Discrimination of HIV victims by society

Here I will try to discuss some cases of discrimination and all society need to be aware that HIV is also another disease like cancer and nothing more than that.

Discrimination of HIV victims is the first thing we should shed to combat the further spread of disease. The reason for discrimination is the fear that, other people may also contract the virus by dealing with HIV patients. Also our indian culture does not approve sexual wrongdoings, which is deep-rooted in our mind. So society thinks, that HIV man committed adultery so he must be punished. Majority of the HIV spread in india through prostitutes (95%). But we must keep in mind that the one or a few time mistake someone committed by having sex with a prostitute, threw him himself into the HIV hell. He may be influenced by other people at that time to do that blunder. Or he might have been influenced by alcohol and would have lost his self control. Under various circumstances people do mistakes but this mistake made him to loose his life in a long time with suffering.

So being a HIV patient itself is a horrible punishment he got. Society need not punish him more with discrimination. A person never become sick until he comes to know that he is sick. As you would have heard or seen that people die, within days or weeks as soon as they are diagnosed with some terminal illness. They would have been alive or doing their daily activities or working and supporting their children & wife if they didn't knew that they have cancer or any other terminal illness. This is not the case with HIV as it's contagious and the wife should be protected so the announcement is necessary to protect further spread. But we need not scare a person to death in doing this. I heard of 2 cases of immediate death after +ve HIV test (within weeks) due to not taking food or medicine for fever or other common illness, as the patient thinks anyway he is going to die in a long term with AIDS.

An HIV patient is not going to progress to AIDS until he is not cared or malnutrioned or not eating enough food. There are thousands living with no anti-HIV medication for years even the US doctors give them 2 year or 3 year to live, death sentence. People with zero CD4 counts also live as normal for many years. Only thing they cannot do is having sex with others. Other things they are impaired is hard sporting activities with other people where there is chance of having bleeding injuries. They can work as any other work except may be as a barber or as a baby-sitter, nothing is going to happen. Even today the death patterns predicted haven't happened in the case of Africa, where millions would be dead as per predictions. Here I am not trying to promote casual sex or prostitution, but It's quite worthy to think all HIV patients are not going to die in average 10 years. They scare people with wordings like "a vast majority will progress to AIDS within 2 to 10 years without medication", but it's not the case. Also there exists a 5% or more non-progresses which researchers could not find why they are not progressing even after 30+ years living with HIV.

There is absolutely no harm in doing the following things with HIV patients.

1) Talking with them and sharing time with them consoling them about the future worries they may have. HIV is not spread with sneezing, coughing or falling the saliva of the patient in any part of your body. Blood & genital fluids are only the dangerous agents that can spread the HIV. HIV is a very volatile virus unlike Hepatitis virus which can survive in environment. HIV is killed or became non-infectious as soon as it looses its host. Even Lab-cultured HIV (millions of them) also found only to be alive only few seconds in environment. These high amounts cannot be found even in an acute HIV patients. This is the reason that nobody contracts HIV from wash basins, or toilets, or by sharing drinks or eating utensils. Hospitals need not scare of HIV patients as long as they practice universal precautions. Even in US a year got only 25 healthcare workers infected after thousands of needle stuck injuries happened. But more than 1000 infected with various Hepatitis virus in hospital environment.

2) HIV cannot be spread through mosquito bites, bed bugs or other insect bites. This is proven because as the majority people infected are in their sexually active age 14-40. It's a common logic that if the disease spreads through the other way the pattern would have been much different that more children & Old age people also would have been infected alike.

3) Disinfecting HIV is very easy with 10% diluted bleach which will kill all infectious virus. Also drying in sunlight kills all HIV within few minutes.

4) Hospitals only need to be more cautious. They must ensure the disposable latex gloves, syringes etc.. are not recycled. They must buy these things from reputed vendors and any wrong doing in this area must be brought to the notice of police. While examining patients injuries or dressing them need to use new latex disposable gloves. In case of a chance of splash of Blood, Goggles & mouth cover must be in place. 

5) Mental health is most important for HIV patients. That's why so many mental health institutions always report fresh HIV cases. Most of the patients are depressed and need medication. Also HIV patients eventually need to quit smoking & alcohol so mental health support & counseling is necessary.

I personally believe that if the stigma & discrimination is removed there are more chances HIV people will live more healthy & productive life. Also HIV patients must join together for self-help and build hospice facilities for them and others to live & die in a dignified way. In this world where dogs & cats are better cared by SPCA like organizations but in the case of humans, it's strange that nobody is compassionate to them when they are in crisis.



Single-handed crusade against AIDS
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