An HIV positive person has to undergo extreme physical trauma, during the later stages of the infection. HIV does not strike immediately, but lies dormant in your body for a considerably long time. During this period, it continuously weakens your immune system. Once your immune system is weak, it strikes in the form of AIDS, giving the victim absolutely no chances of survival.

A very unfortunate aspect of this deadly disease, is that, we still do not have any cure for HIV/AIDS, although, a number of antiretroviral drugs have been developed in recent times. These drugs can delay the arrival of AIDS, by a fairly long margin.

Apart from these retroviral drugs, a number of other alternate medicinal techniques have shown considerable promise. Ayurveda is one such therapy. Studies have suggested that many natural components, used in Ayurveda can be very effective in the treatment of HIV.

Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine, which originated in India, more than 6000 years ago. Ayurveda means the science or knowledge of life. Ayurveda makes use of a number of plants and herbs, along with minerals as well as many animal derivatives, such as milk and milk products, honey etc. for its medicinal purposes. These medicinal components are used individually as well as in combination and also with minerals, for treatment of a number of ailments, as well as for general health benefits.

The following are some of the herbs, which are commonly used for the treatment of HIV/AIDS:

1. Amalaki (Emblica officinalis)
Amalaki or amla, or Indian gooseberry, is perhaps the richest known source of Vitamin C, which plays a very vital role in enhancing the immune system of the body. It has traditionally been used for curing number of diseases, such as inflammation, cancer, age-related renal disease, and diabetes. Nowadays, it is also used for the treatment of HIV.

2. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Ashwagandha or Indian ginseng, or Winter cherry has been traditionally used in Ayurveda, as a herb, which works to increase health and longevity. It is also considered to be a nontoxic herb that is said to normalize physiological function. Today, it is one of the most important components in HIV treatment.

3. Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum)
Tulsi extract has traditionally been used in Ayurveda, as a remedy for a number of ailments like common colds, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, heart disease, various forms of poisoning, and malaria. Its usage in Treatment of HIV has shown promising results, resulting in a number of patent right applications.

Although Ayurveda is herbal and non cosmetic and has shown great results so far, it would be wrong to expect a miracle. In fact, unlike antiretroviral remedies, they would not show quick results. Apart from that, since they use a number of herbs, they may not also go along with your antiretroviral therapy. It is therefore; better, to go for proper consultation, before opting for Ayurvedic medicinal methods.

HIV testing has a number of advantages. Firstly, it stops you from spreading the virus any further, if you have knowledge of your infection. Secondly, timely action can improve your life expectancy by a large margin. Results have shown a considerable development in this regard, where proper medication has actually slowed the progress of the virus; due to which, the life expectancy of the patients have increased by as many as five to six years.

Also, if you are a pregnant woman, infected with the virus, you have chances of lowering the risk of infecting your unborn child. Also, you can stop the virus from spreading to your children by way of breast milk.

However, since most people are scared to go to a clinic for HIV tests, it has further worsened the condition, as far as spread of HIV is concerned. In order to address this problem, the HIV home test came into light. An HIV home test kit enables you to know the results, at your home. You will find a number of HIV home test kits in the market. Also, you can order for a home delivery.

There are basically two types of HIV home test kits, which are available in the market, i.e. FDA approved testing kits and non-approved testing kits.

Approved test kits contain several components, such as specimen collection, as well as specified mailing envelope to send the specimen to a designated laboratory. It basically relies on a finger prick system, in which, the user pricks his/her finger and deposits his/her blood on a designated paper. This paper is then sent to a laboratory with a personal identification number and usually takes around three days to get the result.

Approved tests are extensively examined by the FDA and results show, that they are capable of detecting HIV-1virus, in an effective way. Also, approved HIV home test kits provide pre and post testing counseling, which is very necessary, not only for providing emotional support, but for lowering the inhibition of going through the tests.

Unapproved home test kits on the other harm are not examined by the FDA and hence the results, which they show, are always under doubt. An unapproved kit may rely on a finger prick system or saliva test and claim to detect HIV antibodies within fifteen minutes or less. The mode of testing involves collecting the blood, or saliva sample on a designated paper and a solution is placed on it, to test the strains of HIV in it. The samples are not sent to a laboratory, for inspection.

