What does AIDS mean?

 AIDS is the abbreviation or acronym of the words “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”. The twelfth month of the year-December- was chosen by the WHO (World Health Organization) to be the remembrance month of the fight against that undefeated illness. In French, that sickness is known as SIDA.

What is the relation between AIDS and HIV?

HIV also known as “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” is the virus that causes the AIDS disease. The word AIDS inspires fear, terror and even death! Unfortunately, this vision is generally close to reality. Let me break it down:

For example, when you’ve caught the flu, your body fights against it and gets prepared to go through the offender. Our body knows everything about how to face and eliminate threats like viruses, bacteria, parasites….always ready to do the job!

But with the AIDS it is a bite different: AIDS causes immunity failure and drives our body to give up in front of simple bacteria or attacks that a healthy body can naturally defeat. Can you figure that a person sick with AIDS can spend months to recover from a simple disease or, pin away of a simple flu?!

HIV, How does it act?

Imagine you conceive a special key for a special lock, but when it’s the time to introduce it, the shape changes…again and again!

It is never the same! Endlessly changing; other place, another face, another behavior, new mechanisms, amazing adaptation… It has got the Superpower to transform; escapes from the organism’s defense that can’t recognize him as the enemy to rid off. At the same time this unstoppable changing virus attacks the immunity cells and weakens all the defense system.

How can we catch that sickness?

•  Physical relationships
•  Mother-child transmission
•  Sharing needles or syringes for shooting drugs.
• Piercings.
• Tattoos.
•  Getting stuck with a needle that has HIV-infected blood on it.
•  Getting HIV-infected blood, corporal fluids into open cuts or sores on your body.
• The use of non sterilized material by Doctors or Dentists or Barbers…

Fighting AIDS

Until now, there is no treatment to get completely cured from AIDS. However, these last years new medicines have been introduced to block the multiplication of HIV, and maintain an operational immune system for years.

Millions of dollars are spent every year in order to support the research in this field, but we remain far from a definitive and satisfying solution. That’s why prevention seems to be the best solution:

•  Avoiding acts that favor AIDS transmission
•  Promoting the combat against this terrible illness.
•  Spreading knowledge about AIDS and its prevention.
•  Supporting scientist and associations.

Prevention is always better than cure!