Lybrate Logo
Get the App
For Doctors
Login/Sign-up
Last Updated: Sep 20, 2024
BookMark
Report

HIV/AIDS: Facts You Need To Know!

Profile Image
Dr. Ishwar GiladaHIV Specialist • 43 Years Exp.MBBS, DDV, FCPS, APEX, Diplomat American Board of Sexology
lybrate_youtube

Hi,

My name is Dr Ishwar gilada and I am one of the first positions in the field of HIV AIDS in India. I started my HIV career in 1985 and I started this private clinic called UNICEF Medical Research Centre in 1995 which is India's first private sector HIV clinic. This is fully comprehensive under all facilities are available here are like consultation, counselling, different type of testing PCR, x-ray, sonography everything is done here. I feel privileged to talk about HIV AIDS then section was started in 1981 in India.

The first cases were in 1985-86 and over the years it has become very much news worthy disease initially it was considered as deadly disease. Lot of people were dying because of HIV AIDS and people were thinking there is no treatment so why should we get the test done. In last 10-15 years it has become chronic manageable disorder and when we talk about Chronic manageable it just means hypertension or Diabetes where you don't have to be sick and you don't have to be dying of HIV AIDS moreover.

The treatment of HIV AIDS has become very cheap. It is affordable so even if somebody cannot afford they can to government Centre where they can get ART or antiretroviral therapy free of charge but even in private setup the treatment which are costing close to 1 lakh to 1.5 Lakh in Abroad. It is costing 2000 to 3000 per month in India. HIV is mainly transmitted through sexual routes also it can be transmitted from mother to child and through blood transfusion however more than 95% of the transmission is from sexual transmission people think that they are not doing anything wrong they are better than others and usually they do not want to take up any test because they think like just I am holier than others and better than others. 

However it is just like a ticketless traveller or like a pickpocket where every pickpocketing incident or every ticketless incident is risk by itself you can be caught anytime but every time you are doing that it is at risk.  There are people who have done this hundreds of times but cannot get HIV AIDS but there are people who have done it once and they are HIV positive but if you get the test done and if you manage and proper guidance under proper expert then you don't have to die of HIV.

You don't have to be hospitalized for HIV and over the years we have seen you don't lose any years of your life if you are managed very well moreover if you are married and you are infected you can prevent your partner from getting infected if women is positive you can have HIV negative child. Many people do not know this in this clinic we have managed so many hundreds and thousands of patients and in last several years 160 childrens are born with HIV positive mothers and babies are not infected with HIV. So that much has happened now if you compare HIV AIDS with other diseases then there are people who are surviving with HIV AIDS leading full normal life and proper productive life and they are not even getting sick sometimes relative of the patient who are not HIV positive they are getting sick and their dying and they are not getting examine or getting any test done. so in simplistic Hindi I would like to tell, "ab nahi AIDS Ek Khatarnak Bimari par jaanch karne mein hai samajhdari."

India has played a great role in making all the molecules of HIV AIDS which are required for the treatment available and affordable for common people not only so almost 92% world's antiretroviral therapy are HIV treatment is supply from India and we take Pride that India is a different country by itself. What is required is you take precautions if you are HIV positive, if you forgot to take precautions are even after taking precautions you got HIV you get the examination done and if it is HIV positive you start the treatment currently the principal is test and treat you get the test done and if you are positive then start the treatment agreeing to that you are preventing yourself from becoming sick or becoming hospitalized or having any kind of problems where your life span can be shorter and by doing also that.

If you are under any proper care and taking proper medicine then you become undetectable the current principal is if you are undetectable to the virus you are untranslatable of the virus that means if you are undetectable and the virus is not seen in our system where we are doing viral. You can't transfer virus to your spouse or mother to child or to somebody else through your sexual activity so basically if that is done, you are living a perfect normal life so why being shy about it.

Nowadays stigma about HIV AIDS is also going down instead people are feeling to get test done. Lot of people come for pre manage test before both boy and girl want to find out whether they are HIV positive or not if there are any STD or Diabetes it is called pre marriage health check up similarly lot of people taking a major step in life. They want to be sure whether the life is secure if they are infected with anything and that's the way the life is going on the common symptoms majorly is are very much common and their also seen in the diseases like tuberculosis or other such disorders and most of them are like fever cough loose motion weight loss some time they get HIV specific symptoms some of them are like special meningitis.

They can have herpes zosters on a single which are called Dhani orcerin in Hindi and Gujarati so these are the some of the symptoms but however symptom to not come on its own there has to be some history associated with that somebody has taken a risk and then they have symptoms. They must get the examination done and must get the test done once the test is done they can decide the duration of the infection the person could have been infected for some years then we can decide what are the natural course of life? And how much life can be change by adding medicines to the patient? And once the test is done we start the treatment therefore they do not get sick because of the HIV or other related sickness sometimes the illness is cardiothoracic and neuromuscular diseases renal problems.

But diseases are not connected to HIV, because in HIV diseases. Those diseases possibilities manifestation are very less so people with HIV AIDS they need a very much perfect normal life once they are on treatment therefore we should not shy away from the treatment as I told the stigma and discretion of HIV AIDS is going down there has been an HIV AIDS Act 2017 by if someone is not provided with proper care if somebody is discriminated, somebody is stigmatize from HIV the other person can be penalised for even jail for those people who are troubling HIV positive people so my request to those people who are taking risk of sexual activity with partners or unprotected sex they must get their testing done for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases and once if they are positive of HIV get treatment.

If you are negative and continue your life by taking precautions or preventive measures so that you can not get HIV are stds thank you those who feel that they at risk of HIV or STD or do you feel that there are some relatives are at risk of HIV they can go to the website lybrate.com

chat_icon

Ask a free question

Get FREE multiple opinions from Doctors

posted anonymously
doctor

Book appointment with top doctors for HIV AIDS treatment

View fees, clinc timings and reviews
doctor

Treatment Enquiry

Get treatment cost, find best hospital/clinics and know other details