As explained earlier, these tests do not guarantee any results. So, a user always has a chance of getting wrong results. Also, no pre or post counseling is provided by these kits, making situations worse, as a person could further spread the virus, unaware of his/her actual status.

Since, HIV is such a dreaded disease, it should therefore, never be taken in a callous manner. It is therefore, advisable, to opt for an approved HIV home test kit, to get a proper report.

With HIV becoming the biggest epidemic to challenge mankind, it is time to take some concrete steps in this regard. However, most people seem to be more concerned with the origin of the disease, rather than think of ways to stop the menace from getting out of control.

A major blockade to all the efforts of controlling the growth of HIV/AIDS, is the floatation of a number of conspiracy theories. One of the most popular of these theories is that, HIV/AIDS is in fact a man made disaster and has been developed by the US Government to control the population of the non whites.

This is one theory which has done great harm to the efforts undertaken by the UN to control the growth of HIV. As it is, the theory readily found favor with a majority of people from the black community, as Africans and Afro-Americans are among the worst hit people. This is very much evident, as according to a recent survey; which stated that more than ninety percent of those affected by HIV/AIDS live in the developing and underdeveloped nations of Africa and Asia.

As it is, the conspiracy theory revolves around a perception that the HIV/AIDS virus was evolved in the US laboratories, as a well planned genocidal move to eliminate the non-white race.

As if this was not enough, irresponsible comments by many members of the Congress have added further fuel to the controversy. Along with that, every now and then we have a retired CIA official or a retired FBI agent coming up with exclusive news in this regard.

These people claim to be forced by their conscience, into bringing such matter into the notice of the public. It is such an irony that these people do not get a call from their so called conscience, while they are still in office.

So, they come up with secret information, exclusively for the notice of the public on the basis of classified documents, which they had access to, while they were in offices. You are bamboozled by this latest piece of information and curse the government for its purely racist approach.

It would be interesting to know that, not just the US government, but even the WHO was not spared. As it is, the supporters of this theory have also suggested the involvement of the WHO in the mass murder and genocide of the colored people. There were claims that the vaccination programs conducted by the WHO in the 1960s and 1970s were in fact a conspiracy to inject the black race with HIV/AIDS virus.

Such theories have been quite detrimental to the world population, not only by way of deepening the racial divide, but have been very instrumental in jeopardizing the UN cause of controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS. In fact, in recent years many HIV infected people from the black community have stayed away from antiretroviral drugs under the suspicion that it may further worsen their condition.

With science developing by leaps and bounds, we have done great for us, by coming up with a number of products. However, when it comes to HIV, we still do not have much significant stuff in our hand. As it is, we still do not even have a cure for HIV; leave alone a cure for AIDS.

We are still left with prevention as the only hope and only option to deal with HIV/AIDS. However, there has been rapid advancement in this regard. With the development of the antiretroviral drug therapy and the rapid advancement in this field, we are still left with some hope.

Apart from focusing solely on the antiretroviral drug therapy a number of alternate medicinal courses have also come up, giving an HIV infected person a lot of hope. Many of these medicines focus on the natural way of dealing with the disease. Colloidal silver is an important addition to the list of alternate medicines.

Colloidal silver is a liquid solution consisting of microscopic silver particles, which are electrically charged in distilled water. As it is, colloidal silver has not reportedly resulted in any side effects, mainly due to the fact, that, it does not have any harmful chemicals. Moreover, it is generally prepared through non-chemical method. Due to this reason, Colloidal silver is becoming increasingly popular.

Colloidal silver has been found to be quite effective in enhancing the immune system of the body. They have also been found to have anti viral and antibacterial properties. As it is, silver is known to be, highly toxic to most microbial cells and has long been used as an antimicrobial agent, for the treatment of a number of diseases.

Silver and its various compounds, such as silver sulfadiazine, have been used in many medicines as antimicrobial agents. Researches state, that colloidal silver acts as antimicrobial agent mainly through three ways. Firstly, it attaches itself to the virus and absorbs the surrounding oxygen, as a result of which, the microbe is unable to breathe and dies quickly. Secondly it hinders the enzyme production capacity of the microbe, which is very essential for its survival. Thirdly, it also acts as an inhibitor in the duplication process, which stops the microbe from spreading further.

