null

HIV and Herpes are still alive and not so well

It wasn’t that long ago that when a person was diagnosed with HIV it meant he or she would eventually wind up with full blown AIDS and would die a slow and painful death. Over the years there have been small fortunes poured into AIDS research and quality drugs have been developed that are designed to keep the outbreak of AIDS at a distance.

There are now over 30 different drugs for the treatment of HIV. Previously, patients had to take a ‘cocktail’ of many different pills throughout the day. When someone has the HIV virus active in their system, the white and red blood cells are out of balance. It is during this time that the person is in danger of passing the virus onto another. The drugs, antiretroviral therapy (ART), keep the HIV cells from multiplying. This gives the immune system a boost and chance to repair the red and white balance. This means that the body can regain the ability to fight other infections and cancers.

With all the modern medicine, there is no cure for HIV. Once a person has contracted the virus, it lives inside his or her body for a lifetime. And it is a life-altering situation.

Unfortunately, new cases of HIV are on the rise many say because people no longer fear the death sentence. The age group at the forefront of this increase is males aged 13 to 24. There is also a rise in groups over 50. The young males were not born yet during the huge scare of the AIDS epidemic and may not be well-educated on the need for protection – or do not care because there are new drugs. The older group may believe they are immune because of their age group itself. No one is immune.

Once a person has HIV, it is their constant companion. There is nowhere to run and hide.

Herpes is like HIV in the fact the once the virus is in you, it is there your entire life. There are drugs to take that can put the virus in remission. But many things can cause a recurrence of outbreaks, including stress. There is no cure.

Newly published figures in the U.S. show that one in five of all adults 12+ have genital herpes. It is now five times more common in Caucasians that are 12 to 19 years old than it was in 1970. It is twice as common in the 20 to 29 year old group as it was 20 years ago. This trend is because these individuals have not heeded the messages regarding safe sex. The World Health Organization says that 67% of the world’s population has HSV-1.

It is embarrassing to have to tell a new potential sex partner that you have the virus. But it must be done. You should never have vaginal, oral or anal sex during an outbreak. A condom will help to prevent spreading the virus.

Stuart Brown
Doctor of Sexual Health at the NHS Royal London Hospital & Relationship Expert. Columnist at britishcondoms.uk. An advocate of safe sex. Avid Arsenal fan.

Follow Stuart on Twitter

Leave a Reply