AIDS- an ailment or a stigma?

What do you do on meeting a person who is HIV positive?

(a) Stare in disbelief

(b) Pass a verdict that he/she is morally impaired

(c) Pray that you never meet again

(d) All of the above

For all of you who chose any of the above answers, here are some 'fun facts' about AIDS:

•        An Aids patient is not a zombie, he has feelings-if you can’t understand them atleast don’t hurt them. Think twice passing a nasty comment.

•        HIV positive does not always mean AIDS. It implies that a person is infected with the virus and its early detection and medication can delay the onset of the disease by a considerable amount maybe years.

•        You do not get AIDS by sharing utensils

•        Anybody can get AIDS-irrespective of whether he is a catholic or not, whether he prays or not or what his faith is. The cause of AIDS is still a mystery.

•        There are many ways in which AIDS can spread-through an infected needle, through infected blood transfusions, drug addicts sharing an infected needle and by birth, besides acquiring it sexually. So morals have little role to play when we talk about a disease being transmitted. Moreover, AIDS can also be transmitted from an infected spouse to another.

•        Mosquito bites cannot cause AIDS, they cause malaria and dengue!

•        A fish pedicure does not give you aids.

•        People belonging to the LGBT community are, not more at risk of AIDS than any individual. Your sexual orientation has nothing to do with a disease.

•        HIV spreads through only body fluids and by no other means, so don’t make the patient feel like a victim.

We should understand that AIDS is a painful disease. It causes a drastic decrease in the patient's immunity, making him susceptible to a plethora of disease. To live each day with the knowledge that sickness will become a way of life is traumatic enough. The least we could do is to treat them like patients and not outcasts. Remember a blessing never goes waste.

(Aditi Singh)