In Our Hands Now

The semester is about over and there is still much to do, however this is now the last time you will be hearing from me, as a required assignment anyways. Who knows I may continue with the blog, it will be a while before we make HIV a thing of the past.

We must have faith, that one day with the combined efforts of many that we can make a difference in the world of HIV, a difference that would make the total number of infected individuals decrease over time rather than increase. This course has shown me now that it is our generation that is going to be the driving force behind that goal. The future is in our hands now, what are we going to do about it?

The one topic that I would like to talk about this week that has made the biggest effect on me since I started the course has been the Men's Panel. What an amazing group of guys, what they did for us really takes a large amount of courage. I was so intrigued by every one of their words that I couldn't help but feel like they were talking only to me. The stories they shared with us really gave me a small sample of the day to day life of being HIV positive. The craziest part is that I would have never been able to pick them out as being HIV positive, shoot I was standing next to a couple of them in the hall before class having a normal conversation.

The experiences they shared with us made me feel a great deal of sorrow and remorse for their past problems and the continuous ever changing complication that they have to deal with everyday. I was very surprised to hear one of them say that getting HIV was the best thing that had ever happened to him, he soon clarified that HIV got him off of a path that was much worse than that of HIV.

The panel really touched me, and this experience is something that I'll be able to refer back to when making decisions. This course has changed my mentality and has given me a deep look into a very real problem that needs to be solved.

Did You Know...

This week on did you know, I realized that since we started this course at the beginning of the semester until now, over 230,000 people have since been infected with AIDS. That statistic is unbelievable. When I logged onto the world clock I was very surprised to see how much the number has grown. This evidence should be compelling enough to urge people to get something done to stop the spread of HIV. (AIDS)

Web: AIDS. (2009). Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://www.unfpa.org/aids_clock/

The Panel

Today is the men's panel, and I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to going. I was unable to make it to the women's panel so I'm not sure what to expect. I hope that this experience is eye opening and influential. I can tell you one thing though, I'm not looking forward to the Drive at 5 on the 408 haha. I wish I had time to write this blog after attending the panel, however I don't have enough time tonight. I'll be sure to let you all know how it went in next weeks blog.

This week in this class... The semester is winding down, and with only a few more assignments left, I feel my knowledge on HIV has increased 2 fold thanks to this course. Before taking this class, that I didn't know actually existed, I was a just an average that strolled through life without even thinking about the dangers of HIV. However thanks to my councilor's recommendation, and the fine work of Linda and Teach, I've come to see the dangers of HIV, and effect it has on EVERYTHING. It surprises me how often random activities will remind me of HIV, and the things I've learned in this course. I think I can speak on behalf of most people in the class when I say this class has changed some aspect of our lives.

I had a hard time coming up with a solid answer to this weeks question of the week. I think thats because there is no perfect solution to the problem. Why do the number of cases of HIV continue to go up, even when we educate the people? I think that is because humans don't care about something until it affects them directly. Sadly its usually to late when someone starts to care. Unless HIV has a direct influence on our lives, we will continue through our day as if it doesn't exist. I know thats how I use to be, along with many others.

Did you know...

This week I read an article that originated from Vietnam. The article stated that HIV positive students were finally allowed to attend a public school, after lobbying for a significant amount of time. When it came time to begin the new semester, parents had received word that HIV positive students would be attending the classes, and quickly yanked their kids from the school. One individual said that he would rather die being bombed out during a war than die slowly from AIDS. Unfortunately public opinion is hard to change, and the stigma associated with this disease is almost impossible to correct with words. The children had to be sent back to the orphanage to be schooled once again in order to get students to come back to school. Its sad to see how crazy things can get sometimes, especially when people don't know the first thing about HIV. (HIV)

Web: HIV. (2009). Retrieved November 18, 2009, From http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1918243,00.html

