This is the ninth decade of the last century. Famous Hollywood actor Rock Hudson fell ill with a strange disease.
He was treated in a Paris hospital but died on October 2, 1985. Later, the whole world came to know that the name of his disease was AIDS. Rock Hudson was not the first man to suffer from this disease, but because of him, the disease started to be talked about.
Rock Hudson performed on the screen for thirty years. He was known to be gay. Initially, AIDS was thought to be a disease of homosexuals, but later other causes also emerged.
AIDS is spread by the virus HIV (HIV). It is evident from the name of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) that the human immune system becomes very weak in this disease. He gradually suffers from various ailments and eventually dies.
Currently, 39 million people worldwide are living with the HIV virus. Since the 1980s, a total of 90 million people have been infected with AIDS and more than 40 million people have died as a result of this disease.
According to a conservative estimate, the total number of AIDS patients in Pakistan is between 2 and 2.5 million, but only about 50,000 patients have registered themselves under the National AIDS Control Program.
The surprising thing is that the number of AIDS patients is decreasing worldwide, but in Pakistan, the number of AIDS patients has increased tremendously in the last few years.
Before knowing the details of this disease, it is very important to understand the immune system. Every human being has been given the ability by Allah to react automatically against any disorder, any virus attack, germs entering the body, any rash or swelling, or any infection. As a result, the human body reacts and some defense agents are formed, called antibodies.
These antibodies are of different types, they start their work, become active against foreign invaders, weaken them and protect the human body from their harmful effects.
AIDS is a disease in which a person’s natural immune system becomes ineffective and the antibodies are unable to defend effectively against foreign invaders. The human body is not able to face any disease properly and protect itself from it. The result of this is that the human being suffers from various diseases again and again.
Different types of viruses and germs are constantly attacking and the situation becomes very dire. In normal conditions, the disorders that a person would have defended without taking medicine simply on the basis of their immune power, become so severe that they gradually lead to death.
It is extremely difficult to know where AIDS first came from. There are different theories about this, but once it happens to someone, it can be transmitted to someone else in different ways. This virus is mainly found in various body fluids and blood.
There are two forms of this disease. One is those patients who are HIV-positive, but have not developed AIDS. HIV can be positive for a long time, however there is no cure.
Because no medicine or any other form of treatment could be provided for it till now. The only solution is for the person who is HIV positive to take complete preventive measures, treat the symptoms like weakness, fever and other ailments and not spread it further.
In the presence of the HIV virus, AIDS can be prevented from becoming active for a long time through medication and psychological support.
Following are some of the major sources of human-to-human transmission of this virus.
1. Transmission of the virus during sexual intercourse with an infected person
2. Transfusion of donated blood from an infected person
3. Through contaminated used syringes and surgical instruments
These are the main reasons for the spread of this disease in Pakistan. This disease is not transmitted by meeting or sitting with an infected person. However, this disease can be transmitted from the patient mother to the child.
Drug addicts around the world have a tradition of taking drugs from the same syringe. If one of them has the AIDS virus, it is transmitted to all of them.
Also, the general practice in hospitals and clinics is that syringes are not disposed of in an approved manner after use and are thrown away in the garbage. From where some people pick up these syringes and after washing either use them themselves or sell them. The use of such syringes has been observed especially in the treatment centers.
Also, if surgical and dental instruments are not properly cleaned and there is no regular system of thorough disinfection, there is a risk that these instruments may become contaminated. Even a healthy person can get this disease by using it.
In hospitals and clinics, there is an arrangement to clean these instruments, but people who sit on the sidewalk and treat teeth, extract teeth, apply medicine, it is not possible to do all these things properly. Nor do such people take proper precautions, which can result in disease transmission.
Major hospitals and clinics arrange for three types of blood tests to be done before any surgical procedure, including AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, so that all possible precautions can be taken. And if the virus is present, its spread can be prevented.
