HIV/AIDS AWARENESS

What is HIV?

HIV infection is a viral infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that gradually destroys the immune system, resulting in infections that are hard for the body to fight.

What is AIDS?

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the final and most serious stage of HIV disease, which causes severe damage to the immune system.

What are the causes for HIV/AIDS?

Transmission of the virus occurs because of

Through sexual contact -- including oral, vaginal, and anal sex.

Through blood -- via blood transfusions (now extremely rare in the U.S) or needle sharing.

From mother to child -- a pregnant woman can transmit the virus to her fetus through their shared blood circulation, or a nursing mother can transmit it to her baby in her milk.

Persons engaging in unprotected sex.

Sexual partners of those who participate in high-risk activities (such as anal sex).

Intravenous drug users who share needles.

Infants born to mothers with HIV who don't receive HIV therapy during pregnancy.

HIV has been found in saliva, tears, nervous system tissue and spinal fluid, blood, semen (including pre-seminal fluid), vaginal fluid, and breast milk. However, only blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk generally transmits infection to others.

What are the symptoms of HIV/AIDS?

Initial infection with HIV can produce no symptoms. Most people, however, do experience flu-like symptoms with fever, rash, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes, usually two weeks after contracting the virus. Some people with HIV infection remain without symptoms for years between the time of exposure and development of AIDS.

Patients with AIDS have had their immune system depleted by HIV and are very susceptible to such opportunistic infections. Common symptoms are fevers, sweats (particularly at night), swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss.

What is the treatment for HIV/AIDS?

Drug therapy is often recommended for patients who are committed to taking all their medications and have a CD4 count between 200 and 350 (indicating immune system suppression).

It is extremely important that patients take all doses of their medications; otherwise the virus will rapidly become resistant to the medications. Therapy is always given with a combination of antiviral drugs.

People with HIV infection need to receive education about the disease and treatment so that they can be active partners in decision making with their health care provider.

How can we prevent ourselves from HIV/AIDS?

1) Safe sex:

Safe sex means taking precautions during sex that can keep you from getting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or from giving an STD to your partner. These diseases include genital herpes, genital warts, HIV, Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and others.

A STD is a contagious disease that can be transferred to another person through sexual intercourse or other sexual contact. Many of the organisms that cause sexually-transmitted diseases live on the penis, vagina, anus, mouth, and the skin of surrounding areas.

Most of the diseases are transferred by direct contact with a sore on the genitals or mouth. However, some organisms can be transferred in body fluids without causing a visible sore. They can be transferred to another person during oral, vaginal, or anal intercourse.

Some STDs can also be transferred by nonsexual contact with infected tissues or fluids, such as infected blood. For example, sharing needles when using IV drugs is a major cause of HIV and hepatitis B transmission. An STD can also be transmitted through contaminated blood transfusions and blood products, through the placenta from the mother to the fetus, and sometimes through breast feeding.

The following factors increase your risk of getting a sexually-transmitted disease (STD):

• Not knowing whether a partner has an STD or not
• Having a partner with a past history of any STD
• Having sex without a male or female condom
• Using drugs or alcohol in a situation where sex might occur
• If your partner is an IV drug user
• Having anal intercourse

Drinking alcohol or using drugs increase the likelihood that you will participate in high-risk sex. In addition, some diseases can be transferred through the sharing of used needles or other drug paraphernalia.

Abstinence is an absolute answer to preventing STDs. However, abstinence is not always a practical or desirable option.

Next to abstinence, the least risky approach is to have a monogamous sexual relationship with someone that you know is free of any STD. Ideally, before having sex with a new partner, each of you should get screened for STDs, especially HIV and hepatitis B, and share the test results with one another.

Use condoms to avoid contact with semen, vaginal fluids, or blood. Both male and female condoms dramatically reduce the chance you will get or spread an STD. However, condoms must be used properly:

A condom is a type of birth control (contraceptive). Condoms are worn during intercourse to prevent pregnancy and the spread of some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as HIV, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia.