Past Week's Experience

I must say, I hope that I never truly need to take pills like I did in last week's simulation for the rest of my life. I sympathize for the people who are depending on these medications to sustain their life, however taking a few pills a day is not a steep price when it comes to life. This past week was a real eye opener when it comes to the average day of an HIV positive person. The simulation gave me a small sample of one of the daily routines, and necessities of people with this disease. During the week of the simulation I was actually rather sick with some kind of sinus infection. The doctor that I went and saw prescribed for me three different kinds of medication to take, including an antibiotic. Needless to say, the fact that I actually was sick made it a lot easier for me to remember to take all my medication/M&M's. Overall I would describe the simulation as somewhat as a nuisance. It didn't bother me that I had to take fake pills, but rather it was the fact that it had to be done at specific times with certain conditions. I found myself checking the list that told me when/how to take my pills several times before I actually started to remember it. I'm glad we did the simulation as an assignment, its just one more piece of knowledge that helps us understand the HIV disease.

Did You Know...

HIV affects the lives of teenagers all the time. This weeks QOTW made me want to talk about this one news article that I found that describes the effects of stigma on high school students. Fifty students at the Normandy high school in Missouri were escorted to the gym to be given an HIV test, after and HIV positive person told officials that kids could have been exposed to the virus. Teachers pointed out kids that may have been exposed, and were taken for testing. One girl that was pointed out as a possible candidate for having HIV was later dumbed that night by her boyfriend just before the homecoming dance. Just goes to show the affect of the virus on the lives of others. I though this article was relevant to the QOTW because if there was a plan in effect that monitored HIV positive people, then maybe this incident could have been avoided.(HIV)

Web: HIV. (2008) retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443715,00.html

The Radio

I was a bit surprised today to hear a HIV awareness advertisement on the radio during my ride to work. It was rather subtle at first but then ended with a good message. The commercial was basically a playback of many answering machine messages of a guy trying to get this girl to go out on a date with him. He was offering to take her to the movies, dinner, and clubs with no success. Finally the last message on the machine was something like "hey girl, I took your advice and when to go get tested". Then the commercial started promoting HIV testing and the prevention of the spread of HIV. It had been long time since I had last heard a commercial for STDs on the radio. That could be because I don't listen to the radio as much as I use too, or there just hasn't been that many around anymore.

The other idea that bounced around in my brain for a while this week was the question of the week. I liked this question because it made me think about how much the chimpanzee has influenced humanity. We owe the success of many drugs and cures to ailments, to the chimp. I know that many people feel that the testing done to the chimp is wrong, but with the lack of human volunteers, the next best species to help test the advancement of medicine is the chimp. Just think how much knowledge we would be missing if these tests were not performed. The lives of many people have been changed thanks to the chimp. If there were another way to simulate these tests that didn't include using a chimpanzee against it's will, I would take it. I just feel that the benefits out weigh the loses in this situation, but then again who am I to judge what is right.

Did you know...

"In 2007 alone, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections. Almost half of these new infections were among people under 25 years old." (Avert) That is too many! That is why HIV awareness has been a growing theme in schools around the country. Kids are being provided with basic information needed to help themselves and others against the spread of HIV. This AIDS education also helps prevent some of the stigma associated with HIV, and reduces the amount of false information that usually strikes fear in the minds of others. This class is a perfect example of such effort. (Avert)

Web: Avert. (2009) retrieved November 4, 2009, from http://www.avert.org/aids-young-people.htm

Research Continues

When ever I hear the acronym HIV, a surge of knowledge flows through my head. It surprises me when I stumble upon a conversation about the disease. Fortunately I have yet to have any experiences (that I know off) where I personally come into contact with an HIV disease. I'm curious to see how I will actually react to the situation knowing what I currently know about the virus. I'm not saying that I'm going out to look for it, but it would be interesting to converse with someone with the virus. I think that such a conversation would be a fruitful learning experience.

This week hasn't been very eventful when it comes to the HIV learning experience, although my other classes have sure been keeping me busy. I'm new to the whole 500 kids in a class idea, and I'm finding it hard to get the useful one on one teacher-student help. I guess this is something I'll just have to get use too, just like how a person with HIV must learn to manage the life changes that result from having the virus. I am unable to get the images of those three movies I watched out of my head. Some of the scenes have completely changed the way I see HIV.