Due to these properties, colloidal silver is being increasingly hailed as one of our best bets as far as treatment for HIV infection is concerned. Colloidal silver can be used in a number of ways. It can be taken both orally, as well as by way of intravenous injections. However, it is required to be taken in regulated dose and hence you should consult your physician before you start with colloidal silver.

In recent years there have been many claims of finding a cure for HIV/AIDS. All these claims are nothing but cruel jokes played on those suffering from the disease.

As it is, a person suffering from HIV not only has to undergo extreme physical trauma, but will also have to bear with immense mental trauma. It is a commonly known fact that, HIV does not strike immediately, but lies dormant in your body for a considerably long time. During this period, it continuously weakens your immune system. Once your immune system is weak, it strikes in the form of AIDS, giving the victim absolutely no chances of survival.

Although, a number of antiretroviral drugs have been developed in recent times, which can delay the arrival of AIDS, we still do not have any cure for HIV/AIDS. Along with these retroviral drugs, studies have also suggested the presence of many natural components, which can be very effective in the treatment of HIV. One such component is Liquorices or licorice, as it is most commonly known as.

As in case of retroviral drugs, so is it in this case; licorice can not cure HIV/AIDS, but studies have suggested, that it can be quite effective in delaying the growth of HIV into full fledged AIDS. Due to this reason, a number of tests have been conducted on licorice, to see to it, whether, it can be effective in finding a cure for HIV.

Although licorice has been used for medicinal purposes for a fairly long time, especially in the Mediterranean countries, recent studies have revealed some startling facts about it.

According to recent studies, it was found that, glycyrrhizin acid or GA as it is more popularly known as, can be quite effective in destructing cells which are latently infected with Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpes virus.

Now Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpes virus, or KHSV, is a virus, which is characteristic feature in cases of HIV/AIDS; and it supposedly helps the Human Immunodeficiency Virus to survive in latent stage. Therefore, it is suggested by many people that, licorice may ultimately emerge as a great tool for finding a cure for HIV.

Till that happens, you can still use licorice in limited quantities to delay the arrival of AIDs. In fact many scientists have even suggested that, Licorice has the capability to help in fighting the virus, if taken orally or even if injected in the blood stream. You can take 2 gm of licorice root tablets initially.

Although licorice may have many medicinal properties, it should be taken in limited quantities. This is because; excess intake of licorice may cause high blood pressure. It is therefore advisable to consult with your physician before you go for licorice.

A person with HIV infection may look to be perfectly alright in initial stages. However, signs begin to show, with the onset of AIDS. Typically it takes eight to ten years for HIV to develop into full fledged AIDS. With effective medication available in the form of antiretroviral drugs, onset of AIDS may be further delayed by five to six years.

However, HIV will finally develop into AIDS and when this happens; you will suffer from a number of physical ailments. Although initial stages of AIDS may not show too many symptoms, but with AIDS severely damaging your entire immune system, you would come across a number of symptoms in the later stages.

Typically, an AIDS patient in the later stages would show a number of symptoms, some of which are as follows:

1. The most common symptom that marks the arrival of a later stage in AIDS is frequent exhaustion along with giddiness. Although such symptoms may be present in early stages as well, but conditions tend to get severe in the later stages.
2. Another common sign of the later stage arrival is distorted vision. This is a common feature among AIDS patient. However, all the patients may not show such symptoms.
3. Later stage symptoms, may also show severe numbness in the limbs along with constant weakening in the form of loss in muscular control and strength.
4. Continuation of high degree of fever, along with shivering is a common feature. Conditions begin to deteriorate with the passage of time and may even prevail for weeks. Since the immune system is already corrupted, there are few chances of getting rid of such conditions.
5. Women suffering from AIDS may suffer from acute vaginal infection along with swollen lymph nodes. Such situation may also be present in earlier stages as well.
6. Acute weight loss is another condition, which is a common feature in such stages. With frequent weight loss, the chances of revival are very low.
7. Another common feature in case of AIDS is infection of the ears, nose and the throat. Such infections are very common especially among children and may take a long time to heal. In some cases, they do not heal at all.
8. Appearance of white patches and rashes all over the body are some other common symptoms which may be present in such circumstances.
9. Several forms of cancer are also prevalent in the onset of the last stage of AIDS. Cervical cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma are some of the most common cancers in such conditions.
10. Along with these, memory loss along with a loss of cognitive abilities may also be prevalent among the patients. In many cases, these symptoms are accompanied by personality as well as behavioral disorders.

