SOME FACTS ABOUT HIV AIDS
Author: Dr Gurjit Kaur
Email Id: dr.gurjitkaur@yahoo.com
- HIV can *never survive in any other liquid* medium also other than blood or semen (& please for God sake … never in Pani Puri wala pani)
- Even if one drinks an HIV infected blood (or semen) of someone (ingest through Gastro Intestinal track), the virus can not survive in the acidic pH of stomach.
- Highest extent of acidity is 0 (practically not possible) so imagine 1 as pH which is in our stomach. (This pH can burn your own finger in less than a second if you dip in that acid).
- Exposure of less than 1 second in AIR KILLS the HIV virus (hence story of needle pricks in Cinema theatres is a crap). Even if blood from a wound (of infected person) dries up (*blood clot*), *the virus dies* and can not infect anyone else
- HIV transmission is “ONLY” an “INFECTION” i.e.entrance of virus in one’s body. It *DOES NOT MEAN AIDS*.
- An HIV-infected person (after entrance of virus) can progress to a condition of AIDS only after *8 to 10 YEARS * (not in 15 days as in the Pani Puri story)
- It is *not HIV (virus) that kills a human* …..the virus attacks immune cells (cells that fight against foreign pathogens/antigens) and hence a person’s ability to fight against infections & diseases slowly diminishes and person ultimately dies of a disease which could be as simple as TB
- Most importantly, HIV is no longer a dreadful disease … it is “CHRONIC MANAGEABLE DISEASE” just like Diabetes or Hypertension.
- If there is anything you need to be careful from to prevent HIV is “Unsafe sex”, “Blood transfusion” (check before taking) / Blood donation (use sterilized needles only) and any “blood contact during an accident” or so where “amount of bleeding is very high.
Spread this message to avoid rumors and to educate people. It’s better to save someone’s life by educating him rather feeling ashamed of having discussed this issue.
