At the Mountain (ATM)

HOW CAN I PREVENT HIV PREP stands for pre_exposure prophy HIV is spread through semen, vaginal fluids, blood, and breast milk. Protect yourself by using condoms every time you have sex, and don’t share needles with anyone. HIV is spread through contact with blood or sexual fluidse, usually during vaginal and anal sex. So the only 100% certaeople do have sex at some point in their lives, so learning about H condomsREALLY lowers your risk of getting HIV. If you’re going to d PrEP — that can help prevent HIV. Some sexual activities are safer than others when it comes to getting HIV. These activities are “no risk” — they’ve never caused a reported case of HIV It’s easier for HIV to get into your body if you have sores, cuts, or openings in your skin that semen , vaginal fluids, or blr other infections.To prevent all these one needs to avoid open wonds and sores by not getting into contact with anyone with these injuries so as to avoid HIV infection.

HIV AND THE AGING PROCESS Age affects the bodys ability to metabolize and use drugs, as the body's ability to clear drugs becomes less sufficient , poorer absorption and irregular levels if medication in the body . These drugs can be highly toxic and cause metabolic complications. The complications can contribute to the development of diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease and liver disease . There are some cognitive declines that are observed in adults with HIV . They include: speed of information processing , executive functioning and reasoning , memory and attention functioning which can affect everyday activities which reduce the quality of life . It becomes almost impossible for the adults  to access their ability to perform instrumental activities such as preparing meals managing finances and more others . There are also some emotional states such as, anger and depression which are common in people with HIV and AIDS. We also have social  problems...

TRENDS IN TESTS FOR HIV DIAGNOSIS AND MONITORING Against the limitation of prevention interventions, the treatment for HIV has evolved immensely making HIV as one of the very few viral infection against which effective treatment is available. For initiating ant-retroviral treatment (ART) in timely manner, HIV diagnosis also needs to done early test for HIV diagnosis have evolved over the years from 1st to 4th generation. Rapid test for HIV diagnosis are serving as the point of care tests, requiring no specialized facility increasing coverage of the testing centers even at peripheral facilities. The battery of simple and accurate test available today has further contributed to the success of mobilizing people to get tested and access care. However, more efforts are required for scaling up of the testing to bring more patients under treatment cover. Home –based HIV testing and cancelling also help in overcoming some of the barriers and provide testing to individual who might not, t...

FACTS ABOUT WOMEN AND HIV/AIDS Historically,hiv epidermic has affected more men than women.However if new Hiv infection continue at their current rate worldwide,women with HIV may soon outnumber men with HIV.Nearly 7000 women in Illinois are currently known to be living with HIV even though they are not aware of their own infection.Nationally,Hiv infection is the leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34.women in their 30's are the most likely to be living with HIV/Aids and almost all Illinois women living with HIV are between the ages of 20 and 50 Majority of new hiv cases in women are the result of sexual behaviours; roughly two out of every three new infections in women are the results of unprotected sexual intercourse.The remaining new cases in Illinois are largely due to sharing needles and works while using injection drugs During heterosexual intercourse,women are usually more exposed to bodily fluids than their male partners.This pl...

Social impacts of HIV on the society This is a threat to social and economic development 1.Human Development Index human development index is the measure of development based on socio-economic indicators  It has also continued to diminish the chances of alleviating poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child and maternal mortality, and ensuring environmental sustainability. 2.Households and Families They range from increased medical costs and expenditures on funerals to withdrawal of family members from work or school to look after those who are ill.  families spent less on entertainment and on children’s education to cope with rising care, support and treatment costs due high cost of hiv disease treatment 3.Education AIDS also reduces the amount of money available for school fees, and forces an increasing number of dropouts teachers infected by the disease lead to low level of education since they wont b...