AIDS states the onset of a very arduous and difficult journey. However, it definitely means you have to give up. We all know the end result in such conditions, but a true fighter never gives up; and as we say defeat never comes to you unless you accept it.

A major cause of the rise in the number of HIV positive cases has been the stigma attached with it. Although a lot many facts have been revealed about HIV/AIDS, it is still considered a taboo. Due to this reason, people with HIV infection often have to face a number of discriminations both at work place, as well as the personal front.

Many of you might have watched the movie Philadelphia. Tom Hanks as the victim and Denzel Washington as the attorney fighting for his rights made it one of my favorite movies till date. It is one of the very few movies, which dared to touch a very sensitive topic, i.e. discrimination with HIV infected people.

But before we can actually move in the direction of eradicating discrimination on the basis of HIV infection, it would be better to understand the main reason why, such a kind of discrimination actually takes place.

The following are some of the main reasons, why HIV is considered to be such a stigma:

1. The first and foremost cause is that, HIV/AIDS is an incurable as well as life threatening disease. Due to this reason, HIV/AIDS is one of the most dreaded diseases. Most people do not wish to get in touch with an HIV infected person, simply because they do not want to get infected themselves.
2. Another reason for seeing HIV as a stigma is the fact, that, it is associated with a few activities like drug addiction and prostitution. These activities are generally considered immoral and so is it thought about the people who have been infected with this disease. Apart from that, HIV is also associated with homosexuality, which is also considered a taboo in many cultures.
3. Apart from this, a number of rumors associated with it, make HIV a highly stigmatized disease. In fact, rumors about HIV are a great problem, which have been instrumental in making it a stigma, as well as helping it spread across to a large number of vulnerable people all across the globe.

It needs to be understood here, that stigmatizing the disease, would not actually solve the problem. In fact, it further adds to the problem, by helping HIV/AIDS spread further.

A large number of people stay away from getting them tested for HIV infection, mainly due to the stigma associated with it. Many of these people are actually infected with HIV. Timely testing would not only help them improve their lifespan, but would also stop them from spreading the infection further.

HIV/AIDS is one of the biggest challenges that we face in the modern times. As it is, the situation is getting worse day by day. A major reason for this is the fact, that, most people are not aware of the fact, that, they are infected with HIV.

This has changed the situation from bad to worse. As we see all around us, the world is filled with undetected cases of HIV infections. This is a potential danger. People most often, unknowingly infect others, who in turn pass the virus to someone else. This way, the cycle continues.

The best way that we have in our hand, to deal with this problem, is HIV testing; which can prove to be an important tool in stopping the disease from spreading further. An active step in this direction is the National HIV testing day.

National HIV testing day is being held on June 27 each year, for the past many years. The idea of this program is to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, among the people, so as to minimize the spread of HIV.

Typically, HIV testing has a number of advantages. Some of them are as follows:

1. The first and foremost advantage of HIV testing is that, it stops you from spreading the virus any further, if you have knowledge of your infection. This means that you can save your partner from getting infected with the disease, by taking necessary precautions.
2. Longer life span is the second advantage of HIV Testing. Studies have shown a considerable improvement of the life span amongst those, who were affected by HIV/AIDS; where proper medication has actually slowed the progress of the virus. As a result, the life expectancy of the patients increased by as many as five to six years. This is a commendable thing, especially when it takes eight to ten years for HIV to develop into AIDS.
3. Thirdly, if you are a pregnant woman, infected with the virus, you have chances of lowering the risk of infecting your unborn child. Also, you can stop the virus from spreading to your children by way of breast milk.

According to a rough estimate, more than two hundred and fifty thousand people in America are infected with this disease; and a major portion of them are not even aware of it. This makes it a potent disaster waiting to happen. However, you can actually lower its impact. All you need to do is to register yourself for HIV testing and make the National HIV testing day, a great success.

HIV/AIDS is one of the most feared diseases of our times. As it is, it has claimed millions of lives in the past few decades and continues to do so till date. Ignorance and unawareness are two major reasons for the growth of this dreaded disease.

