Health Topics

Local Health Services

Bucks Montgomery Chester Philadelphia Delaware

- Health Topics - Abortion Adoption Alcohol Abuse Allergies ALS Alternative Medicine Alzheimers Disease Anger Arthritis Asthma Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Autism Bereavement Bipolar Disorder Blood Donation Brain Tumor Breast Cancer Breastfeeding Bullying Burns Cancer Cerebral Palsy Cervical Cancer Childhood Lead Safety Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Clinical Trials Colon Cancer CPR Cystic Fibrosis Death and Dying Dental Health Depression Developmental Disabilities Diabetes Domestic Violence Drug Abuse Eating Disorders Emergency Preparedness End of Life Care Environmental Health Epilepsy Esophageal Cancer Family Caregiving Family Health Family Planning Fibromyalgia First Aid Fitness Food Safety Foot Health Gastrointestinal Disorders Gigantism Glaucoma Headache Hearing Impairment Heart Disease Hemophilia Hepatitis HIV and AIDS Home Healthcare Huntingtons Disease Hypertension Immunization Incontinence Infection Infertility Influenza Insurance Kidney Disease Leukemia LGBT Health Liver Disease Lung Cancer Lupus Lyme Disease Lymphedema Marfan Syndrome Medicare and Medicaid Medication Medicine and the Arts Menopause Mental Health MRSA Multiple Sclerosis Muscular Dystrophy Nutrition Obesity Organ and Tissue Donation Osteoporosis Ostomy Ovarian Cancer Pain Parkinsons Disease Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Pneumonia Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Postpartum Depression Pregnancy Problem Gambling Prostate Cancer Rehabilitation Repetitive Strain Injury Safety Schizophrenia Screening and Testing Seniors Sexuality Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sickle Cell Disease Skin Cancer Skin Disease Sleep Smoking Speech and Communication Disorders Spina Bifida Spinal Cord Injury Stress Stroke Substance Abuse and Teens Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Suicide Tay-Sachs Teens Tourette Syndrome Travel Tuberculosis Unnatural Causes Violence Visual Impairment Weather Safety West Nile Virus Women
- Service Types - ClinicsEducationGovernment AgenciesHotlinesHospitalsLibrariesOrganizations and AssociationsSpecialty MedicineSupport GroupsTestingTreatment CenterVolunteer Opportunities

Health Events

	February 2012
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29

Calendar presented in partnership with Delaware Valley Healthcare Council

By County Bucks Montgomery Chester Philadelphia Delaware

• Home
• Table of Contents

AIDS - Spotlight on AIDS

AIDS is a condition caused by a virus called human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.  Most people who become infected with HIV will eventually develop AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. “Acquired” means that the disease is spread through contact with a virus, in this case, HIV.  “Immunodeficiency” means that the disease attacks the immune system.  The immune system is what protects the body from disease.  “Syndrome” refers to the group of symptoms that are common to the disease.

It usually takes many years for someone with HIV to develop AIDS.  When someone first becomes infected with HIV, he or she might not feel sick at all.  Over time, HIV weakens the immune system of the infected person.  Eventually, the body has trouble fighting certain infections and the person can come down with pneumonia, weight loss, and other complications known as “opportunistic infections”. Many of the illnesses that the person has with AIDS are from infections that the body fought off before but now cannot.

HIV is spread through contact with bodily fluids, such as blood or semen.  The most common way of sharing these bodily fluids is through sexual contact with someone who has HIV.

HIV can also be spread by sharing needles with someone who has HIV.  If you cannot or will not stop using drugs, you should use a new needle every time.  If new needles aren’t available, old needles should be boiled or cleaned with bleach before reuse.  In addition, you should find out about needle exchange programs in your community that make clean, reliable needles available to users.  For more information please visit, http://www.preventionpointphilly.org/services/services-syringe.html

Having another sexually transmitted disease (STD), such as syphilis, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, or herpes, can also increase someone’s chances of becoming infected with HIV.  These diseases can cause sores or skin irritations in the genital area that make transmission of HIV easier.

In addition, infected mothers can pass the virus to their children during pregnancy, childbirth itself or through breast milk.  In rare cases, infected blood given in a blood transfusion can also spread HIV.  With modern screening techniques it is almost impossible to get HIV from a blood transfusion.

Despite the rumors you might hear, you cannot be infected in any of the following ways:

• Touching, hugging, or shaking hands with someone who is HIV-positive.
• Coming into contact with the sweat, tears, sneezes, or coughs of someone infected with HIV or living with AIDS.
• Sharing food, a telephone, a water fountain, or a toilet seat with someone who has the virus.
• Being bitten by a mosquito.
• Kissing someone who is HIV-positive or who has AIDS. Although HIV is sometimes found in saliva, it is too small an amount to cause infection.
• Donating blood.

Currently, forty million people are living with HIV worldwide, including over one million Americans.  Twenty five percent of these people don’t know they’re infected.  That’s frightening because there is no cure for or vaccine against HIV infection.

New medicines may allow patients with HIV to live longer, better lives, but in most cases HIV/AIDS will eventually end in the death of its victims.  The best hope for preventing infection is education.  Here’s what you can do to protect yourself:

• Understand what HIV is and how it is spread.
• Choose not to have sex until you know whether or not your partner is free from HIV.
• Use a latex or plastic condom every time you have sex if you don’t know whether your partner is HIV positive.  When used properly, condoms are very effective at preventing the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
• If you use IV drugs, get help or make sure you use a clean needle every time.
• If you are sexually active, get tested regularly.  New tests can give results in as little as twenty minutes.  Testing is the only sure way to know if you are infected.

To find more HIV/AIDS resources, including Delaware Valley organizations and non-English materials, visit Philly Health Info’s AIDS page.

Edited by Ellen M. Tedaldi, MD, Professor of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine; Director, Temple Comprehensive HIV Program; Fellow, College of Physicians of Philadelphia