Kenya has demonstrated commitment in providing an enabling legal and social policy environment at the national and county level to reduce barriers to health services for people living with HIV and AIDS. The county established the first HIV tribunal in the world to increase access to justice related to HIV issues.  HIV stigma and discrimination A lthough awareness of HIV and AIDS is comparatively high in Kenya and there have been countrywide anti-stigma campaigns, many people living with HIV continue to face high level of stigma and discrimination. This makes the infected people particularly vulnerable groups fear to seek vital HIV health services. Attitudes towards people with HIV and AIDS are measured by Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys. The 2014 results shows that 44% of men and 26% of women out of the total population expressed wholly accepting attitudes towards the infected people which was slightly lower than in 2018 survey where 48% of men and 33% women wholly ac...

Learning that you are Hiv positive can be one of the most difficult experience you go through in life. You may feel scared,sad or even angry. This is OK and a completely natural part of coping with something that can be life changing. But remember Hiv doesn't have to stop, you living a long happy and fulfilling life. With the right treatment and support it is possible to live. How you cope with your diagnosis and how you move forward in life to be unique. This is by;     Looking  after the body-this included eating nutritious food,taking personal hygiene seriously,t taking medication by using ARVs drugs and also doing some exercise to keep fit.      Looking after each other-includes take time to be with people you love,taking part in family functions and community events and talking to your partner about your Hiv infections.      Thinking about making the best of life- involves talking to a friend or counselor to get support with emot...

POST TEST COUNSELING If a person test positive, the counselor should explain to him /her that there is a chance of not developing full blown AIDS through medical intervention by ARVS antibiotics and antifungal drugs, good nutrition and reducing stress, and change of lifestyle through positive living. If results are negative, then, Clarify that the test did not yield positive results but this does not means that the person does not have the HIV since one may be in the window period. Let the person know that there is need to repeat the test after 3 months. However don't forget to congratulate the person. Discuss methods of reducing the risk of transmission and avoid risky behavior. Discuss the current risk situations of the patient and help to develop strategies to increase prevention of transmission. ROLES OF VCT CENTERS 1.Enlightening and guiding people on issues relating to HIV/AIDs. 2.Contributed immensely in the control of HIV/AIDS by offering counseling services and...

PREVENTING HIV AMONGST ADOLESCENT.                                     ADOLESCENCE  is the period following the onset of puberty during which a young person develops from a child into an adult. Preventing HIV amongst adolescent 1.Use of Condoms condoms the safest way to curb HIV infection among the youth who are in the adolescence stage condom use varies with urban area, age, ethnicity, gender, and involvement in other risk-taking behaviors, and this national average obscures wide variations in different groups. 2.use of ABC A stands for abstinence or delay of sexual activity, B for being faithful and C for condom use teachers preacher all leader should urge all the youth or the people in the adolescence stage to abstain and be faithful so as to prevent the spread of HIV among the young people 3.Strengthen health services to offer young people the sexual and reproductive health car...

CONTRIBUTION OF POLYGAMY IN THE SPREAD OF HIV Polygamy is the practice of custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Polygamy is one of the main factor contributing to the rapid spread of HIV in the sub Saharan African countries. The fact that polygamy is sustained by rapid remarriage of divorcees and, widows often becoming the second or third wives of polygamous mean HIV prevalence among these women especially the widow in countries where there is generalized HIV AND AIDS epidemic is higher than among never married women. This would of course facilitate a relatively rapid spread of HIV which is significantly lower in monogamous marriages. Polygamy in other words ensures that those who are most at risk of transmitting the virus are incorporated into sexual regimes of lower intensity. This coital dilution effect could be due to simple “resource constrains” on polygamous husbands who are expected to treat all their wives equally, alternatively, the. Husbands or p...

PEP FOR PREVENTION Of HIV Pep (post  exposure  prophylaxis) mean  taking  antiretroviral medicines (ART ) after being  potentially exposed to prevent becoming infected. Pep should  be only  in emergency situations and must be started  within 72   hour after recent. Possible exposure  to HIV. With pep an HIV  negative  person who may have been exposed  to HIV take anti-hiv drugs prescribed  by a doctor  to prevent infection. These  are the same drugs that people  living  with takes. Pep involve taking  two or three  of these drugs for a period  of one month. In the world of  pep exposure  to HIV is  often divided  into  two categories 1.occupational exposure 2.non occupational  exposure. Occupational exposure mean to exposure to HIV  at work and non occupational exposure mean to exposure to HIV through sex or drug use example when a person...

