss of weight they can drink meal replacement drinks such as ensure, boost, nutren and resource. There are two major types of exercise that can help people living with HIV, which are resistance and aerobic. Resistance exercise is weight training that can add density and bulk to the muscles in your body. Aerobic can also be called cardiovascular, is training that involves exercises that increase your heart rate. These include walking, running, swimming or bicycling. Aerobic activity is not only great for the immune system, but it also decreases your risk for developing heart disease and helps with weight management. Exercise can increase the muscle mass of the human body, which boosts the amount of energy the patient can have. The more energy the patient has can enhance the immune system. Also some medications can increase the amount of fat in your blood, but exercise can help protect you against the associated risk of heart disease. Illness is a major life event that can cause people to question themselves, their purpose, and their meaning in life. It disrupts their careers, their family life, and their ability to enjoy themselves; three aspects of life that Freud said were essential to a healthy mind. Spiritual care is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many persons. It is expressed in an individual’s search for ultimate meaning through participation in religion and/or belief in God, family, naturalism, rationalism, humanism, and the arts. When a patient is diagnosis HIV positive, it can put a stress on the person as well as family and friends involved. Ways of coping with stress can be exercise, therapy and expressing your feelings. A person can experience anger or frustration because of the virus, feeling as if there is no point to living. Some people may deny the fact that they have HIV/AIDS this comes from not being able to handle it emotionally. These emotional problems can all be managed by seeing a therapist and educating yourself about the virus/disease. Depression can also be linked to HIV/AIDS. A person can become depressed in the beginning stages of dealing with the Virus. This can cause thoughts of wanting to die and feeling as if there is no meaning to life. With depression comes anxiety and fear. Anxiety can trigger other health problems, making the adjustment of life more difficult. This can happen when one has lack of knowledge of the virus and what is to come in the future. Society is judgmental towards people that carry the virus, which can make the person feel scared about telling others about their condition. These to things are caused from being diagnosed with HIV. There are various types of therapeutic approaches such as, medications and therapy. There are different types of antiretroviral drugs used in HIV infection. Which include multi-class combination products, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase (NNETIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), fusion inhibitors, entry inhibitors –CCR5 co-receptor antagonist, and HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitors. The key to effective treatment is early detection and intervention. Some therapies to treat HIV are herbal medicine, acupuncture, body work and massage and mind-body therapies. In conclusion, HIV/AIDS is a very serious virus/disease and should not be taken lightly. There are many mental and physical aspects that come along with the virus as mentioned earlier. If the virus is treated early, detection and intervention can occur allowing the person to live a long life. On the other hand, if the virus is ignored and the correct steps are not taken it can turn into AIDS, which will lead to death. More than 25 million people have died from AIDS since 1981.