Living with HIV and AIDS- How an HIV support Group can help you
When you have been diagnosed as HIV positive, despite the initial shock, sooner or later, you have to get used to the fact that you will be living with HIV the rest of your life. But this is easier to say than to practice. This is where an HIV support group can help you. Such groups can help you cope with the initial trauma when you first learn of your diagnosis. An HIV support group will also help you get back your life on track later, as you learn to live your life again, with HIV. You can also participate in an HIV AIDS forum where you can discuss anything related to AIDS and HIV.
An HIV AIDS forum is a place where you can ask questions and get information about HIV and AIDS, such as keeping track of your CD4 positive T cells, where to get retroviral drugs, how to avoid other infections etc. A forum is a place where you can also discuss other aspects of living with HIV, such as learning to cope with depression, with discrimination towards HIV positive people and those with AIDS, and how to tell your family and friends about your condition.
The right forum can indeed help you a lot in coming to terms with your condition.
In this regard, there are now many online resources for those who are looking for HIV support. There are many websites that provide HIV support groups. Some of these groups are even divided according to interests, like Art and Literature, Film and Music, Cultures and Community and so on. These sites also have various forums where you can discuss things that you would discuss with an actual, physical forum. However, an HIV AIDS forum on the net will have more members than a real forum could ever possibly have. This is the advantage of online HIV forums. The higher number of people in the forum means that you will get more responses to your queries. Moreover, they provide a lot of flexibility with respect to time and place for members, unlike actual forums where you have to be physically present. So if you are searching for HIV AIDS support groups in your area and can’t find one that seems right, then you could consider joining an online group on one of the many websites on HIV and AIDS.
Of course, you should carefully check the credentials of any website before you consider becoming a member of it. You don’t want half-baked information or even harmful information to be passed on to you as genuine advice. You also don’t want to be exposed to online abuse from ignorant and fear-mongering people. Good websites often have restricted access for their forums and blogs. They will also often put disclaimers to the effect that their website is not supposed to replace professional medicinal and psychological therapy, unlike misleading ones which will claim to provide all the HIV AIDS support that you need.
Aids And Women
Article by Tong Bee
Today AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death among all adults aged 25 to 44 in the United States. Among African-Americans in the 25 to 44 age group, AIDS is the leading cause of death for men and the second leading cause of death for women. Our society needs to become aware that by not protecting ourselves we are killing ourselves and that this has to stop.
Although most of the signs and symptoms of HIV infection are similar in men and women, some are more specific to females. For example:
Vaginal yeast infections may be chronic, more severe, and difficult to treat in women with HIV infection than in women who are uninfected.
Pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the female reproductive organs, may also be more frequent and severe in women with HIV infection.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, which cause genital warts, may occur more frequently in HIV-infected women, and can lead to pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix or cancer of the cervix.
Taking anti-HIV drugs during pregnancy–either a drug called zidovudine or AZT only or in combination with new drugs called extremely involved antiretroviral therapy (HAART)–a mother can significantly cut the chances that her infant will have infected with HIV.
Delivering the infant by cesarean part, and doing then before the mother’s uterine membranes tear naturally, reduces infection that may happen during the birth procedure. Use of anti-HIV drugs during pregnancy and saving, combined with a cesarean part in women with sure levels of HIV in their blood, can cut the opportunity that the infant will be infected to little than 2 percentage.
Avoidance of breastfeeding by a HIV-infected mother. HIV can be scatter to babies through the bosom milk of mothers infected with the virus. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that, in countries such as the United States, where infant formula is secure and is frequently accessible and cheap, HIV-infected women eat their infants commercially accessible formula instead of breastfeeding.
