In our modern age everything seems to be instant to acquire: messages, communication, technologies and most likely diseases. Lurking in the shadows and spreading instantly is the diseases called HIV also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus and overtime turns into Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Basically HIV is a virus spread through certain body fluids that attacks the body’s immune system. Usually you can get or transmit HIV only through specific activities. Most commonly, people get or transmit HIV through sexual activities and needle or syringe use. Only certain body fluids: blood, semen, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk from a person who has HIV can transmit HIV. HIV is among one of the diseases that cannot be easily detected by the human eye. So in order to protect yourself from this disease, one must be aware or knowledgeable about HIV. So comes HIV Awareness.
October 24, 2017 an article from manila bulletin stated from the headline: Beware of HIV in 3 Bataan localities. Summing up the article that three areas of Bataan is suffering from Category A in HIV cases, which means that more than 50 cases of HIV are found in these localities: Balanga City, Mariveles and Dinalupihan. Leading for the Department of Health (DOH) Region 3 to issue an advisory to that safe or protected intercourse is strongly advised. Leading up to the reason why we should be aware of HIV in our areas or localities that we live in. HIV Awareness is not about judging people who has this disease, instead one should try to understand how it is acquired and how to interact or treat people with HIV. The fact is we are all afraid of things that we do not understand is why we should have an awareness or knowledge about people with HIV, as just like us they are also afraid. HIV is not also just acquired from intercourse; it can still get transmitted by means that can go through your bloodstream, some examples like: needles coming from a patient with HIV that is accidentally inserted or poked to you. So one should be open minded on how someone has acquired this disease than to conclude that the only way to get HIV is intercourse. Knowing is sometimes not enough, it is also important to be tested whatever your status is; more importantly if you are sexually active. This is to not only check your status if you are HIV positive or not, but also to prevent from getting or transmitting HIV. Even if there are symptoms given like: fever, chills, rash, night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and mouth ulcers. These symptoms last for about a few days to several weeks. However, not all of these symptoms can be instantly said to turn into HIV as there are many other factors to cause them. So to really only know if you have HIV is to get tested, most exactly if you think that you may have been exposed to HIV. If you decide to get tested it is important to know the result from your doctor if it is positive or not in order to get immediate treatment, to lessen the possibility to turn your disease into AIDS.
The risk of HIV turning into AIDS is very high if one is very uncooperative to find out if they have the disease or not. The people included in this list are: people who have unprotected intercourse, gay and bisexual men and people who share needles. The consequences of not being aware or knowledgeable about HIV can come at a high price as one can unknowingly acquire HIV; worst scenario is to spread it without them knowing what they had done. The stakes are high in these disease as no cure has been found yet for HIV. There is a treatment for HIV but it is not promised to cure it but only to help the people with HIV to live longer and healthier lives. The treatment is known as: Antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is the use of HIV medicines to treat HIV infection. Time will tell if there is a future for people with HIV as medical advances might find a cure for it. The only thing that can be done is spreading awareness of HIV in any way that we can. Meaning that whatever information that we learn about HIV should not be kept to ourselves only, spread them among peers, friends, classmates, adults and relatives. Knowing and sharing information HIV may be a small step, but everything starts from baby steps as awareness leads to realizations. If you or anyone that you know thinks that they have HIV, it is not too late to be tested as from the old saying that prevention is better than cure— Spread HIV Awareness not HIV Diseases.
By: Ellen Baluyot | Teacher II | Bataan National HighSchool| Balanga, Bataan
