Maureen Gray

Research Writing
Crowley
June 8, 2010
HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS is a disease that has been spreading rapidly, affecting many areas, and

AIDS is on the rise for the teenage population. Because of teens having unprotected sex

and sharing needs, they are most likely going to catch HIV/AIDS. Why are teens at a

higher risk of catching HIV/AIDS than adults? Teens do not really know what kinds of

diseases can occur from unprotected sex and what the risks are from AIDS. Teens may

not be educated about HIV/AIDS, but many teens have learned about it from sex

education at school.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus, which causes AIDS. This virus

is passed from one person to another through blood and sexual contact. The virus spreads

by replicating itself and destroying white blood cells, which are a part of the immune

system (Connolly 7). Some people believe that you can transmit HIV/AIDS by kissing,

holding hands, and hugging but it is not true. HIV/AIDS is caused in many ways, such as

unprotected sex, having a baby when the mother is HIV positive, breast-feeding a baby

by an infected mother, and sharing needles. “HIV kills people, and as yet there is no cure

for it” (Bell 253). It is hard to tell if someone has HIV/AIDS, until they exhibit some of

the symptoms. For a person to tell if they have HIV, the best way is going in for a blood

test. For a good length of time a person cannot tell if they have HIV by the symptoms,

because they rarely show up right away. Some of the signs of being HIV positive are;

“rapid weight loss, seizures, severe difficulty swallowing chronic pneumonia, purple

blotches that do not go away, and extreme tiredness for no reason” (Bell 259).
 Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a tiny virus that gets into your

body and destroys your immune system, the system that protects you from

dangerous illnesses. HIV grows in the body for many years, breaking

down and overpowering your own immune mechanisms, until your body

can no longer fighter off sickness. At that point, in the most advanced

stages of HIV infection, you have Acquired Immunodeificency Syndrome

(AIDS). (Bell 257).

Even though there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, many people’s bodies can try to fight

off sickness” (Bell 257). People have to live through the hard times, because once

someone has HIV it will take a while to get AIDS. If someone has other diseases that

they catch while having HIV, they can get AIDS faster and have a shorter life span.

“Eighteen percent of women are infected by AIDS and about one thousand to two

thousand teens and children are also” (Connolly 7). The percentages are dangerously high

for children and teens. This estimate is for the worldwide rate.

Many people catch HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, by having unprotected

sex, sharing needs, a mother who has HIV and who is going to have a baby, breast-

feeding a baby and by having sex with someone who already has AIDS. Occasionally,

healthcare workers have caught HIV/AIDS through contact with infected patient’s blood.

“Remember when you have sex with someone, you are not only having

sex with them, you are having sex with all the partners they have ever had

during the past ten years, and all the partners those partners have had. If

any one of those people was infected with the HIV/AIDS, you could get it
 too” ‘STD Health Worker’ (Bell 256).

Sometimes people can catch HIV/AIDS from “saliva, tears, perspiration, urine,

and feces. In other words, casual contact with other person does not pass HIV, but sexual

contract or blood does” (Bell 257). (Add more here about this).

There has been a report of a couple who passed HIV from one to another through

French Kissing. Scientists believe it was because both had cuts in their mouths and gum

disease. This kind of HIV transmission is extremely rare” (Bell 257). (Add more here

about this).

Some people can carry the AIDS virus and not have any symptoms at all.

A recently developed blood test detected exposure to the AIDS virus by

antibodies to the virus in the blood. It is still too early to tell how many

people who have antibodies to the virus go on to develop AIDS> It is

possible, even if you do not have any signs of the disease, to transmit the

virus to others. (McCoy and Wibbelsman 169).

(add more here)

Children and teenagers are trying to live a normal life and they have not even

experienced it and yet some of them have to deal with this disease that can never go

away. There are so many people catching HIV/AIDS and dying from it every single day.

“About 32.3 million adults and 1.2 children and teens worldwide were infected with

HIV/AIDS as of 1998” (Connolly 7). Add more here.

“No one knows how many teens are infected with HIV. But we do know that the

percentages are growing and there are estimates of about one million Americans and 19.5
million people world-wide infected with HIV” (Connolly). (add more here).

Many teens are having to go through a tough time dealing with this issue, and it is

hard on them, as it is on their family and friends. Think about yourself having HIV/AIDS

for a minute or two. You do not know what is wrong for a long time and you are getting

really sick and getting other types of diseases such as herpes, trichomoniasis, and

Hepatitis A, B, C. What would you do? Many teens do not tell their parents because they

are afraid to see what their reaction will be like or what they might say. So many people

want to help their teenagers in what ever possible way they can. If you do not feel

comfortable telling your parents, that’s okay but tell someone you trust, for example a

family friend. Yes they might tell your parents because often parents are needed in such

was as paying for medicine, getting a counselor for you, and for you to get tested. If the

family friend does tell your parents, be thankful for that because they are only trying to

help.

If a teenagers had HIV/AIDS, they may not want to see a counselor but they

should since the counselor will help them make their life easier and give them good

advice. A counselor is a good person to go to if you have any problems and also they

keep the information you give them confidential. They do not keep it confidential if you

are going to hurt yourself and/or hurt someone else. They will tell your parents, if it is

serious and maybe even the police in these cases, but otherwise they will not tell anyone.

Even though there is not a cure, many people do take “naturopathic medicine”

which is anecdotal to a different type of medicine. It comes from individual reports from

naturopathic physicians who have been treating patients for various ailments. (Benjamin
189). The medicine can be pretty harsh on a person’s body depending if it is a natural

drug verses drugs that are manufactured. Some drugs can hurt people with bad side

effects. They should go see a doctor or nurse and listen to their advice before taking it. It

might be hard for many people but it is the best way to slow down the disease.

“People who are infected with HIV usually do not have any symptoms for several

years even as many as ten or more years” (Christie-Dever 7). Sometimes people do not

even know that they have HIV/AIDS, until they start to get sick.

The amount of teens and adults who have HIV/AIDS is remarkable. About

twenty-five percent of children and teens have HIV/AIDS, and luckily enough, there are

many different types of people who can help emotionally, mentally, and sometimes

physically. (add more here).

Children and teens who do not have HIV/AIDS should bring the question out in

the open and think about what kinds of things can happen to them before they get

themselves into trouble. They can get into trouble by having sex or taking drugs. They

should as themselves “do I want to ruin my life or do I want to keep it?” People are also

discriminating against people who have this disease.

Teens who have HIV/AIDS have a real hard time dealing with discrimination

because they may not feel well, and others will not want to be their friends. Some schools

try to expel teens with AIDS. The teen may look sick also. It is very expensive for

medicine. (add in the average cost of medicine here). If one is able to afford it, it helps

since it is able to slow down the virus. In addition, the medicine can also make one look

sick so they have to be very careful when taking the medication.

are people going to be able to live? The government should get more involved because if

other types of diseases get to have a cure then, why can’t HIV/AIDS get one? The

government should be more considerate because there are more people dying of

HIV/AIDS than any other type of disease. The government should at least help find a

way for a cure because the cost of healthcare is growing fast. Think about the families.

What if one of your family members was going to die from this disease? Wouldn’t you

want the government to help support them? Or would you want them to die?