AIDS and HIV are highly preventable however not curable

The night of 13' may 2015 was the day when all the 5 friends realized that there was health wise something which was not correct with Vishal. However no one could ever lay a finger or tell as to what was going on. He was cranky, snappy and weak.
He started getting chills at night and a fever which was utterly stubborn and won't just go. A guy who was so full of life had suddenly started being always fatigued with some rash or muscle ache etc. I had to help him nail it down. We were 6 of us who stayed together as had rented an apartment, and due to which we all knew Vishal's flamboyant lifestyle as he was literally a Casanova and a big flirt. He changed girls and relationships like one would change their undergarments. He could not continue a relationship for longer than 2 weeks, and that also I was being positive. With one night stands and booty's call being his mantra of life I thought of suggesting an aids test to him. Somehow I felt the need for it and to my surprise he agreed immediately, maybe he was worried too.
We went for the test and when awaiting for the result everyone nervous and I could feel that Vishal was jittery and shaky. Somewhere deep down we all prayed and prayed, when suddenly the doctor called him inside but alone and I had a gut feeling that something wasn't so right. After nearly 20 to 25 minutes Vishal came out of the doctor's room with a face as white as chalk. He was stoned and nearly in shock, he was diagnosed with HIV POSITIVE.
After being in shock for nearly 4 days, we decided to do something about it. At least now we knew what was wrong with him. We started the research, and these were the symptoms which came to light.

Symptoms of HIV/aids:

• High temperature/fever
• Pain in the abdomen or upset stomach
• Dry cough
• Ulcers in the mouth or white tongue
• Sore throat or difficulty swallowing
• Swelling or sore groins
• And usually feeling fatigued, appetite loss nausea etc
• A rash might develop

People say that a person does not die because of aids but because of the weak immune system and other serious ailments gripping the body, like cancer, etc.
So what is AIDS?? And how it affected my friend's life? What causes this lethal killer? Is survival possible? What treatment to follow? These were the questions which bothered my mind.

 Definition of AIDS and HIV:

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a lethally life threatening disease which is caused because of the virus called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is a painful disease which causes severe loss of body's immunity cells, which in turn lowers the body's immunity and resistance to fight infections and malignancy.
Now I knew the severity of this disease, luckily Vishal was only 25, thus his body was young and relatively fit to fight the ailment hopefully by reacting well to the treatment.  The doctor said exactly what I had thought, i.e. because he was young most probably his body would react in a positive way to the treatment. Vishal did not have AIDS, he was HIV positive. Is there a difference between the two? Yes there is a big difference.

 Difference between HIV and AIDS:

For a layman, a person with HIV and a person with AIDS is the same and that's how even I thought however there indeed is a vast difference between the two which I realized once I read about it.
If AIDS is the letter then HIV is the pen by which the letter is written. One can be HIV positive but still not have AIDS but if someone has AIDS then being HIV positive is paramount. Vishal was diagnosed with HIV and with the medical field's advancement we had a ray of hope that he could lead a healthy life. We all were aware that things will never be the same and there isn't any cure for this formidable disease however treatment to increase life expectancy and lead a healthy life was highly achievable.
The advancement has been immense as far as HIV treatments are concerned thus more people are able to live longer lives, I told Vishal. Also to show the flip side, we discussed the Timothy Brown case study in front of Vishal. Anyways having said all of that, this was a turbulent time for all of us. As we were the only family he had and it was shattering for all. How could it happen? I mean so far, we had heard of such a non forgiving disease and now our buddy our dearest of dear friend was diagnosed with one.
But I was determined and adamant that this will not deter our hope and faith. Knowing his careless attitude and taking risks I thought having unprotected sex could be the only reason.
AIDS was initially recognized in North America in the early 1980s. By now I knew that HIV was the virus in simple terms due to which AIDS was caused, in other words AIDS is the end result of the HIV virus. However it was important to know the causes of contracting this disease.

Causes of getting HIV/AIDS: it can be categorized in the various ways

• Risky sexual behavior

  when we see the ads of condoms and their importance, I realized how correct they were. Vishal indulged in risky sexual behavior, i.e. he had unprotected sex with women, as he always said lions don't need protection. In 2011 in UK, 95% of people diagnosed with HIV got the infection because of unprotected sex, vaginal and anal, according to Public Health England.
  

• Oral sex

  it's a myth when we hear people discuss that one cannot get HIV by having oral sex. I agree the chances are bleak and not severe but still the chances are there. If the individual who is performing oral sex has ulcers in the mouth, bleeding gums, or sores, and if the individual who would be receiving oral sex is infected with HIV then the chances are that it can be transmitted.
  