More than 2 million people a year die from AIDS. That’s why this weekend, experts and scientists from around the world are meeting to find a way to save more people – mainly through prevention. But there is also a group, calling in to question the accepted wisdom of where this deadly disease actually comes from – and they’re angry no one is listening.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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Buy Combivir to treat HIV, AIDS and STDs
Article by Andy King
Combivir contains two medicines Lamivudine and Zidovudine. Generic Combivir belongs to the group of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome medicines and it is called reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Generic Combivir is used to treat HIV and AIDS infections. Combivir works by decreasing the amount of HIV and AIDS virus in the body so immune system works better and improves the quality of life. Combivir Generic controls HIV and AIDS, does not cure them.Before using Combivir, let the doctor know your complete medical history. Do not take Combivir Generic or Let your doctor know:If you are allergic to the content of CombivirIf you have kidney or liver diseasesIf you have hepatitisIf you have bone marrow suppressionIf you are pregnant or planning to get pregnantIf you are over weight If you have PancreatitisIf you are taking other medications such as Epivir, Retrovir, Epzicom, abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine.
Combivir should be taken exactly as prescribed. Never take Combivir more than prescribed or longer than recommended. Take Combivir with full glass of water and with or without food. HIV and AIDS are mostly treated with combination of drugs. To experience noticeable result, please take all the medicine as directed by Doctor. Combivir may decrease the blood cells so your blood may need to be tested at regular interval.
The major side effects of Combivir include hives, breathing difficulty, body swelling, lactic acidosis, muscle pain, weakness, body numbness, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, uneven heart beats, fever, chills, pale skin, flu symptoms, liver problems, jaundice, Pancreatitis, and sore throat.The minor side effects may include mild nausea, insomnia, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, cough, stuffy and runny nose, and numbness in the body.
Extremely serious side effect of Combivir is unlikely.If you experience any of the side effects persistent of bothersome, contact your medical professional and ask for immediate help.
For more information about Combivir, talk to your Doctor, Pharmacist or Health professional.
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HIV and AIDS in the Movies
For those who can remember back to the early 1980s and the start of the AIDS epidemic, there was something vaguely surreal about seeing the warnings on our television screens and the reports put out by the media. Was this all just hype, we were left wondering? Could this new disease really be that bad? Should we all be rushing off for a confidential HIV test? Since then, of course, the grim reality of the destructive forces of HIV and AIDS has hit home, with millions dying. Today, many more are living with the HIV virus thanks to vastly improved treatments. While for some, the media reports have undoubtedly hit the mark in terms of encouraging more responsible behavior to curtail the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV); for others it has been the extremely poignant movies that have been produced which have caused them to think twice.
Philadelphia
Of all the modern day movies to depict the suffering of AIDS victims, Philadelphia is probably one of the best known, although not the earliest.
Made in 1993 and starring Tom Hanks as senior legal associate Andrew Beckett, the movie deals with the main characters struggle to deal, not only with the homophobic prejudices of his associates, but also his battle with AIDS. Inspired by the true-life story of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who sued the law firm for which he worked in 1987 for unfair dismissal on the grounds of AIDS discrimination, some now see the movie as being somewhat outdated. It has to be said that, as with many of the excellent movies which have been made on the subject, its portrayal of the disease should do much to encourage those who have potentially put themselves at risk to seek a confidential HIV test at the earliest opportunity.
An Early Frost
Although Philadelphia might be one of the best-remembered movies about HIV and AIDS, the very first one to be made was a TV movie which was first broadcast on NBC in November 1985. Starring Aidan Quinn as successful Chicago attorney Michael Pierson, An Early Frost handled the dilemma of the main characters family in coming to terms with his homosexuality and the fact that he had AIDS. Rather than as a result of a confidential HIV test, Pierson is diagnosed with the disease after being rushed to hospital with the early symptoms of AIDS.
A Mothers Prayer
Although truly groundbreaking in their portrayal of AIDS, An Early Frost and Philadelphia of course both concentrate on the disease as it affects male homosexuals. A Mothers Prayer, on the other hand, looks at AIDS from the perspective of a mother who is struggling to bring up her young son after the death of her husband. Having been diagnosed with the disease, she has to face the issue of what will happen to her son when she dies.
With time comes progress
Since the time when these early movies were made, much has happened in terms of diagnosing and treating HIV. Nowadays, many of those taking a confidential HIV test and receiving treatment can expect to be able to live a relatively normal life and to keep AIDS at bay for much longer than was previously possible. As with many illnesses, however, the key is in detecting HIV at the earliest possible stage, so if you think that you may have been at risk, arrange to have your confidential HIV test carried out as soon as possible.