{"id":26197,"date":"2019-11-02T13:45:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T12:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/?p=26197"},"modified":"2019-10-29T13:22:12","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T12:22:12","slug":"hiv-aids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/hiv-aids\/","title":{"rendered":"Know Your Status, Get Educated about HIV\/AIDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the span of three to four decades, HIV\/AIDS has swept the entire world, making it a pandemic affecting millions.<\/span><\/p>\n

And to think that at the beginning of the 1980\u2019s, medical professionals believed that it was Kaposi\u2019s Sarcoma, a fairly harmless cancer, while seeing cases of pneumonia rise considerably.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1981, the first diagnosis of HIV\/AIDS was made, but still it was not linked to the aforementioned diseases. It was only later that decade that professionals were able to connect the dots and conclude that the symptoms that mimicked Kaposis\u2019s Sarcoma and pneumonia, were in fact happening because of the HIV\/AIDS infection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1993, over 2.5 million cases of HIV\/AIDS had been confirmed worldwide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, according to <\/span>UNAIDS<\/span><\/a>, we are looking at almost 40 million people living with HIV globally, and around one million deaths caused by AIDS-related illnesses in 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And while this number is shockingly high, the infection rate has been reduced by 40 percent since its peak in 1997, and the number of deaths occurring due to AIDS-related illnesses has gone down by more than 55 percent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is good news, but there\u2019s still a long way to go…<\/span><\/p>\n

What is HIV\/AIDS?<\/span><\/h2>\n

For starters, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), are not the same thing. HIV progresses into AIDS. They both do however compromise one\u2019s immune system and its ability to fight organisms that cause disease in the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

HIV is classified as an <\/span>STI<\/span><\/a> (Sexually Transmitted Infection), and is a virus that breaks down certain cells (CD4 or T cells) in the immune system. When it begins to weaken the immune system, that is when it is considered AIDS. People with HIV do not necessarily have AIDS.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is still no cure for HIV\/<\/span>AIDS<\/span> but new kinds of medicine (antiretroviral drugs) have been found to drastically reduce the symptoms and the number of deaths caused by HIV\/AIDS.<\/span><\/p>\n

How is HIV Spread?<\/span><\/h2>\n

HIV is spread via bodily fluids namely, blood, semen, vaginal fluid, anal mucus, and breast milk. It is then passed onto others when they have open cuts, sores, or wounds on their skin, or via mucous membrane, like the inside of the vagina, rectum, or head of the penis.<\/span><\/p>\n

HIV can be spread via:<\/b><\/p>\n