There is a lot of talk these days about HPV – from television ads that talk about vaccinations for young women about the HPV virus – to rumors that it is a sexually transmitted disease like HIV/AIDS and can kill you. It is important for a teen to be armed with a lot of good, accurate information about HPV.

1. HPV is the “human papillomavirus”. You may have heard that it is just a virus that causes warts. That is only half true. The term “papillomavirus” does indeed refer to any one of several strains of the virus that causes warts. When someone gets an outbreak of warts on their hands or feet, that is caused by HPV. But other strains of HPV cause warts, or “lesions” in other areas of the body, such as on the genitals or even internally where they are never seen but may over the long term cause more serious health problems.
2. HPV is not the same thing as HIV/AIDS. It is a different virus altogether, and results in different consequences and damages to the body. There are more than 250 separate strains – or types – of the HPV virus. Each of these strains behaves differently from the others; in its own unique way it replicates itself and acts upon your body. In most cases it goes away by itself, but in the case of a few strains, it can leave long-term damage. Sometimes, in some people, this damage can eventually lead to cancer.
3. HPV often shows no symptoms, but it can be easily passed from one person to another. In the case of the strains which cause common warts, the carrier might or might have an active infection visible on their skin. They can spread it to another person by touching that person, or even by touching something that another person might touch. The HPV virus can live on cold, dry surfaces for days. This means that you should keep in mind when you use a public restroom facility, or when you walk across a public shower room barefoot, that you are taking a risk. Keep yourself safe from infection by avoiding contact with surfaces which may be contaminated; cover a public toilet seat before using it, and wear flip-flops in a show room.
4. If you are sexually active, practice smart sex and safe sex, every time you engage in sexual contact. This means that you should be aware of some basic facts: the Pill will not protect from STDs; you cannot tell if your partner has HPV and you partner may not know whether they have it; condoms offer some protection, but not completely; you can acquire HPV through oral sex or anal sex, and these strains can lead to serious health issues.
5. If your partner tells you that they do not have HPV, ask if they are a virgin. Because being a virgin (and that includes never having engaged in oral or anal sex) is the only sure way to know you don’t have HPV! If you cannot be certain that your partner is a virgin, always assume that there may be HPV virus present, and protect yourself through safe sex!

Nowadays medical journals, magazines and newspapers are filled with issues concerning sexually transmitted infections. But the most threatening of them all, is HIV AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus- acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The apprehensions are that, it won’t take long before this disease transforms into a pandemic.

HIV AIDS, as soon as it infects the body, you can be rest assured, has no cure. Yes, there are some anti retro viral injections and other medication which can stop the quick spread of the germs in the body. These medicines can help the victim to lead a normal life for some time, but then, there is no escape from the clutches of HIV AIDS permanently. So, as a responsible citizen, you have to focus on the complete eradication of the disease, by preventing it from spreading from one person to another. Blood transfusions from the body of an infected patient and unsterilized needles are also some of the modes of transmission. But in most cases HIV AIDS gets transmitted sexually.

There are certain diseases like herpes and other viral infections which are transmitted sexually. Long periods of overlooking the symptoms of these diseases can be harmful, as then it may invite the virus of AIDS in the body. HIV AIDS infection attacks the immunity systems of bodies. They slowly paralyze the systems and ruin the natural mechanisms of bodies to fight with ordinary diseases. Ultimately the victims die out of some very common and benign diseases, which it could fight in ordinary circumstances.

It is important that you should know the risk of getting involved with multiple partners during sexual activities. The probability of getting infected with HIV AIDS is more for people involved in queer and tedious sexual acts for sheer pleasure than others. Changing sexual partners very often invites the germs of HIV AIDS more readily in the body. It is advisable that you should stay away from group sex, because your life is too precious to put at stake for momentary pleasure and fun. Always maintain safe sexual relationship with your partner by using condoms. It should be remembered by pregnant mothers that the germs of HIV AIDS can infect the developing fetus with the calamitous diseases. It is so wrong, that an innocent, who knows nothing about worldly ways, be infected with such a disease. It is a costly price he pays for the careless act of his predecessors.

As responsible citizens, it is the duty of this generation to inculcate good values to the up coming generations. They should be instructed about the power of abstinence and self control which can help them reap rewards in future by getting rid of sexually transmitted HIV AIDS completely from this world.

When I was in high school, many years ago, I recall reading Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Masque of the Red Death. The story is an allegory, which means that the point of the story lays beneath and between the words Poe penned. Poe claimed to dislike allegories. But despite his professed aversion to them, in 1843 he wrote the ‘Masque‘ and it became one of his better-known works. If you have never had the opportunity to read it, I highly recommend that you do. You can find the story on the Internet and read it for free.

The story tells the tale of Prince Prospero who ruled in some far off land. A plague came to his realm and struck with ferocity upon the people he ruled. The plague became known as the “Red Death” and in Poe’s own words:

” The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour…”

When about half of the people Prince Prospero ruled over succumbed to the illness, the prince hatched a plan to take one thousand healthy friends and take refuge in one of his castles. He barred entry and exit from the castle and intended to wait out in splendor, the disease that coursed through his land.