The question of the week this week was very strait forward in my eyes. At first the answer seemed apparent, but after thinking a bit longer about the situation I realized that the decision I made would be a rather difficult one to follow through with. I decided that I would tell the other parent about my child's condition due to moral reasons. However after thinking about the scenario and the facts, it makes me think that there would be no harm in not telling the family about my child's HIV condition. No harm no foul right? After all the bite didn't break the skin of the child, and it is unlikely to transmit HIV through untainted saliva. These thoughts did run through my mind, but were overcome by ideals of right and wrong. If I were the parent of the bitten child, I would want to know. This is why I know I would tell them everything about the situation.

Did you know...

Research toward finding a cure for HIV continues. Another experimental study is available for testing and needs volunteers to continue its research. Newly diagnosed people 18 years or older are asked to participate in a study that tests an investigational drug in the class HIV integrase inhibitors. The drug is called Efavirenz, and will be combined with other drugs (called NRTI, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) to test the effectiveness of the combination. The study is going to last about 2 years at no cost to the volunteers. (HIV)

Web: HIV. (NA) Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.spring1study.com/howdoiqualify.html

Wow, Oprah talks about HIV.

This week was rather interesting, especially due to the fact HIV managed to find make its way into my day even when I wasn't looking for it. As many others have also noticed, Oprah did a show on the HIV topic. Now I wasn't watching Oprah, however my mother was, and knowing that I was enrolled in this course she quickly called me out to come and watch. Although I was reluctant to come out and watch the show, I was quickly intrigued in after hearing about the story that transpired.

This was a shocking story that had myself and my mother completely stunned. Hearing that a single man transmitted HIV to several different women over a rather short period of time. The scary thing about this is that none of these women had any knowledge that their current lover was HIV positive. Of course most of them decided not to use any kind of protection during intercourse, in an effort to keep the romance alive. For me, the choice to have sex without a condom is a no brainer, especially when the person your with is someone you just recently met.

One thing that kind of threw me off is when a woman in the crowd stood up and told us that it is harder for a man to get HIV than a woman. I thought the chance was about the same for both of the individuals. I suppose that has to do with the physiological differences between men and women, and the chance of virus making it to the specific areas. All I can do hope that when the moment presents itself, I make the right decision when it comes to using protection or not.

Now I wasn't there at the beginning of the show, so I'm not sure if the man knew he was HIV positive or not. However if he did know he was HIV positive, one thing that I can't get through my mind, is how a that man would knowingly have unprotected sex with someone even if he had the HIV disease. The feeling of playing a game of risk with someone else's life is not something I could morally do, which makes sad to think that this man has absolutely no respect for others. I feel that people like this, that play games with the lives of others, need to be punished accordingly.

Did You Know...

"There is a rising concern about the effects of HIV/AIDS among adolescents and young adults between the age of 13 and 24 in the United States." (HIV) An estimated 10,000 young people have died due to the vulnerability caused by AIDS. The proportion of young people with AIDS has gone up almost 4% in a 5 year span. This indicates that HIV is spreading throughout the population. Something that all young adults need to be aware of, and stay protected from. (HIV)

Web: HIV/AIDS. (2009) Retrieved October 21, 2009, from http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/HIVAIDS/Understanding/Population+Specific+Information/hivadolescent.htm

Very Dull Week

This past week has been rather unfruitful, and at times seemed to be barely moving. Having to deal with the burdens of my other three classes, work, and friend drama, I haven't spent much time the past couple days worried about this class. I'm looking forward to next week for that week off of writing papers, could use the break. Still working on getting this week's assignment done, module three - testing and counseling. I'm really glad to have got that nerve racking experience out of the way. Getting tested for life changing diseases is exactly my strong suit. Although now after getting my results back, and confirming that I am negative, I wish to be tested for more. I think it would be nice to get myself fully tested in order to acknowledge and understand myself completely. Unfortunately the test I took to look for HIV, could not be used to test for other diseases. That would have saved me some time and money.

