Monday, March 1, 2010
HIV epidemic
the hiv epedimic has been rising as the years go by. hiv is a very scary subject that a lot of people dont want to talk about but it is aan issues that we need to look at. hiv is very scary, its a disease that we have yet to find a cure for which makes it even worse. some of us think that having unproteted sex has no consequences but it does and hiv is one of them. I remember my first time taking an hiv test I was terrified. those 20 minutes seemed like forever as i thought about how many partners my boyfriend may have been with. you can only be sure about yourself. those moments in me waiting made me realize how important it was to get tested. (my test came back negative) you can never be too sure. hiv is something that we all think that we will never get but some of us unlucky ones do get infected. There are also people with hiv who are knowlingly passing it around because they were infected with it. all i wanna end with is that we have to be careful these days. we are all a part of the circle of life. this world is very small. so just get tested to kno your status
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I think this subject has very clear overtones about how we, as a whole society, view our own mortality and the value of life in general. Unfortunately, it seems as though people in the United States particularly don't seem to be getting the message about getting tested and getting tested often.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting fact (and one that is alarmingly scary) is that, according to Newsweek research, there is a higher incidence of AIDS within certain American communities than there is in some of the poorest African nations, long thought to have the highest incidence of AIDS worldwide.
This single lone fact should scare every single American citizen into thinking twice about the people they have sexual relation with (particularly without protection) as well as those individuals that choose to use intravenous drugs.
This brings me to my final point on this issue; personal responsibility. I feel as though if a person is "unaware" of their status (in regards to AIDS or any other life altering disease) and engages in risky behavior (say either drug use or sexual relations) and passes that disease to the other person, they should be held criminally liable. There is absolutely no excuse in this age of free "disease" testing clinics and other forms of preventive care to be "unaware" of ones own afflictions. The people who knowingly and willingly put other people in harms way by way of diseases should be treated no different than a person who has committed murder because, in the case of AIDS, they have sentanced that other person whom they passed the infection to, to death.
What a scary world we live in.....
It is mind-boggeling that after 25+ years in the news, this virus is still being passed through unprotected sex and unclean needles. I can understand it might not matter to an iv user with addiction issues, but that people are still passing it through unprotected sex is an outrage. I agree with Chris that people who knowingly pass it on to others should be held criminally responsible. There is no excuse for not knowing your status or for passing a deadly virus on to others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous posts. It is one's resposibility to be aware of one's own hiv status to prevent the spread of it. Sunnie I remember when I got my 1st test and it was a scary 20 minutes. But it gets less and less scary as you make a routine part of your yearly check-up. Granted I'm in a monogomous relationship and I highly doubt my boyfriend would ever cheat on me but I still choose to get them done strictly for my own sanity. I mean you hear those horror stories of MARRIED people getting infected because one of them had extrmarital affairs! That to me is the ultimate slap in the face/salt grinded into the wound.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree w/Chris that if someone knowingly infects an individual, then they should be held w/ criminal charges far more severe than the present laws.
HIV is an epdmic of this century. It is affecting all kinds of people, culture, and society in the world. It is very scary specially people who are infected with HIV knowingly pass it to others. I agree that they should be held accountable like any other criminals. Education is the best remedy to protect and prevent HIV from spreading. Specially poor communities and countries are the most affected by HIV. Because they lack resources to teach and inform their communites. That's why Africa is the most affected continent in the world. There are organizations out there doing their best in reaching and helping societies and countries in the world. Various programs on HIV being given in schools and communities are working and should be strengthened.
ReplyDeleteWaoo,what a great story! sure, HIV is not something to be ignored by any human being with a common sense,its a disease of it own kind,a good alternative to know your health is to take action and attend HIV testing, there are so many factors that can lead to HIV but the matter of fact is to a avoid it at any means by protecting your self every time when making sexual intercourse and becoming faithful among each other in order to avoid HIV coincidence, HIV should be addressed start from our house holds,schools,churches,at clubs,at work and other areas where people meet for a common reason,in doing this it will help to convey a good message against HIV to every member of society and in turn lead to decrease in number of HIV cases
ReplyDeleteAs a sex ed class our school counselors arranged an educational field trip that according to them would stick with us and effortlessly put the point across.
ReplyDeleteAnyways we discussed about consequenses of sex whether it was protected or unprotected. STDs and HIV was a really big talk. In Kenya where I schooled during my high school around 1 in 10 people was HIV carrier. Imagine dating or going out with a guy konwing this statistic!
So the field trip ended up being a discussion with HIV infected people and visiting a hospital where patients were dying of full blown AIDS. We were quite a distant from the patients but the sight still haunts me today that I would rather die than have a blood transfusion.
Honestly the education was good but I think its left me paranoid.
It is so sad to know that in this modern age people are still ignoring all the warnings and information out there regarding HIV and AIDS. It is even more saddening to hear the number of people who are infected and worse those dying everyday from the disease.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally a personal choice, whether one wants to listen and do the right thing or not. Having said that, the word still has to be passed on and people need to be told the truth. Go get tested and know your status if at all you don't. Most important practice safe sex at all times, and be faithful to your partner.