Living full and healthy lives

People live with HIV; they live full and healthy lives. People have families, have careers, have dreams and ambitions all while living with HIV. People no longer have to view HIV as a death sentence; people live with HIV. One of the reasons people are living healthier lives with HIV is the fact that they are learning more and more about their disease. Understanding HIV is one of the keys to a long healthy life.

One of the most common questions we get is regarding HIV and how long it lives outside the human body. People get concerned about touching someone or something and getting HIV-infected blood on their hands and becoming infected with HIV. Fortunately, HIV just doesn’t infect the human body in that way.

Answer: Studies have proven time and time again that HIV does not survive well outside the human body. In artificially high concentrations produced in the lab, HIV drying that occurs outside of the body reduces the number of infectious viral particles by 99 percent in just a few hours. Since the concentration of HIV in blood or other bodily fluids is much lower, HIV drying outside the human body virtually eliminates all infectious HIV particles therefore making the risk of HIV infection from blood or bodily fluids outside the body essentially zero.

Keep in mind that while HIV infection from infectious bodily fluids outside the human body is essentially zero, other diseases like hepatitis B and C can and do occur. Therefore, any blood or bodily fluid outside the body should be considered a health risk and cleaned up using universal precautions and cleaning fluids that are known to kill viruses on contact. About.com Guide

There are a number of important reasons to be tested for HIV. For those who think they may have been exposed to the virus, having a test and receiving a negative result (which means they are not infected with HIV), can put their mind at rest.

If the HIV test is positive, there are a number of things that can be done to help a person cope with the result and lead a healthy life.

* A person who tests positive will at some point need to take antiretroviral treatment to slow down the virus and maintain a healthy immune system. The longer a person remains unaware of their infection, the less likely it is that the treatment will work. Doctors can monitor an HIV positive person’s health in order to provide the right treatment regimen at the right time.

* If a person is aware of their HIV infection they can take steps to protect other people. They can practice safer sex and inform previous sexual partners that they may have been at risk of infection.

* Those who test positive who were thinking of starting a family can learn about ways to protect their child from becoming infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission

A total of 315 people died of AIDS in the first six months of the year.

Most of the HIV infection cases were in Kelantan (297), followed by Pahang (240), Terengganu (191), Selangor (151), Perak (108), Kedah (98), Johor (90), Sarawak (74), and Penang and the Federal Territory with 51 cases each.

Malaysian AIDS Council exco member Pax Tan gave the figures at a media sensitisation workshop here yesterday.

“Selangor had the most AIDS cases at 71, followed by Sarawak with 46, the Federal Territory, 39, and both Terengganu and Negri Sembilan at 33 cases each,” he said.

Factory workers, fishermen, private sector workers, lorry drivers and housewives were the top five groups infected with HIV, Tan said.

NST Online http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20aid/Article/

ICF visited Crisis Home. Well, many of you might probably have the perception that HIV infected people are harmful people, But we can seriously tell you(cos we saw it with our own eyes!!) that they’re not.
http://icf-icsj.blogspot.com/2009/03/visit-to-crisis-home.html

Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. As you know, high BP kills. Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night have a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!! Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease.

One of the misconceptions about modern living is that if you are sick, there is a pill or a type of medicine that can “cure” you. Unfortunately, pills do not provide all the answers. Often a change in diet, lifestyle, circle of friends, or work ethics can make a more positive and long lasting difference than any medication.

The chance is great that you know someone who is carrying the secret of HIV/AIDS. Someone you know is HIV positive, or at least they are affected by the virus. Is it safe for them to reveal the secret? Or do they live with loneliness, isolation and rejection? You can change that. You can be a light in darkness. You can offer your love and compassion to someone who is hurting – today. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Don’t wait until you know more. Don’t wait until you are better equipped. You are able to love today.