Now, as if ignorance was not enough, some scrupulous people tend to add to the problem by way of spreading myths and rumors, about this issue. For quite some time, now, a number of myths and misconceptions have being doing the rounds. Some of the most common myths are as follows:

1. Myth: Only gays get infected with HIV. Straight guys are secure.
Reality: On the contrary, a majority of people infected with HIV all across the world are actually heterosexual. So, being heterosexual does in no way guarantee that you can never get infected. Nor does it increase the risk of getting infected with HIV.

2. Myth: HIV spreads through sweat, tears, mosquitoes, kissing or casual contact.
Reality: No, HIV can spread only through infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids and from a mother to her baby, during pregnancy, or through breast milk. So, you usually get infected by way of unprotected sex, sharing needles, as well as through transfusion with infected blood. In fact a majority of cases take place due to unprotected sex.

3. Myth: You can test negative, once you have tested positive.
Reality: This is not true; although, a number of retroviral drug therapies have become very popular in recent times. Many of these drugs are very much effective and have even reduced the HIV count in the blood to undetectable limits. However, it needs to be mentioned here, that, HIV is not just present in the blood; it is present in almost each and every part of the body. Therefore, once you have tested HIV positive, you have no chance of testing negative.

4. Myth: HIV does not cause AIDS.
Reality: In the last few years a new theory is doing the rounds, which says that, AIDS is not actually caused by HIV. This theory is absolutely absurd, especially when you do not have any valid scientific proof to justify this theory. In fact, recent studies have reconfirmed the involvement of HIV in AIDS. It is therefore; better to save yourself from HIV infection.

5. Myth: Having sex with a virgin can cure HIV/AIDS.
Reality: This one of the most dangerous myths, which has led to further spread of this dreaded disease. As it is, this misconception has led to the rape of many young girls and children and has been a strong cause for further spread of this deadly virus.

HIV is an incurable disease till date and as it is, the only way to fight it, is to save yourself from getting infected. By spreading awareness we can actually curtail the spread of this menace. It is therefore, our responsibility to spread the message across to as many people as we can.

HIV/AIDS is one of the most dreaded diseases of all times. As it is, it has affected a number of people all across the globe. In the initial years, when the retroviral drug therapy was not evolved, it was responsible for millions of deaths all around the world.

With the advent of the antiretroviral therapy, there has been a significant decline in the number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS. Along with this there has been significant development in relation to imparting education among people, in regard to HIV/AIDS. Many organizations have played a vital role in this regard.

However, despite their best efforts, to educate people, about, spread, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, there has been a rise in the number of myths and misconceptions regarding HIV/AIDS.

One of the most popular misconceptions, which have been there for a very long time, is that, HIV/AIDS is a gay disease. Now this is a misconception and the fact remains that, it is a disease, which affects gays and straight people alike. However, it is also true that, gays are more vulnerable to getting infected with HIV, mainly because, people involved in anal sex are more vulnerable to HIV, than those involved in vaginal sex.

This because, anal sex causes more breaks in the skin, which leads to an easy access for the virus to enter into the body. Apart from that, the virus can go up via the anal route and enter the colon; making infection a lot easier than it would have been in case of vaginal or oral sex.

It may be due to this reason, that HIV affects gays more than they affect other people. However, it needs to be mentioned, that people in heterosexual relationships are not a safer lot. In fact, you may feel safe, but at the end of the day, HIV does not actually differentiate between homosexuals and heterosexuals.

According to a survey conducted in 2005, it was revealed that a large number of homosexual males were infected by the virus. This led to a rise in awareness among gay right groups, who contributed a lot in imparting education related to the transmission, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. With this spread in education, many gay people were reported to have changed their sexual preferences and stay away from anal sex.

However, the problem does not end here, as a major cause of the spread of the virus, is unsafe sex. This needed to be addressed as well. Gay right groups made a huge contribution in this regard as well, by spreading awareness in this regard as well. These initial efforts were quite helpful in saving a lot many people from getting infected with the virus.

All this said and done, the need of the hour is to spread education in regard to HIV/AIDS and to protect your self from getting infected with the virus, irrespective of whether you are straight or you are gay. In case you are already infected, then in that case, it is your moral duty, to see to it, that you do not spread the virus further.