Other than a vasectomy, the condom is the only available method of birth control for men.

A condom blocks sperm from coming in contact with the inside of the vagina, where it could reach an egg. (If sperm reaches an egg, pregnancy can result.) A condom also prevents disease-causing substances from spreading from one person to another.

Until recently, the condom was used only by men. A female condom is now available.

The male condom is a thin cover that fits over a man's erect penis. Condoms are made of latex rubber, polyurethane, or animal skin. For the best protection, the condom must be put on before the penis comes into contac

t with or enters the vagina (because pre-ejaculation fluids carry both sperm and disease). The condom must be carefully removed immediately after ejaculation so that no semen leaks out.

The female condom fits inside the vagina. It has two rings to keep the condom in place -- one ring is placed over the woman's cervix and another one is placed over her vulva. This positioning prevents the condom from being pushed up into the vagina, and creates a protective covering over the outside of the vagina, which prevents sperm from contacting the area.

HOW WELL DOES A CONDOM WORK?

Theoretically, if a condom is used consistently and correctly, it should prevent pregnancy 97% of the time. The actual effectiveness among users, however, is only between 80% and 90%. This is due to:

• Occasional rupture of a condom during intercourse
• Semen spilling from a condom during withdrawal
• Waiting too long to put a condom on the penis (penis comes into contact with vagina before condom is on)
• Break in condom due to manufacturing problems (rare)
• Failure to use a condom during each act of intercourse

How well a condom works to prevent STDs also depends on the above-mentioned factors.

It should be noted that only latex and polyurethane condoms, but not those made of natural animal membranes, effectively prevent the spread of viral infections such as HIV.

Condoms that contain spermicides may slightly further reduce the risk of pregnancy, but they are no more likely to reduce the risk of HIV or STDs than condoms lubricated with other substances.

CONVENIENCE

• Condoms are available without a prescription
• They are inexpensive
• They can be bought at most drugstores, in vending machines in some restrooms, by mail order, and at certain health care clinics.
• Some pre-planning is needed in order to have a condom handy at the time of intercourse.
• Since the condom must be put on when the penis is erect, but before contact is made between the penis and vagina, there is usually a brief interruption during foreplay. Many couples solve the problem by incorporating the process of placing the condom on the penis into foreplay.

ADVANTAGES

• Provides protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
• Condoms have a slight tourniquet effect on the outer veins of the penis. This may be beneficial for men who have trouble keeping an erection.
• The condom frequently prolongs a man's ejaculation.

DISADVANTAGES

• A few men can not maintain an erection after putting on a condom.
• The woman is not aware of warm fluid entering her body (important to some women, not to others).
• Friction of the condom may reduce clitoral stimulation and reduce lubrication, making intercourse less enjoyable or even uncomfortable. (Lubricated condoms may reduce this problem.)
• Intercourse may be less pleasurable since the man must withdraw his penis immediately after ejaculation.
• Allergic reactions to latex condoms are rare, but they do occur. (Changing to condoms made of polyurethane or animal membranes may help.)

HOW TO USE A MALE CONDOM

• Remove the condom from its package, being careful not to tear or poke a hole in it while opening the package.
• If the condom has a little tip (receptacle) on the end of it (to collect semen), place the condom against the top of the penis and carefully roll the sides down the shaft of the penis. If there is not a receptacle, be sure to leave a little space between the condom and the end of the penis. Otherwise, the semen may push up the sides of the condom and come out at the bottom before the penis and condom are withdrawn. Be sure there is not any air between the penis and the condom. This can cause it to break.
• Some people find it helpful to unroll the condom a little before putting it on the penis. This leaves plenty of room for semen collection and prevents the condom from being stretched too tightly over the penis.
• After ejaculation the condom must be removed from the vagina. The best way is to grasp the condom at the base of the penis and hold it as the penis is withdrawn.
• You should always throw out condoms after use. Keep in mind that flushing a condom down the toilet may clog plumbing. Instead of flushing condoms, you can wrap them in toilet tissue or put them in plastic bags before throwing them in a garbage can. If necessary, put the condom in a garbage can that is out of reach of children and pets.

