Question- What are the precautions taken by hospital for preventing the spread of HIV?
· To prevent the spread of HIV, strict infection control guidelines are followed in hospitals. All blood and body fluids are treated as potentially infectious
- Syringes and needles are used once only and disposed of into special ‘sharps’ containers.
- Reusable instruments are cleaned and sterilized after every use.
- Many items are disposed of after single use.
- Healthcare workers wear protective attire including gowns, gloves and eyewear when carrying out procedures involving blood and body fluids.
- Spilt blood and body fluids are cleaned up according to strict procedures.
- Use new gloves for every patient
Answer- World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988
Answer- HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus – the virus that can cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) if left untreated. HIV is a blood-borne virus (BBV) that is carried in the blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk of a person who has the infection.
Question- What is difference between HIV and AIDS?
Answer- HIV stands for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). It is a virus that attacks the immune system.
Over time, and without treatment, HIV gradually destroys the body's defenses against disease, leaving it vulnerable to many infections and cancers that do not normally develop.
AIDS is a late stage of HIV disease. By the time of an AIDS diagnosis, HIV has already seriously damaged the body's immune system. Often, a person living with AIDS will already have had life-threatening infections or cancers. Proper medical treatment can significantly slow down HIV, and decrease its impact on the immune system. Some people now living with HIV may never develop AIDS and can live a normal life span. Studies indicate that starting treatment very soon after infection makes a significant difference.
Question- How is HIV spread?
- Unprotected sex with a person who has HIV.
- Sharing needles, syringes and other injecting equipment with a person who has HIV
- From mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or through breastfeeding if the mother is HIV positive
Question- What are symptoms of AIDS?
Answer- When a person is first exposed to HIV, they may show no symptoms for several months or longer. Typically, however, they experience a flu-like illness that includes fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck and groin areas.
This early illness is often followed by a “latency” phase where the virus is less active and no symptoms are present.
As HIV progresses into full-blown AIDS, it severely damages the immune system, causing a wide variety of symptoms such as:
- Rapid weight loss or “wasting”
- Extreme fatigue
- Recurring fevers and night sweats
- Prolonged gland swelling
- Prolonged diarrhea
- Sores in the mouth, genitals or anus
- Skin blotches
- Depression, memory loss and other neurological effects
Question- How can HIV &AIDS be prevented?
Answer- Prevention measures include:
- Knowing yours and your partners’ HIV status
- Using latex condoms correctly during every sexual encounter, whether gay or straight
- Limiting the number of sexual partners
- Abstaining from injectable drug use
- Seeking medical treatment immediately after suspected HIV exposure, since medications can sometimes prevent infection if started early
Antiretroviral drugs are used in the treatment and prevention of HIV infection. They fight HIV by stopping or interfering with the reproduction of the virus in the body, reducing the amount of virus in the body.