Today, as waves of HIV and AIDS continue to sweep across our world, I would like to focus more on people who already belong to the HIV-positive group. What is the first problem individuals face upon discovering they have HIV?
Fear! It is the fear of death. However, this occurs primarily due to a lack of accurate information in society about this disease. We still remember those terrifying posters from the 90s with the long-outdated slogan “AIDS is the plague of the 20th century.” Such posters and slogans have long been banned by the international community.
Why are they banned?
Because this intimidates society with biased information about the illness, leading to discrimination and stigmatization of people who already have HIV-positive status.
Don’t such slogans sober up people who lead immoral lifestyles and thereby create a threat of HIV infection for themselves and others?
One could say the same about all people who have diseases transmitted through everyday contact—for example, syphilis, hepatitis, tuberculosis, etc.
Does it mean that those who lead an immoral lifestyle can freely endanger innocent people with the risk of HIV infection?
Do you believe that many people are absolutely “innocent” when they contract one disease or another from others right on the street, for instance, via airborne droplets? Many people are reckless about their health and precautionary measures. How many people fail to observe personal hygiene, dress poorly in cold weather, and so on? It is the same with HIV. Just as people are reckless regarding other equally serious diseases, they are reckless regarding HIV.
What is the risk for people who do not belong to a high-risk group?
The same as for those at risk of catching the flu. It happens when elementary precautions are not followed. There are three main routes of HIV transmission: sexual, blood-to-blood, and through a mother’s milk to her child (since a newborn’s stomach does not yet produce gastric juice that destroys viruses). Often, a high percentage of risk exists when contaminated instruments are reused in hospitals, hair salons, beauty parlors during manicures and pedicures, tattoo shops, etc. Sometimes people do not pay attention to this. Today in barbershops, one can still see several customers being shaved with the same blade, even though a blade should be unpacked and inserted into the razor in front of the client. People offer the back of their heads, being insufficiently informed—as are the barbers themselves. In this way, not only HIV but any other infection can be introduced. And Hepatitis C—the so-called “silent killer”—is no less dangerous to human health.
Can dangers worse than HIV and AIDS await us?
HIV is not the worst thing that can happen. I am not saying this so that someone relaxes and becomes less vigilant. No. I am against intimidation through biased information. A person must have accurate information regarding HIV. What happens instead? A person is diagnosed with HIV, and that is it. They are overwhelmed by the fear from slogans like “Plague of the 20th century,” and in this fear, they suffer and torment others. They think life is over. In this fear, they cannot continue to live a full life; they behave like someone sentenced to death.
What kind of full life can an HIV-positive person have?
A life without fabricated fear. It is not HIV itself that is so terrifying, but the fourth terminal—advanced—stage of AIDS into which HIV progresses. This happens when a person does not get tested and neglects the illness, thinking “ignorance is bliss,” while also leading an immoral lifestyle and infecting others. I will say that today, even without HIV, not everyone manages to sleep soundly. But when complications arise and opportunistic diseases appear against the background of a weakened immune system—when the body can no longer fight infections on its own—then sleep will definitely be the last thing on one’s mind. Today, even a woman who discovers she has HIV during pregnancy can give birth to a healthy child.
How can an HIV-positive woman give birth to a healthy child?
Such a pregnant woman must receive all the necessary information about HIV, be monitored by an infectious disease specialist, take special preventive antiretroviral drugs, monitor her health, give birth only via Cesarean section, and subsequently refuse breastfeeding. Today, with this approach, more than 96% of children are born healthy.
Can a healthy child be born in a family with an HIV-positive man?
Certainly! Today there are even special laboratories for cleaning male semen that provide a 100% guarantee, provided the mother is healthy. If both parents are HIV carriers, with the approach I mentioned above, there is a risk of having an unhealthy child, but it is minimal. Thank God, today there are methods, opportunities, and most importantly, organizations of people who dedicate their lives to this.
Are people with HIV tied to medication for the rest of their lives?
No. If HIV is in the early stages, they are not tied to anything. The only thing they are “tied” to is undergoing examinations every six months to monitor their immune system, so as not to miss the moment when HIV might stealthily progress into AIDS.
What treatment is provided at the AIDS stage?
At this advanced stage, it is recommended to take antiretroviral drugs. If this is not done immediately, the person can easily fall ill with opportunistic diseases. That is, against a background of reduced immunity, they may more quickly contract tuberculosis, hepatitis, pneumonia, meningitis, etc. In such cases, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is no longer prescribed initially, as it will actively stimulate the inflammatory process of these diseases.
What is done in such cases?
They treat the opportunistic diseases while the immunity is low. This is already dangerous, as the person may physically be unable to withstand the chemotherapy.
So, at the AIDS stage, is a person tied to medication for life?
Yes. It is like insulin for diabetes; at a certain stage, it is taken continuously. But I want to say that antiretroviral drugs are being improved today. While previously a patient had to take 12–16 pills a day, today it is 3–4, and in the West and Europe, they often take just one pill a day. Moreover, this medication is less toxic and more effective.
How long can a person who discovered HIV at an early stage remain in that condition, provided they follow all recommendations?
If they take care of themselves, lead a moral and healthy lifestyle, do not consume alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, avoid excessive sunlight, get enough sleep, and eat properly—they can live like that for many years. Of course, fluctuations occur because there are many factors that can lower a person’s immunity even with a healthy lifestyle. For example, the link between emotional state and immunity: when nervous disorders, anxiety, or depression occur.
Does this mean HIV doesn’t necessarily have to turn into AIDS sooner or later?
No, not necessarily. Although the virus still replicates in the human body, with the right lifestyle, this process is significantly slowed down. A person can live for many years in the initial stage of HIV.
Still, if we look past the public intimidation, is HIV/AIDS the “plague of the 20th century” or not?
In the 20th century, it was not yet a “plague.” Now it can truly be called that. Today it is not even an epidemic, but an officially recognized pandemic—a mass epidemic. While previously there was a specific target group of HIV-infected people—homosexuals, drug users, sex workers, and their clients—today in AIDS centers, you can see people far removed from that: doctors, teachers, professors, workers, etc.
What are the main recommendations for the population given such a widespread distribution of HIV?
First, those entering into marriage, or young men undergoing military recruitment boards, or women planning to give birth are recommended—not forced, but recommended—to undergo an examination and take an HIV test. This helps detect the immunodeficiency virus at an early stage.
What are the external symptoms of HIV?
HIV, as the primary stage of infection, may show no symptoms for up to five years. Furthermore, HIV-positive individuals may have a so-called “seroconversion window” lasting from seven months to a year. This is when the virus is already in the body, but it is not detected by any tests. Therefore, it is recommended to get tested every six months for a period of 1.5 to 2 years. People might get married, take tests, and while someone has the virus, the test won’t show it. Then six months later, when HIV is suddenly discovered, mutual suspicions and accusations of infidelity begin. HIV may only manifest itself after five to seven years. It all depends on the person’s health, age, and lifestyle. A feeling of weakness appears; a rash, herpes, or candidiasis is possible; there is a significant weakening of immunity to simple diseases… And when severe “opportunists” join in, this is, as a rule, the transition to the terminal—third and fourth—stage of the disease, which is AIDS.
What are the prospects for a person with HIV?
The same as for a patient with tuberculosis, hepatitis, or pneumonia. Once you are ill, you need to take certain precautions, monitor your health to avoid infecting others, and, just like everyone else, work and make plans for the future. A person’s task with any illness is to live, to strive to live, and to live with quality. HIV is not a death sentence!
*HIV — Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes the disease known as HIV infection, the final stage of which is called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which differs from immunodeficiency present at birth.
