Archive for the ‘Diseases STDs’ Category

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February 21st, 2012  Posted at   Diseases STDs
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HIV/AIDS is an Immune System Disorder in which the body’s ability to defend itself against infections, is greatly diminished. HIV is spread primarily through sexual or blood-to-blood contact. To put this simply, in layman’s terms, the HIV virus enters the bloodstream and attaches itself to the service of a white blood cell (the CD4 cell’s receptors). The virus then changes its genetic information into that of the white blood cell. The virus cannot be recognized by other white blood cells and is, over time, able to replicate itself into hundreds of HIV viruses. When the HIV virus has used the cellular material of the white blood cell, this breaks open and the new virus can, and does, spread through the bloodstream.

A person infected with HIV can go through four stages of the disease:

1. Primary HIV infection stage
2. A symptomatic latent phase
3. Minor symptomatic phase
4. Major symptomatic phase
5. AIDS defining conditions; the severe symptomatic stage.

Symptoms of Stage 1 are:
• Sore throat, headache, mild fever, fatigue, muscle and joint pains, swelling of the lymph nodes, rash, and mouth ulcerations.

The CD4 cell count is approx. 800-1200 cells/mm3.

Symptoms of Stage 2 are:
• No symptoms occur as this is the latent stage.

The CD4 cell count is between 500 and 800 cells

Symptoms of Stage 3 are:
• Swelling of the lymph nodes/glands in the neck, armpits and groin.
• Occasional fevers, recurrent chest infections.
• Shingles, skin infections and rashes.
• Recurrent mouth ulcers
• Weight loss up to 10% of the person’s usual body weight.
• Prolonged, unexplained fatigue. (more…)

December 6th, 2011  Posted at   Diseases STDs
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In order for one to have stronger bones and muscles, proper exercise as well as appropriate amount of calcium intake is very much important. The number of cases of people suffering from bone breakage or osteoporosis is constantly rising despite the fact that many people are already aware of the cause and prevention of this disease.

To keep your bones healthy it is best to regularly consume foods that are rich in calcium as well as in Vitamin D. There is a misconception about osteoporosis that it only affects women. This type of disease affects all people of different races. However, majority of the people inflicted with osteoporosis are women especially those who have Asian ancestry. But even men should consider bone breakage a serious problem. The way to prevent this is to take appropriate amount of calcium, vitamin d and exercise daily.

For people who have serious osteoporosis, you should not take calcium supplements as an alternative medicine to treat osteoporosis. Calcium supplements is to be used to supply sufficient amount of calcium to the body in order to adequately get the right calcium dosage daily.

Women who are in their menopausal stage are the ones who usually suffer rapid bone loss as well as men who are taking in less than 500 mg of calcium daily either through food supplements or through foods rich in calcium.

Foods rich in calcium

One of the reasons why people do not reach the recommended amount of calcium is that they are either too busy to sit down and eat a decent meal rich in calcium or they do not like to drink milk. Nowadays, there are so many ways to get the appropriate amount of calcium. The amount of calcium that you need will depend on how old you are. One of which is the daily intake of calcium supplements. There are countless calcium supplements sold worldwide and you can order one online and have it shipped to your home. Calcium supplements are perfect for those people who are always busy and who usually order food from fast-food. With calcium supplements you can pop a pill anytime of the day- whether you are in the office or at home- this will ensure that you get the right amount of calcium. (more…)

November 27th, 2011  Posted at   Diseases STDs
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It is three decades since the discovery of the HIV virus but we are still lacking information about HIV / AIDS. According to UN AIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. Although there is no foolproof cure or vaccine for HIV virus, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) will ensure that medicines are available at an affordable cost even in third world countries. The search for the vaccine for AIDS remains the challenge for the world today.

Let us delve into some more information about HIV /AIDS. What is causing the spread of the infection? Ignorance. One in three youngsters in the world are still ignorant about how the infection spreads. We have to wake up to the harsh reality of the epidemic and the world’s leaders must demonstrate real commitment to keep their promise. We cannot wait another quarter of a century for a vaccine. The need of the hour is the four Ms-motivation, money, medicines and manpower.

Let me burst the bubble on some common myths about HIV /AIDS.

Blood donation can cause HIV infection. People today are afraid of donating blood. HIV does not spread through donation of blood, as hospitals and blood banks use disposable syringes. Another myth is that HIV / AIDS spreads through mosquito and bug bites, air, saliva and touch. It is a very important piece of information about HIV / AIDS that it is not spread through mosquito and bug bites, air, saliva and touch.

Promiscuous men and women have largely been held responsible for fuelling the HIV /AIDS epidemic in the world. Stigma towards HIV-positive people needs to be countered if the threat of HIV /AIDS is to be overcome. Stigma is hard to track and its impact even harder to measure. Those vulnerable to and experiencing social stigma and discrimination will be puzzled if they were told that awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS is higher than before.Awareness is not translating into tolerance or a shedding of stigma. The good information about HIV / AIDS is that the number of people contracting HIV infection is dropping worldwide.

Protection against HIV/AIDS and preventing its spread is certainly a key message, but protection using stigma and alienation will go nowhere. It is always challenging to fight for legislation and better policy outcomes. Certain states have law against discrimination of HIV-positive children in schools. But laws and policies cannot be substitutes for a humane approach. (more…)

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