PRECAUTION OF CARE TAKER  IN HIV/AIDS Exposure to bodily fluids of someone infected by HIV can put you at risk of contracting the disease. But if you learn how to protect yourself, you will lessen your risk. HIV can only be transmitted through bodily fluids such as semen, blood , vaginal fluids and saliva though no case have been documented. Bodily fluids that cannot transmit HIV include; tears, sweat, vomit, urine and feaces. However it all this contain blood, it can transmit the virus. Here are some of the precautions Wear gloves when in contact body fluids Keep wounds covered (both those of caregiver and the infected person. Always wear gloves to protect hands when cleaning up spills of blood and other body fluids Clean cutlery, linen, bath etc with ordinary detergents Do not share toothbrushes, razors, needles or other sharp instruments that can pierce the skin. Wash your hands with detergents after changing soiled bed sheets and contacts after any contact with bod...

Co-infection means a person is living with more than one infection at a time. 1.hepatitis C Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a disease that infects the liver  factors, such as alcohol intake, duration of hepatitis C infection being older than 40 and using certain antiretrovirals (ARVs) may also wors hien liver damage. People with fewer than 200 CD4 cells are more likely to have liver damage from hep C. 2.tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common co-infections that people living with HIV can develop. tb is the leading cause of death among people living with hiv  in 2017 approximately 30000 people died from AIDS -related TB Someone with untreated latent TB infection and HIV infection is much more likely to develop TB disease during his or her lifetime than someone without HIV infection. Among people with latent TB infection, HIV infection is the strongest known risk factor for progressing to TB disease. A person who has both HIV infection and TB disease has an A...

HIV TRANSMISSION THROUGH BREASTFEEDING Breastfeeding with no other food or drink not even water is the ideal mode of infant feeding for the first six months of life. Mother to child transmission of HIV can occur during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, during delivery or at any point during breastfeeding. The risk through breastfeeding is cumulative; the longer the HIV/AIDS infected mother breastfeeds, the greater the additional risk. Where mothers are being screened and diagnosed as HIV infected, ways to prevent the child from being infected have to be found. Guidance on infant feeding for women known to be HIV infected will need to be personal to the individual woman. Such guidance should take account of its possible effect on women who are uninfected or of unknown HIV status; these should continue to be encouraged and supported. When replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible, sustainable and safe, avoidance of all breastfeeding by HIV/AIDS infected mothers is recomme...

1.Antibody tests The most common HIV test is an antibody test. Antibodies are part of your immune system that are produced when you come into contact with an infection. Antibody tests look for this immune response. These tests can be finger-prick tests or use blood samples sent to a laboratory. If this result is negative or non-reactive, then you are HIV negative. If the result is positive this does not mean that you definitely have HIV, although it is likely. A small percentage of people can have a ‘false-positive’ result. All positive results need to be confirmed by a second test. In the UK a more sensitive antibody test called a western blot test is usually used to confirm a positive result. The western blot test takes longer (usually a week). It identifies genuine positive results. HIV antibody tests do not work as soon as you are infected because it usually takes four weeks for your body to generate antibodies to HIV. The time between infection and when your body ...

STRATEGIES  ADOPTED   BY THE KENYAN GOVERNMENT TO FIGHT THE SPREAD OF  HIV/AIDS. Public education campaign The government through  its state  owned  media has set up sensitization  programmes  to try  and educate the public  on the  dangers  of the disease and advise them and also  how to stay healthy. Hiv/Aids seminars  and workshops People  are educated  and enlightened  by professions on the ways of contracting  the virus  and consequences of the disease Destigmatization  campaign This has encouraged  free talks about Aids and thus created awareness  amongst Kenyans . Provision  of treatment  to HIV/AIDS  patients It provides  free or subsidises ARV drugs and other health services  to people  suffering  form HIV/AIDS . Provision  of VCT centres The government  has established  and opened VCT centres all over...

SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION OF HIV/AIDS DRUGS BRINGS MORE HARM THAN GOOD The scientific innovation of HIV/AIDS drugs is not entirely good in the help towards eliminating or reduction of HIV/AIDS cases in the Country. Reports of availability of drugs that suppresses HIV/AIDS in the market leads to people being careless because people tend to think that the disease is no longer threatening as such a survey done on youth suggested that they fear more of pregnancies that HIV/AIDS. The availability of those drugs have significantly contributed to the increase of HIV/AIDS cases because a person who has money with intent to revenge can affect other people he/she can easily do so. The major contribution of new cases of HIV/AIDS is sex compared to other cases I belief being a religious state be its Christianity, Islam, Hindu etc it advocates for abstinence until marriage. Sex should be for married people and being faithfully in marriage because of the availability of those drugs they contribut...

PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD HIV TRANSMISSION Mother to child transmission of HIV is the most common way young children contact the virus and happens when HIV is passed from a mother to her unborn during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. The mothers with HIV virus are required to go for an effective prevention of mother to child transmission programme in order to receive antenatal services and HIV testing during pregnancy, have access to antiretroviral treatment practice safe child birth practices and appropriate infant feeding, make use of infant HIV- testing and other post- natal healthcare services. When a mother goes to clinic or hospital for her first antenatal visit, she is offered routine HIV counselling and voluntary testing. The results are confidential, which means that only the counselor and healthcare workers looking after the mother will discuss the results. If the mother takes the test and found positive, she will have the option to join PMTCT programme for free. All...

Effects of HIV/AIDS,Drugs,pregnancy and Development. Medical services and safety of antiviral drug in pregancy has helped support research on the  impacts of HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy on child development on growth and sexual maturation.It has helped on drug toxicity in pregnant women and on the effects of antiretroviral drugs of foetus.Further research has been done on the effects of female genital and sex hormones transmission,acquisition and STIS.It has also helped in the studies of contraception and HIV prevention.The study helps in finding solution   to HIV/AIDS prevention and cure plus development of interventions based on an understanding of these relationships.

         BELIEVES AND RISK OF HIV TRANSMISSION Aids was particularly known as Gay-related immune deficiency (Grid) in which it is the origin name .It was discovered back in 1979-1982 in new York. In Africa it was believed that a man was infected by HIV in Democratic Republic of Congo in 1959.it is believed that HIV in Africa is a course in many communities. It is also believed that HIV was discovered to be an Ape(monkey) disease. Poverty being the main factor of widely spread of HIV transmission in Africa. Communities like the Nailotes,Borana ,Somali and many others still practises their culture of inheritance of wives after their husband’s have passed on. where by the husbands die because of HIV disease and as a result their wives continue spreading the virus ,also practice of polygamous marriage is even today. Belief’s increase in risk behaviors to counter the protective effect of ART on reducing overall transmissibility of HIV virus. In 1990-2006 large n...

CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF HIV  Clinical manifestations is an objective when observed by a physician or a subjective when perceived by the patient ( signs and symptoms) The natural history of HIV has been investigated in a number of cohort studies.These studies initially involved people with haemophilia and gay men. Although this study provides a number of very important insights into the natural history of HIV infection, the application of this findings to other population have been questioned ACUTE PRIMARY ILLNESS  The group of clinical manifestations characterising acute HIV infection has been called primary hiv syndrome . The acute mononucleosis  like illness is accompanied by fever sweat, myalgia, headache,sore throat, diarrhea, and rashes. ARVs usually begins between ten days and six weeks after HIV exposure.At a median time of 21 days post exposure.The symptoms of ARVs are non specific and the differential diagnosis includes infectious mononucleosis, seco...