Well, for the next few days I be working on module three, and getting responses out to the other bloggers. Other than that I hope to continue to grow when it comes to my understanding of the HIV disease. I know the movies really made a tremendous contribution to my overall knowledge on the subject. I just hope that there are more learning materials to come that are just as enlightening as the movies.

Did You Know...

This week on did you know, How many contractions occur in college? What about HIV in Germany?

According to the CDC, 50% of all new HIV contractions occur among people under 25 years old. Considering that college students usually fit in that age bracket, this tells me that college students appear to be most at risk. One major problem that aids the spread of HIV is the fact that most sexually active students report not using a condom. Which is unfortunate because a condom can reduce the chance of contracting a STD by 70 - 100%. (Access)

As for the laws associated with Germany's HIV confidentiality, they closely resemble that of the U.S. when it comes to laws. The status of your condition is kept confidential unless you do something that would provide reasonable cause to make it otherwise known to the public. One german law states that if any person maltreats or harms the health of another, they can be convicted, and sentenced to up to 5 years in prison, or pay substantial fine. (Germany) If you are a threat to the well being of another person, I feel it is the job of the government to take care of the issue.

Access My Library. (2009) Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-201608565/hiv-risk-behavior-among.html

Germany. (n.a.) Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.gnpplus.net/criminalisation/germany.shtml

It's movie time!

This week the HIV course has been all about watching movies, and best believe that watching movies is one of my favorite things to do. I work at a movie theater, so this assignment was right up my alley. To my surprise, I didn't enjoy these documentaries as much as I would normally. It wasn't that the films were bad, it was the fact that they were so realistic and strait forward. These films took my understanding of HIV to the next level. The documentaries changed my perspective toward HIV once again, having an idea of what a person and their family has to go through while affected by HIV made it that much more real for me.

Whether its a gay, strait, male, female, young or old, the virus will affect everyone just the same. The films reviled some of the most intricate details of people's life under the effect of HIV. Starting from when they just contracted the disease, up until point of death. This really struck me, seeing the aftermath of such a disease is mind blowing. Seeing first hand how fragile the human body can be, really makes you self conscious about life. The documentaries almost stuck fear into my heart as I saw even the most innocent youngsters die to this merciless virus. I'll be writing more about my reaction to the films after I complete the movie assignment. For now, what I have seen have altered my opinion on the subject matter forever. HIV affects not only you, but all those whom you have influenced.

On a lighter note, my HIV test came back on monday, and it was negative! Just being in that office gives your nervous system a run for your money. Although, it was funny, when they gave me the results back I noticed that they had misprinted my age and gender. This error ended my excitement quickly, and I asked the councilor to make sure these results were mine. After confirming that they were, I was happy to bid that place a final adieu.

Did You Know Time!

Since all my previous segments of Did You Know, are basically covered by module 2, I've decided that I'll be changing my Did You Know segment to exploring HIV in college students.

Now that we are all on the same page; Did You Know... that according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) 1 in 500 students are infected with HIV. (College) That statistic blows my mind, especially when it comes to the fact that infected people may not know that they are HIV positive until many years down the road. That means that this virus is capable and has the potential of spreading so easily. Especially among the college environment, where young college students are so likely to try new things on a daily basis. Lets say that UCF has about 50,000 students, that would mean that its estimated that 100 students would be infected with HIV. If you ask me that number is much too high, something more needs to be done, and not only by the school system, but by the students themselves. (College)

Web: College and University Blog. (2009) Retrieved October 7, 2009, from http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/College-Students-and-HIV-AIDS.html

Busy... Busy... Week...

Man oh Man, never thought that a weeks worth of work could leave me in such a hunt for time. Between work, school tests, and book reading, I barely had any time for fun..... boohoo, as my dad looks at me and says "welcome to the real world". When it comes to this class in the past week, my life has mainly consisted of reading our book assignment which I finished just in the nick of time. From the book Surviving the Fall I learned many things about the life of a doctor, which I found very enlightening due to the fact that I'm heading into that field.

