HIV-infected sex life: how easy, how safe?
30-year-old Kiran Wali (name changed) from Kanchanpur is HIV positive. He says that his sex life has changed after being infected.
Because of the notion that HIV is a sexually transmitted disease, the society's view of HIV-infected people is different. That's why I find it difficult to talk to others about this issue," he says.
Because they are not able to openly discuss sexual and reproductive health like normal people, infected people do not have much knowledge about this matter. It is about the whole health of HIV-infected people. But Kiran says that there is not much to say about sexual and reproductive health.
He says that the sexual life of the infected person is similar to that of normal people, but because of taking drugs and having reduced immunity, the sexual desire may be reduced.
Women have to face more problems than men infected with HIV. HIV-infected women have more problems than normal women because their immunity is weaker. But there is no provision for special tests and treatment for them. Kiran says that the relevant authorities should pay attention to this matter.
HIV is a virus that destroys the human immune system. It is a microscopic virus that attacks the human immune system. As a result, the immune system becomes very weak and becomes unable to fight against diseases and infections. If it is found that HIV has entered the body of a person, that person is said to be infected with HIV.
The sexual life of the infected should be discussed
The main cause of HIV transmission is unprotected sex with an HIV infected person. But even after being infected, a person has a sexual life. Anup Adhikari, a research expert on the state of sexual and reproductive health rights, says that most of them do not know how to proceed with their sex life.
Counselors are available where infected people take ART (anti-retroviral therapy). But they do not give much information about sexual and reproductive health to infected people. Information is only given that ``wear a condom when having sex.''
Wearing a condom while having sex does not cover everything about sex. Why wear a condom? What happens when you wear it? What happens if you don't wear it? If both the husband and wife are infected, then why should they wear a condom? Officials say that information about such things should also be given to them.
Even if both husband and wife have HIV, condoms should be used during sexual intercourse. Because the virus is weak in one partner and strong in the other. In this case, having sex without a condom can cause the two viruses to mix with each other and increase the viral load. If this happens, the possibility of other infections will increase,” he says.
Infected people also have sexual desire. In this case, many infected people do not know what to do to achieve sexual satisfaction. There is not much center for counseling in this matter. Therefore, officials suggest that awareness should be spread among HIV-infected people about sexual and reproductive health.
If one of the two partners does not have HIV and the other only has it, then if two people have unprotected sex, then the child born from them may also have HIV. In this case, this may cause discord and discord between the couple. In this case, the official says that they should be informed that they can give birth to a healthy child if they pay attention to certain things and take the advice of a doctor.
A mother with HIV can give birth to a healthy baby
Shukraraj Tropical and Communicable Diseases Hospital Tekuki Medical Officer Dr. Leena Devkota says.
If the husband and wife are taking ART drugs regularly, we will check the status of the viral load. If the viral load in the body of an HIV-infected person is clinically low, the children born to infected women are healthy," she says. "An infected mother must take medication regularly to give birth to a healthy child."
If the husband is HIV infected but the wife is not infected, when they plan to have a child, the HIV infected husband should take medication to reduce the viral load. In addition, the healthy wife should also be given HIV medicine. Devkota says.
In this case, we give 'pre-exposure prophylaxis' medicine, that is, HIV medicine is given before the disease. This medicine is given until pregnancy occurs. After pregnancy, we stop giving medicine. After stopping the medicine while pregnant, husband and wife should not have any contact. In this way the mother is also safe and the child born from that mother is also safe. When the mother is HIV negative, the child will automatically become negative. Devkota says.
Children infected at birth need counseling
A child born infected at birth should be informed about it after understanding. Because some parents do not let them know that they are HIV infected. In this case, when they engage in sexual activities after becoming adults, it creates a problem.
If they come to know that they are infected after reaching adulthood without proper counseling, they may develop a sense of revenge such as 'If I am infected through no fault of mine, I will also pass the infection on to others'.
therefore Anup Adhikari, a research expert on sexual and reproductive health rights, says that parents should adequately discuss sexual and reproductive health issues with HIV-infected children.
"Parents should discuss sexual and reproductive health issues with an HIV-infected child," he says.
According to the official, the infected should reduce the viral load by taking regular medication. After that, you should only have sex with your partner using a condom. The method of using a condom should also be correct. The partner should know about his infection. It is not necessary to have a partner for sexual satisfaction, they should also be informed that sextoys (sex toys) can also be used,'' says the official.
Now there is no risk of HIV?
HIV positive was considered as a terrible infection. The disease, transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected person, was described as 'fatal'. Therefore, people used to fear that they might have HIV infection even when they get a common sexually transmitted disease.
For various reasons, it was not easy for those infected with HIV to live a normal life. What happens after contracting HIV? Can they work or not? How many live? The question would have been thrown at them. Because the infected people did not receive medical treatment in the beginning. The drug was not researched. Therefore, the risk of death due to infection was high.
But now the situation is not like that. There is no discussion of HIV infection, nor the fear of possible death from it.
Medicines are now readily available. Even those infected with HIV can lead a normal life by taking medication for chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. Because of this, now the fear of this disease has decreased.
Has the fear of HIV decreased or the infection rate?
The HIV infection rate has decreased slightly. But the fear has decreased a lot. Medicines were not available when the infection spread in Nepal. Even if it was available, the other infected person would get the medicine only after the death of the first infected person.
Now, as soon as HIV infection is detected, medication is started after counseling. Medicines are started in 3-4 days after the infection is confirmed. After taking the medicine, the infected person does not get AIDS, which has reduced the fear.
According to the data of the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Center, it has been found that the HIV infection rate is decreasing in Nepal. In two decades, the rate of new HIV infections has decreased by almost 84 percent. Likewise, deaths due to AIDS have decreased by 71 percent.
Reasons for reducing the fear of HIV
The main reason for the decrease in the fear of HIV is that drug treatment is becoming more effective. As soon as it is infected, treatment is available. As a result, the number of infected people is decreasing all over the world. Public awareness about this infection has also spread well, so the number of new infected is decreasing. Even those who are infected do not reach the stage of AIDS.
Although the fear has decreased, there has been no change in the behavior of HIV infected people. There has been no change in their view. The risk of HIV infection is now higher in the age group of 18 to 40 years.
The belief that life ends after HIV infection is no longer the case. If the drug is taken regularly, there will be no death due to HIV. Infected people can also live like other normal people.
Even the infected can live a full life
Even those infected with HIV can live a full life. New HIV drugs are now available, and people who take them regularly can live their entire lives.
If one of the husband or wife is HIV positive and one is negative, then the one who is negative is given medicine called Prep. Those who are positive take their own medicine. By doing this, the child born from that couple becomes negative and the partner also becomes negative, so as many as 15 children have been born.
Symptoms of HIV infection
No symptoms may appear for five to seven years after HIV infection. Common problems such as fever and diarrhea may not be seen, so many people think that 'I am healthy, I have no health problems'. People do not think that they are at risk of HIV. During this time, he may be transmitting the infection to others. If the symptoms appeared as soon as the infection occurred, then everyone would have access to treatment.
Symptoms start appearing only after 5-7 years of HIV infection. After infection, the body is unable to fight the infectious disease, which causes symptoms such as fever, diarrhea and weight loss for a long time.
HIV is a type of virus. It attacks and weakens our immune system. When someone is infected with HIV, their body becomes unable to fight off infectious diseases. The HIV virus destroys these cells of the immune system. If the HIV virus is not treated on time, the infection starts to increase in the body and it can lead to AIDS.
