What to do if you are diagnosed HIV positive?

HIV & AIDS
Patients who do get confirmed with AIDS just consider this as an extended life sentence. I mean just consider what would have happened if you had got diagnosed with the disease? If you had a family the first concern would be who will take care of them when you are gone, right? Its not a disease that you can expect a cure for very soon. Although researchers are doing their best to find newer and better drugs to control the disease, there are very few chances of that happening soon. But with the newer drug medications, it has now become possible to improve the life span of the patient such that they can survive up to 15 years with proper care and medication. It’s also a good idea to get yourself checked regularly if you have more than one sexual partner to ensure that you do not have the disease. But if the test comes out positive, don’t despair. Here are a few things you can do-

What to do if you have had a positive test?
As soon as your test comes out positive there are chances that your stress levels will soar. After all, it isn’t good news is it? You will feel scared, all alone and worried about a lot of things. But please remember that its not all bad. With greater advances in the field of medicine, antiretroviral therapy has now made several new drugs available to the common person to prolong life. Get in touch with an AIDS support group so that you can find out what to do to make your life a much better experience.

Choose a good doctor!
Getting AIDS is not your fault. You could have got it due to several reasons like blood transfusions, injections or even from a careless partner. But no matter how you got it, no one has the right to judge you. Find a doctor who is considerate enough to care for you and your needs at this sensitive time. If he is critical of your case, your care and your lifestyle, then you need to find another doctor.

Getting information about the disease!
AIDS is undergoing changes by leaps and bounds. There are so many new articles on the disease that it can be confusing. But no matter what happens, you have to keep updated on the disease and the latest medications, preventions and lifestyle changes that other patients have tried. Try joining online support groups to ensure that you have the latest information and news about the disease to ensure a longer life.

Do you need to tell the world you have AIDS?
I personally don’t think anyone has a right to find out personal information about anyone unless it is authorized. That means, if you do not want to tell anyone about your disease; it is your legal right to do so. But you do require the support of your family as you struggle through the complications that the disease will bring. Tell your family, they will support you.

Dealing with the symptoms of pregnancy!

Are or are you not pregnant? Feeling embarrassed to get a pregnancy kit from the chemist? Worried that you might be lifting your hopes too high? You might be wondering, “Is there any way that I could confirm my pregnancy without going to a doctor or a chemist? Well there are!

But to be fair, not every woman is the same! There are a few common symptoms that several women experience and some women don’t feel anything at all. A few women sail through the years blissfully comfortable with no swollen legs and no problems. And a few women have weight gain, swollen ankles and morning sickness till the day they deliver.

Morning sickness- This is one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy. Women start to feel nauseous early in the morning and the effects are felt all though the day. But again this symptom may or may not be present.

Engorged and tingling breasts- As the pregnancy progresses, the female body has to undergo physical changes to adjust to caring for a newborn. Milk formation is supposed to start after delivery to feed the newborn. As a result, the first symptoms that women experience is enlarged breasts to make space for the lactation ducts. The blood supply also increases to the breasts to help the lactation duct make milk. The increased blood supply makes the breasts tingle and ache almost continuously.

Enlarged and darkened aureoles- As the breasts deal with the increased milk duct size, the breasts also have to deal with helping the baby latch on the breast for feeding. The breast and the aureoles increase in size for just this reason.

Bleeding on implantation of the ovum- once the ovum is implanted in the uterus, there may be a little scanty brownish or reddish discharge. Menstruation stops during pregnancy but a few women do experience spotting on and off and that’s nothing to worry about.

Cessation of menstruation- The uterus prepares itself every month by increasing in thickness but when there is no implantation, the unfertilized egg and the thickened liming and ovum is shed in the form of monthly bleeding. One of the main signs of pregnancy is when the monthly period stops. The monthly period occurs only if implantation of the ovum does not take place in the uterus. If it stops then one reason is due to pregnancy.

Food cravings- Women experience food cravings during pregnancy. But this symptom is variable as some women do get it while others do not.

Weight gain- As the fetus develops normally, the pregnant women will have weight gain every month. The normal scale refers to about 10-12 kgs of excess weight gain in the nine months of pregnancy. A sudden spurt in weight gain is a good sign that the woman might be pregnant.

Suffice to say that there are common symptoms that women may or may not experience but are common during the first few months of pregnancy. To be sure, just get a home pregnancy test and do it in the privacy of your home.