IMPORTANT TIPS

• Make sure condoms are available and conveniently located. If no condoms are handy at the time of a sexual encounter, you may be tempted to have intercourse without one.
• Carefully withdraw the penis immediately after ejaculation so that semen cannot leak out of the condom as the erection is lost.
• Use each condom only once.
• Do not carry condoms in your wallet for long periods of time. Replace them every once in a while. Friction from opening and closing your wallet, and from walking (if you carry your wallet in your pocket) can lead to tiny holes in the condom. Nevertheless, it is better to use a condom that has been in your wallet for a long time than to not use one at all.
• Don't use a condom that is brittle, sticky, or discolored. These are signs of age, and old condoms are more likely to break.
• If a condom package is damaged, don't use the condom because it also may be damaged.
• Do not use a petroleum-based substance such as Vaseline as a lubricant. These substances break down latex, the material in some condoms.
• If you feel a condom break during intercourse, stop immediately and put on a new one. Remember, ejaculation does not have to occur for a pregnancy to result (pre-ejaculatory fluids can contain active sperm), or for a disease to be transmitted.
• If ejaculation occurs with a broken condom, insert a spermicidal foam or jelly to help reduce the risk of pregnancy or STD transmission. (Do NOT use nonoxynol-9.)
• Store condoms in a cool, dry place away from sunlight and heat

• The condom should be in place from the beginning to end of sexual activity and should be used every time you have sex.
• Lubricants may help reduce the chance a condom will break. Use only water-based lubricants, because oil-based or petroleum-type lubricants can cause latex to weaken and tear. Do NOT use condoms with nonoxynol-9 -- these help prevent pregnancy, but may increase the chance of HIV transmission.
• Use latex condoms for vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse.
• Keep in mind that STDs can still be spread, even if you use a condom, because a condom does not cover surrounding skin areas. But a condom definitely reduces your risk.

Here are additional safe-sex steps:

• Know your partner. Before having sex, first establish a committed relationship that allows trust and open communication. You should be able to discuss past sexual histories, any previous STDs or IV drug use. You should not feel coerced or forced into having sex.
• Stay sober. Alcohol and drugs impair your judgment, communication abilities, and ability to properly use condoms or lubricants.
• Be responsible. If you have an STD, like HIV or herpes, advise any prospective sexual partner. Allow him or her to decide what to do. If you mutually agree on engaging in sexual activity, use latex condoms and other measures to protect the partner.
• If pregnant, take precautions. If you have an STD, learn about the risk to the infant before becoming pregnant. Ask your provider how to prevent the fetus from becoming infected. HIV positive women should not breastfeed their infant.

In summary, safe sex requires prior planning and good communication between partners. Given that, couples can enjoy the pleasures of a sexual relationship while reducing the potential risks involved.

2. Try not to use intravenous drugs. If IV drugs are used, do not share needles or syringes. Many communities now have needle exchange programs, where used syringes can be disposed of and new, sterile needles obtained for free. These programs can also provide referrals to addiction treatment.
3. Avoid contact with another person's blood when the HIV status of the bleeding individual is unknown. Protective clothing, masks, and goggles may be appropriate when caring for people who are injured.
4. Anyone who tests positive for HIV can pass the disease to others and should not donate blood, plasma, body organs, or sperm. An infected person should warn any prospective sexual partner of their HIV-positive status, should not exchange body fluids during sexual activity, and should use whatever preventive measures (such as condoms) will afford the partner the most protection.
5. HIV-positive women who wish to become pregnant should seek counseling about the risk to unborn children, and medical advances which may help prevent the fetus from becoming infected. Use of certain medications can dramatically reduce the chances that the baby will become infected during pregnancy.
6. Mothers who are HIV-positive should not breast feed their babies.
7. Safe-sex practices, such as latex condoms, are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. HOWEVER, there remains a risk of acquiring the infection even with the use of condoms, if the condom breaks. Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent sexual transmission of HIV.