There is no cure for AIDS. This disease gradually leads to death. To deal with this, symptomatic treatment is done, that is, medicines are given for various complaints. Early symptoms of AIDS include fever, chills, sweating, especially sleepiness, shortness of breath, persistent fatigue, various types of pneumonia, blurred vision, joint pain, sore throat, cold, flu, muscle aches. .
Apart from this, skin lesions are also a sign of AIDS. Generally, a patient suffering from AIDS appears healthy for a long period of time with initial symptoms, but with the passage of time these complaints become prolonged.
There is rapid weight loss, persistent diarrhea and increased cough and fever. In such a case, these complaints should not be ignored and medical experts should be consulted immediately.
Symptoms alone are not enough to make a definitive diagnosis of AIDS. For this, the complete details of the disease are known and information is obtained about the patient’s social relations and habits. The only way to definitively diagnose it is through a laboratory test. There are different methods of this test, which definitely detects the disease.
From the presence of the AIDS virus in the body to the activation of the disease, there is a constant state of war within the human being.
If a person continues to receive the appropriate drugs, the HIV test will remain positive for a long time, but the disease will not become active. AIDS patients also need psychological support along with medication so that they can fight the disease with courage and courage. If weakness occurs in the patient, this disease becomes active. The disease will eventually occur but can be prevented for a long time.
To prevent AIDS, it is important to always use new syringes, to be tested for HIV before blood transfusions, and to use surgical or dental instruments that are completely sterile. Unnecessary injections or drips should be avoided.
A new blade should always be used for shaving and circumcision. A clean needle should also be used for ear or nose piercing. If there is an AIDS patient in the house, keep a nail clipper for him. If a pregnant woman is suffering from AIDS, always consult a specialist and senior doctor instead of a midwife at the time of childbirth. Should be operated from.
Get the baby tested for AIDS immediately after birth. If positive, treatment should be arranged. If the result is negative, do not ignore it, but do a 6-week course of treatment. A patient suffering from AIDS should not breastfeed the child.
Whenever a patient undergoes dental treatment, he must inform the doctor about his illness so that he can take necessary precautions. It is also the responsibility of the doctor to treat any such patient with utmost care and affection, and treat his illness thoroughly according to the prescribed procedure.
Unfortunately, one aspect of the AIDS disease in the subcontinent is its fatality, but at the same time, its patient lives in constant anxiety and stress. That is, along with AIDS, he is also going through sadness, panic, fear and anxiety.
An AIDS patient needs to be educated on how to live with the disease. They need a lot of psychological support and training at every stage which unfortunately is not being properly provided to these patients.
The question arises as to what to do after having AIDS. A patient can live for years after developing AIDS. It depends on the severity of the disease, the patient’s complaints are being treated, psychological support is being provided.
To ensure this support, several centers have been set up in the country where AIDS patients are housed collectively and not only provided with medicines but also trained.
AIDS is considered by us as a great defect, that perhaps the person suffering from AIDS is of a very bad character or a sinner. This thing needs to be avoided. AIDS is not necessarily the result of sin. This disease can be inflicted on a very decent and healthy person by just using a wrong syringe.
As a result of these baseless notions, a person suffering from AIDS protects himself from the eyes of people, deliberately avoids treatment. There is a need to remove the concept of this disease as a handicap in the society and to provide awareness to people.
It is true that we all should live a chaste life according to Islamic principles and should be limited to our life partner.
If a person has contracted this disease due to illicit sex, he should not be scolded. The door of Allah’s mercy and repentance is always open. An AIDS patient should not be presented as a stigma to the society, which is unfortunately happening and such patients become isolated, live a miserable life and end up dying after rubbing their heels together.
There is a need to create large scale rehabilitation centers to educate these patients, provide proper treatment. Where they should be kept and trained. It will yield positive results.
With proper medication and psychological support, these people live like a normal person for many years and play their role as a useful person in the society.
(Dr. Iftikhar Birni is a Psychiatrist working in a hospital in Rawalpindi. He is also the Central General Secretary of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA).)