My first reaction to the book made me feel rather depressed, as a doctor we are trained to cure aliments, and this book truly showed me that I will not always be able to cure everything. I really liked how this doctor decided to open up his life to the readers and tell us everything that he was going through, that isn't something that many people would willing expose. If your looking for a good read on the insight of a doctors quest to combat HIV, this is a great book to look into. Other than reading the book, two weeks ago I managed to get my HIV test which was rather revealing and a bit awkward, I get my results back on the 5th of October. I got my test done at the UCF health center, the people there were very nice and informative, hope to have the same people when I go back.

DID YOU KNOW...

Well now that we have talked about what HIV is, and how we can contract the disease, I think its time to talk about recognizing some of its symptoms. When the HIV infects the body, we can begin to see certain symptoms that my indicate that someone should go take an HIV test. Some of these symptoms include:

-rapid weight loss

-dry cough

-fever with night sweats

-extreme fatigue

-swollen lymph glands

-prolonged duration of diarrhea

-white spots or blemishes in the oral cavity

-pneumonia

-shades of red blotching under the skin

-memory loss or depression

(Palo)

Although someone may have some of these symptoms the only fail-proof way to know whether or not someone has HIV is be tested. Many times a subject with HIV does not have any symptoms caused by the virus for what could be years at a time. Knowing some of the signs of HIV may help you in its further prevention, however the only way to completely protect yourself from HIV is to entirely avoid any activity in which it may be spread. Until next week, keep your mind open, and body safe. (Palo)

Web: Palo Alto Medical Foundation. (2009) Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://www.pamf.org/teen/sex/std/std/hivfacts.html

Some Questions Answered

I am pleased to say that due to the module two assignment, I now have a much better understanding of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Yes, there are still many questions that I have, which I will try to research for my Did You Know segment. Although my knowledge of HIV has increased considerably, I still feel that I don't know enough about the repercussions of contracting the disease. Not so much in the sense of what happens to the host, but rather what the person has to go through, the repression treatment, the counseling, and the feeling of being at risk. I can't imagine the thoughts of the family, and the feelings that they must cope with.

The question of the week is what sparked the motivation for this weeks blog post. Hinting to the idea that HIV doesn't only have an effect on the host, but also those that he or she impacts. That is one issue that continues to strike my heart with a serrated blade, the number of children left orphaned by the unconquerable virus that has claimed so many lives world wide. We as a people need to start taking responsibility in our actions, for the consequences may not only be our own. To condone in such behavior that could possibly be the first wrong turn on a dead end road is just so mind blowing to me, why would anyone want to take such a risk. The two main behaviors that I can't quite seem to find logical reasoning for, include unprotected sex, and needle sharing. Why take a chance with the most precious gift given to man, life.

These taboo actions lead me to my next "Did You Know..." segment. Now that we all know what HIV is and that its primary objective is to infect, replicate, and destroy T-cells, I think its time to examine how exactly someone can become infected with HIV. Now there are many myths and truths to the transmission of HIV, time to sort them out. Just this week in one of my classmates QOTW, she asks if HIV can be transmitted by urine on the floor of a bathroom, through cuts on the bottom of her feet. This mode of transmission has hence been disproved, meaning that you cannot contract HIV via urine. Urine along with many other body fluids cannot deliver a sufficient amount of HIV to be considered contagious. Some of the other fluids that cannot transmit HIV include, tears, sweat, feces, urine, and vomit. The HIV concentration in these fluids has been found to be very low or non-existent, making them safe to come into contact with when it comes to HIV. There is one more fluid that may contain the HIV virus that one may wish to be wary of, this fluid is saliva. Although saliva is not considered to be infectious there is one exception that we should know. Saliva that contains traces of blood would put you at risk for an infection of HIV, cuts in the mouth could allow the virus access to the blood stream opening the door for infection. (HIV)

Now that we got the non-infectious fluids out of the way, what fluids are considered to infectious? I would expect most people to know the answer to this question, but after talking with my family for the QOTW I realized that some people just don't know. HIV is 100% transmittable via blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and even breast milk (if in large enough amounts). This is why it is very important to practice safe sex and never share needles, a concept that I think is very easy to understand and reasonable to follow. (HIV)

Another week has come and gone, and I feel as if we have only scratched the surface when it comes to fully understanding the effects of HIV on not only ourselves, but also the effects on others close to us.