The riskiest sexual behavior is unprotected receptive anal intercourse -- the least risky sexual behavior is receiving oral sex. Performing oral sex on a man is associated with some risk of HIV transmission, but this is less risky than unprotected vaginal intercourse. Female-to-male transmission of the virus is much less likely than male-to-female transmission. Performing oral sex on a woman who does not have her period carries low risk of transmission.

AWARENESS ABOUT DIABETES:

United Nations blue circle symbol for Diabetes



What is Diabetes?
Diabetes (or) Diabetes mellitus is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood (hyperglycemia) resulting from either low levels of the hormone insulin.


What are the different types of Diabetes?
The Diabetes is classified into type1, type2 and gestational diabetes (occurring during pregnancy).


Type1 Diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes is caused usually due to the destruction of the pancreatic beta cells. Type 1 diabetes, in which insulin is not secreted by the pancreas, is directly treatable only with injected or inhaled insulin.


Type2 Diabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance in target tissues, this causes a need for abnormally high amounts of insulin and diabetes develops when the beta cells cannot meet this demand.
Type 2 diabetes can also be managed with a combination of dietary treatment, tablets and injections and, frequently, insulin supplementation. While insulin was originally produced from natural sources such as porcine pancreas, most insulin used today is produced through genetic engineering, either as a direct copy of human insulin, or human insulin with modified molecules that provide different onset and duration of action. Insulin can also be delivered continuously by a specialized pump which subcutaneously provides insulin through a changeable catheter.


Gestational Diabetes:
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) resembles type 2 diabetes in several respects, involving a combination of inadequate insulin secretion and responsiveness. It occurs in about 2%–5% of all pregnancies and may improve or disappear after delivery. Gestational diabetes is fully treatable but requires careful medical supervision throughout the pregnancy.
If the Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is untreated in time it could damage the health of the fetus or mother. Risks to the baby include high birth weight (macrosomia), congenital cardiac and central nervous system anomalies, and skeletal muscle malformations. Increased fetal insulin may inhibit fetal surfactant production and cause respiratory distress syndrome



What are the Signs and symptoms of Diabetes?
The classical triads of diabetes symptoms are frequent urination (polyuria); increased thirst and consequent increased fluid intake (polydipsia); and increased appetite (polyphagia). Symptoms may develop quite rapidly (weeks or months) in type 1 diabetes, particularly in children. However, in type 2 diabetes the symptoms develop much more slowly and may be subtle or completely absent. Type 1 diabetes may also cause weight loss (despite normal or increased eating) and irreducible fatigue. These symptoms can also manifest in type 2 diabetes in patients whose diabetes is poorly controlled.
Prolonged high blood glucose causes glucose absorption, which leads to changes in the shape of the lenses of the eyes, resulting in vision changes. Blurred vision is a common complaint leading to a diabetes diagnosis; type 1 should always be suspected in cases of rapid vision change whereas type 2 is generally more gradual, but should still be suspected.
Patients (usually with type 1 diabetes) may also present with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), an extreme state of metabolic dysregulation characterized by the smell of acetone on the patient's breath; a rapid, deep breathing with great difficulty known as Kussmaul breathing . In severe DKA, coma may follow, progressing to death. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a medical emergency and requires hospital admission. A rarer but equally severe possibility is the diabetic coma (hyperosmolar nonketotic state), which is more common in type 2 diabetes and is mainly the result of dehydration due to loss of body water.


