By Eman Malik
& Eman Arshad
Aids stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Aids is a serious condition that weakens the body’s immune system, leaving it unable to fight off illness. Aids is the last stage in a progression of diseases resulting from a viral infection known as the human immunodeficiency virus (hiv or aids virus). The diseases include a number of unusual and severe infections, cancers and debilitating illnesses, resulting in severe weight loss or wasting away, and diseases affecting the brain and central nervous system.
There is no cure for hiv infection or aids nor is there a vaccine to prevent hiv infection. However, new medications not only can slow the progression of the infection, but also can also markedly suppress the virus, thereby restoring the body’s immune function and permitting many hiv-infected individuals to lead a normal, disease-free life. “give a child love, laughter and peace not aids”—nelson mandelaaids is a devastating and deadly disease that affects people worldwide and, like all infections, it comes without warning. Specifically, childbearing women with aids face constant psychological difficulties during their gestation period, even though the pregnancy itself may be normal and healthy.
These women have to deal with the uncertainties and the stress that usually accompany a pregnancy, and they have to live with the reality of having a life-threatening disease; in addition to that, they also have to deal with discriminating and stigmatizing behaviors from their environment. It is well known that a balanced mental state is a major determining factor to having a normal pregnancy and constitutes the starting point for having a good quality of life. Even though the progress in both technology and medicine is rapid, infected pregnant women seem to be missing this basic requirement. Communities seem unprepared and uneducated to smoothly integrate these people in their societies, letting ignorance marginalize and isolate these patients. For all the aforementioned reasons, it is imperative that society and medical professionals respond and provide all the necessary support and advice to hiv-positive child bearers, in an attempt to allay their fears and relieve their distress.
“Aids will not kill them but your reactions will” hiv stigma and discrimination affect the emotional well-being and mental health of people living with hiv. People living with hiv often internalize the stigma they experience and begin to develop a negative self-image. They may fear they will be discriminated against or judged negatively if their hiv status is revealed. Internalized stigma” or “self-stigma” happens when a person takes in the negative ideas and stereotypes about people living with hiv and starts to apply them to themselves. Hiv internalized stigma can lead to feelings of shame, fear of disclosure, isolation, and despair. These feelings can keep people from being tested and treated for hiv.hiv stigma is rooted in a fear of hiv. Many of our ideas about hiv come from the hiv images that first appeared in the early 1980s. There are still misconceptions about how hiv is transmitted and what it means to live with hiv today. Hiv.“lady diana challenged hiv stigma with every hug “on 1 july 2021, it would’ve been princess diana’s 60th birthday. In honor of the occasion, i believe it is important to look back at the momentous impact she had on public perceptions of hiv and celebrate her legacy. Because, with every gloveless handshake and every hug, she helped to challenge the hysteria and fear which was rife at the time. I truly believe we would not be where we are today without her. “avoid facing anguish of aids by precautionary measures” .Dare to reach yourhand into darkness,to pull another hand into the light –norman b.rice.