HIV transmission. (2008). Retrieved September 23, 2009. From http://www.mnaidsproject.org/learn/transmission.htm

Did You Know...

I have never been too sure exactly how the human body has become so susceptible to the HIV disease, so for this "Did You Know" segment of my blogging I've decided to trace step by step what exactly happens when someone contracts the HIV virus. Bit by bit I'll uncover the process by which the virus attacks our immune system, making us vulnerable to infection.

The HIV infection, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus that occurs in humans and who's main directive is to interfere with our immune system. Most people spend their days unaware of their immune systems functions, however when the system becomes weak or a new type of virus or bacterial infection comes along, we become sick. This is usually when we notice that our body is starting to fight off the infection, wether its through fevers or headaches we are glad to be the owners of such an immune system. When HIV infects the body, it sends the immune system into a big mess, preventing it from doing its job properly. One of the primary targets of HIV is the T helper cell, along with others. This cell can be thought of as the detective of the immune system, giving the other cells directions on what to fight and create immunity for. Unfortunately since HIV infects the detector cells, the immune system is forced to attack itself, killing the T cells in the process. Low numbers of the T cell is what leads to malfunction of the immune system making the host prone to infection.

HIV. (2009). Retrieved september 16, 2009, from http://www.epigee.org/health/hiv_symptoms.html

Still Learning

What a busy and informative week, after much research and reading for the module 1 assignment "Statistics" I have come to the realization that HIV is a much bigger, and widespread problem than I first thought. Coming from a real close family, I would say that I have been rather sheltered when it comes to knowing the problems and crisis of the world. A great example of people being oblivious the the happenings of the world is through politics, its something that we all can relate to, but may not know much about. HIV/AIDS is the same way, most people know it exists and do their best to avoid it, but never consider doing anything to help bring the disease to an end. The fact is that HIV/AIDS is a very real threat to humanity, one which would be foolish to ignore.

The module one assignment on statistics of HIV was rather startling, especially the World Clock link on the assignment page that shows the estimated number of people who are currently living with HIV. I literally sat there for about 20 minutes watching the number continually get bigger. According to that World HIV Clock, every 12 seconds someone contracts HIV, and ever 16 seconds someone dies. That means that the number of HIV cases is always increasing which is a rather frightening statistic. I was also surprised to learn that women seem to contract the HIV disease more often than men. This was a hard statistic for me to wrap my head around at first, associating the HIV disease with other demographics, but then realized that the social standards are not exactly the same for other countries as they are in the U.S. The rights of women differ country to country and are sometimes unfortunately seen as inferior to men (as if a possession) , resulting in easy spread of the disease.

After researching a bit into different organizations that fight the world wide battle against HIV, I managed to come across The Lawyers Collective. The Lawyers Collective is a law based help group based in India that is dedicated to "controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic by protecting and promoting the rights of the people affected by HIV/AIDS, through law reform. legal aid and allied services of advocacy, training and research." This organization is the perfect example of a group of passionate individuals working to protect against discrimination against HIV/AIDS positive people and sexual orientation. They continue to work to protect those already infected with HIV, but also move to protect those vulnerable to contracting the virus. (Lawyers)

This week was quite a wake up call when it comes to fully understanding the HIV disease. The mechanics of how it came to be as a disease, the statistics of who and what it infects, and what people are trying to do about it. With any luck I'll have an even better grasp on the subject matter after module two rolls around.

Layers Collective. (2009) Retrieved september 16, 2009. from http://www.lawyerscollective.org/hiv-aids

Learning something new everyday

Hello everyone, this is my first time blogging so its still a learning experience, I have a good feeling that it will be one of many during the semester. Before enrolling for the HIV class at UCF, I thought I was pretty knowledgeable when it came to the HIV/AIDS disease. To my surprise I have learned two new things about the disease in just the first week, those two things would be Thrush and PCP. Up until now I didn't know about either of these diseases, I also thought that PCP was only a drug. Boy was I wrong... I hope to continue to learn new facts about the world wide disease and how to help prevent it!