At the end of 2006, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 34 million and 47 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. During 2006, between 2.5 million and 3.5 million people died from AIDS. Over half of all the people who live with HIV/AIDS and die from AIDS live in Africa.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 5.9% of the adult population is infected with HIV/AIDS. In the same area, 2.1 million adults and children died of the disease in 2006. In North America, 0.8% of the population is infected, and 18,000 people died from AIDS in 2006.

Prince Prospero’s idea was simply to let the Red Death burn itself out. Once the disease had left, he and his guests could leave the castle and repopulate the land. This is the reason why the prince chose his guests principally from among the nobles and knights of his realm. To be fair, he also brought in some entertainers and artists, knowing that he and his guests would have to be entertained during their seclusion.

In 2001, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria was started. Since then, $3.3 billion has been obtained from nations throughout the world to help fight disease in Africa. In addition to this, the U.S. Government has contributed an additional $1.1 billion under the President’s Plan for AIDS relief.

According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2005, the U.S. Government distributed nearly $3 billion for HIV/AIDS assistance to the 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This single-year assistance is nearly equal to all of the assistance given by all nations over the past 5 years to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa.

After being locked up in the castle for six months, Prince Prospero’s guests were experiencing a little “cabin fever”. So the prince decided to throw a big costumed ball in his apartments within the castle. The prince had seven apartments – a not insignificant number. Each apartment was decorated in differing styles with different colors. One apartment, however, was black and blood red. Most of the guests didn’t go into this apartment because it seemed so dark and foreboding.

Because HIV/AIDS suppresses the human immune system, diseases that were normally suppressed within the human population have returned. Tuberculosis (TB) is one of those diseases. Contrary to what most people believe, TB was never actually cured. Through a regime of drugs, man found a way to suppress the disease. But for the most part, the disease is suppressed by one’s own immune system. Today, it is believed that as many as one-third of the human population on Earth carries a TB strain within their bodies. But so long as their immune system is unimpaired, these estimated 2 billion people may anticipate living their entire lives without ever experiencing a single symptom of TB.

The ball the prince holds is a delight to everyone in the castle. People are enjoying themselves and seem to be completely oblivious to the horrors taking place outside the castle walls. But then, all of a sudden, there appears one person who is costumed as a victim of the Red Death. The crowd shrieks in horror and moves away in fear and loathing from this person. The Prince flies into a rage at seeing one of his apparent guests mocking and terrorizing both he and everyone else at the ball. He demands that the perpetrator be apprehended and hanged from the castle wall for his effrontery.

Because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa, and the lack of drugs and money to combat the disease, TB has not only returned to plague the people of Africa, it has also mutated into new strains. Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a strain that is extremely difficult to control and requires the use of many anti-retroviral drugs to combat. WHO has issued repeated warnings that, left unchecked, this new strain of TB can become a global pandemic. Because TB is spread by air, there is no way to protect oneself from contracting the disease. If you are around someone with active TB, then you are probably going to contract the disease.

Now, a new strain of TB has been discovered and identified as Extremely Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB). Some scientists believe XDR-TB is untreatable. In studies conducted by WHO and the U.S. Center for Disease Control, in Russia and Asia, 53 patients suffering from XDR-TB were treated with anti-retroviral drugs. Despite this treatment, 52 of the patients died within just 25 days of contracting the illness.

The prince and his knights pursue the offending guest through the apartments until they corner him in the black and blood red, seventh apartment. There, to their shock and horror, they discover that the perpetrator was not wearing a costume, but in fact, is infected with the Red Death plague. Within a short time, the prince and all who had gathered within the castle walls perished from the disease.

According to WHO, today approximately 4% of all known XDR-TB cases are found in patients residing in the United States. WHO and other agencies warn that the failure of developed nations to seriously confront and combat this growing epidemic and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that has spawned XDR-TB, will result in a severe mortality impact worldwide.

If you have recently been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, it is important that you learn how to effectively cope with the HIV/AIDS stigma. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus diagnosis is one of the most challenging that one may receive in their lifetime. AIDS is considered to be the final stages of HIV.

If you have received a diagnosis, it is important that you have a solid support system in place. Unfortunately, most individuals actually discriminate against those that are diagnosed with the condition. While this is a devastating fact, it is an actuality. It is important that you learn to effectively cope with the HIV/AIDS stigma and in this guide; you will learn how to do just that.

In order to effectively cope with the HIV/AIDS stigma, you must first understand the reasons why it exists. First, and foremost, most individuals have a natural fear of dying. Given the fact that the virus is deadly, many will try to separate themselves from you. Yes, many do so because of the fact that they fear contracting the illness.

However, many will do so because they understand that you may eventually die from HIV/AIDS. This is a normal defense mechanism that occurs in those that are attempting to protect their own emotional well-being. The fear of death, the fear of coping with death, and the fear of contracting the virus contributes heavily to the HIV/AIDS stigma that exists today.

If you are trying to cope with the HIV/AIDS stigma as a patient, it is important to learn as much as you possibly can regard the condition. You should also attempt to join support groups and encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. Not only do support groups offer emotional support, they also offer educational support.

There are many organizations that focus on assisting those with HIV and AIDS as well as those that are close to the patient. If you gain an understanding of why the HIV/AIDS stigma exists and follow these strategies, you will be able to cope in an effective manner.

About the Author: Anne Ahira is an established entrepreneur and successful coach in her country of Indonesia. Her success story has been published in many nationwide publications in Indonesia.

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