• Sharing is not caring in this case

  with the rise in people indulging in drug abuse, the risk for contracting HIV has also increased. One can get HIV by exchanging common needles or syringes. Not only in the case of drug abuse but otherwise as well, for example if you happen to go to the hospital for a vaccine one should be careful that the syringe is new and not an old one.
  

• Mother to baby

  HIV could be transmitted from an infected mother to a baby, while bearing the child or breastfeeding, was another reason of contracting the virus.
  

• Blood transfusion

  with today's awareness, chances are minimal, but chances are there.
  

I used to hear people say that this person has HIV so don't share food with this person; some can even go to the extent of boycotting the affected person. It's an irony that even after so much of awareness we still are illiterate somewhere in our respective minds. I was staying with an individual who was HIV positive, we all were sharing the same apartment, the bathrooms were common too and of course we believed in eating our meals together, as that bonded us," the crazy bunch of six friends" even more.
Leaving the myth aside the truth of the matter is that HIV cannot I repeat CANNOT be passed by eating or sharing food, or sharing the bed, or bathroom, or touching, or sneezing, coughing etc. why? Well the answer is very simple, because HIV virus cannot survive outside the human body, it will die. So in a nutshell I could gather that the major body fluids which contained enough HIV virus were:

1. Semen
2. Breast milk
3. Vaginal fluids inclusive of menstrual blood
4. Human blood
5. And the lining inside the anus (mucous membrane)

As far as body fluids like saliva, urine, sweat are concerned they do not contain the virus to an extent where it can infect another individual. After imbibing sufficient information, one thing was absolutely clear, that Vishal got the infection because he believed in risking his life by having unprotected sex. About three odd months back he had gone to Leh Ladakh for a trek with some group, I had a doubt that he got the virus from there. And being the closest to him I decided to ask or in clearer words confront him.
After the talk what came to light was that he had met a girl on the trip who was a Russian, beauty personified, elegant, smart, gorgeous etc. they clicked, got friendly and ended up having sex. It was so quick and everything happened so fast that according to him, he did not have any reaction time and being safe or using protection was nowhere on his mind.
Since we were aware about the cause, we had to figure out which line to tow. That means the line of treatment to follow.

Treatment for HIV:

Treatment of HIV is an ART, and in the literal sense it is, as it is called antiretroviral treatment (ART). Thanks to the advancement in the medical field we knew that HIV can be treated however was still not permanently curable. The main focus was to reduce the amount if HIV in Vishal's body so he could lead a healthy life by boosting his immune system.
Vishal's count was CD4 counts of 300 approx, and we knew he had to start the treatment immediately.  Following are the guidelines one should follow when starting the treatment:

• If someone has CD4 counts of 350cells/mm3 or lower, then one should start the treatment regardless of the clinical symptoms, and this was exactly what Vishal did.
• If someone has advanced or severe clinical disease, according to the WHO a disease with stage 3 or 4, then one must start the treatment irrespective of the CD4 cell count.
• If someone is suffering from active tuberculosis.
• And if someone has HBV infection.

Guidelines to begin ART:

1. In ART which is nothing but the treatment for HIV virus one needs to have a combination of HIV medicines every single day. It is also referred as the HIV regimen.
2. The HIV medicines are categorized into six drug classes depending on how they fight the HIV virus. And these six drug classes include nearly more than 25 HIV medicines.
3. In a general case scenario, which was also in Vishal's case, the first HIV regimen included three HIV medicines from at least two different and not the same drug class.
4. The combination to choose from the various drug classes is extremely individualistic and depends from person to person. The regimen is created after considering a number of factors, including the side effects of these HIV medicines and potential drug interactions. 
   

List of the six drug classes:

• Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors also referred as (NRTIs)
• Non – nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors also referred as (NNRTIs)
• Fusion inhibitors
• Protease inhibitors also referred as (PIs)
• CCR5 antagonists (CCR5s) commonly referred as entry inhibitors
• Integrase strand transfer inhibitors also referred as (INSTIs)

After so much knowledge we were confident to begin our journey of faith and positivity. And now 3 years down the line Vishal is leading a happy and healthy life however with caution, as the viral load in his body is at an undetectable level thanks to ART or the treatment. The treatment/ART reacted well with his body and in turn he is living a healthier life.
Above everything I feel a person who is an HIV patient needs their near and dear ones love and support, for which we were and will always, be there for Vishal.
Thanks for reading….
Stay healthy, stay happy, and keep smiling