How to monitor diabetes?
Because of the damage that is caused by high blood glucose it is important to treat diabetes mellitus. The goal of treatment is to keep the blood glucose normal. The normal range for blood glucose is 60-120 mg/dL (milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood) or 3.5-7 mmol/l (millimole per liter of blood.) These are different ways of saying the same thing, very much like yards and meters are different ways of measuring distance.
Diabetics should check their blood glucose often. This is to make sure they do not get hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. A glucometer is a battery powered measuring machine that checks the level of glucose in blood. Diabetics often carry a glucometer with them to check their level several times in a day.
Diabetics also must be monitored for signs of the complications of diabetes. They should see an eye doctor regularly to be checked for damage to the blood vessels in the eyes. If this is not found early and treated it can cause blindness. They also should have their urine or blood checked regularly for signs of kidney damage. And they must check their feet for cuts, bruises, blisters, and so on at least every day. And they should have their feet checked regularly for nerve damage, circulation, and infections.


How to prevent,treat and manage diabetes?
The most important goal in diabetes is to keep blood glucose as normal as possible. Since it usually goes up after eating, and down after exercise, coping with it sensibly is often complex, and usually takes care and thought. And treatment differs between Type 1 and Type 2. People with Type 1 are treated with insulin. People with Type 2 usually begin with diet, exercise, and weight loss, perhaps moving to pills (and sometimes insulin.)

Education is important for both types of diabetes. Diabetics must learn about diet. They learn how to estimate and keep track of how much carbohydrate, protein, and fat are in different foods. They plan their meals to have the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Patients with Type 1 may decide how much insulin to take before a meal based on how much they will eat.

Diabetics must also be careful about exercise. Exercise is important to stay healthy. But too hard or too long exercise may cause hypoglycemia. So diabetics must also carefully plan exercise like they plan meals. Maintaining a healthy weight, getting at least 2½ hours of exercise per week (a brisk sustained walk appears sufficient), having a modest fat intake, and eating a good amount of fiber and whole grains. Some research has suggested that breastfeeding decreased the risk

In addition to controlling blood glucose other treatments may be needed. Diabetics often have blood vessel diseases, so it is important to pay attention to other diseases which may affect blood vessels. In people with diabetes, treating high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol is even more important than usually. Both of these diseases damage blood vessels. The treatment goals can change for diabetics. For instance, in people without diabetes, blood pressure should be 140/90 or less. In diabetics it should be 130/80 or less.

GLOBAL WARMING - THE SLOW POISON

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What is Global Warming?
In the recent years we are coming across the word "Global Warming" often through the media , news papers and also through internet too. what does this word "global warming " mean?. Global Warming is nothing but the unexpected (or) the abrupt (or) the sudden changes that occur in the average weather conditions that were constant for a longer period of time .

What are the impacts of Global Warming?
Because of the global warming the other aspects of the climatic condition also changes such as the atmospheric circulation such as the intensity of the cyclones , the hurricanes becoming stronger year after year. Global warming also causes the "Thermal Expansion" which results in the sudden rising of the sea levels because the warmer water takes up more room than the colder water. Because of the sudden rise in the sea level water enters into the low-lying areas , damages the properties of the coastal population, erodes the shorelines and destroys the ecosystems such as "mangroves" and "wetlands" that protect the coasts against storms. The recent researches say that the sea level has risen between four inches and eight inches in the past hundred years and it could further rise between four and thirty six inches in the next hundred years.

What are the causes of Global Warming?
Global warming is caused by the emission of harmful heat trapping gases from the vehicles, power plants, industrial processes and also deforestation. One of the main reason for global warming is the "Greenhouse Effect". Greenhouse effect is nothing but the rise in temperature that our earth experiences because of the presence of some harmful gases such as the Carbon-di-oxide, Nitrous Oxide and methane that traps the energy from the sun and without these gases the heat would escape back into the space and the earth's average temperature would be sixty degree Farenheit colder, because of this our world becomes more warmer than the normal.

How can we protect our earth from the dangerous Global Warming?
Stop deforestation and plant more trees as much as we can. Protect the mangroves and the wetlands from being eroded or destroyed. Protect the old-growth trees and the rainforest which act as the warehouses for carbon. Use fossil fuels such as the gas , oil and coal more efficiently and switch to renewable fuels. Its not too late unless we act now, our children will inherit a hotter world, dirtier air and water, more severe floods and droughts, and more wild forestfires.

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