Diagnosis of HIV AIDS

Diagnosing HIV/AIDS

If you think you may be infected with HIV, the only way to know for sure is to be tested. Testing is voluntary and can be anonymous. Your results will remain confidential. You can be tested at your physician's office or at a sexual health clinic, many of which are run by local public health units.

HIV testing can involve two types of tests: a preliminary test that detects HIV antibodies and a final confirmatory test. If the rapid test, which requires a finger prick of blood, is reactive to HIV, a second laboratory-based test is required to determine whether someone is HIV positive. However, if the rapid test is negative, then no further testing is required.

If HIV infection is confirmed, your doctor will discuss treatment options as well as support groups and other services to help you cope. You should inform your sexual partners (past, current, and future) to protect them from developing HIV or help them get treatment if they have been infected. The laws about whether partners must be informed vary from province to province, but most provinces have developed services for notifying partners. Your doctor or provincial ministry of health may be able to help your partners get testing and treatment if needed.

Treating and Preventing HIV/AIDS

HIV is usually treated with HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy), a potent combination of anti-HIV medications. HAART will not cure HIV, but it can reduce the amount of virus in the blood, improve the immune system, and slow the progression of the disease. At least three medications are used together. Using multiple medications that work in different ways helps prevent the virus from becoming resistant to the treatment. The risk of resistance increases when fewer medications are used, when too low a dose is taken, or when a medication is stopped, even if this only happens for a short period of time.

It is very important to take HIV medications exactly as prescribed. If you miss a dose, take less medication than you need, or take doses at the wrong time, the medication will not work as well. Timing the medications around your meals and daily routine can be difficult. Your doctor or pharmacist can help you fit the medications into your day. They may also recommend that you use a beeper or a special medication container to keep track of doses.

Once people develop AIDS, they usually take a range of antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal medications that other people only take for a short time while they are sick. These medications help fight off opportunistic infections. People with "wasting syndrome" may be offered various treatments according to the cause of significant weight loss. Agents such as growth hormone, anabolic steroids, and appetite stimulants are examples of medications that have been used to treat this condition.

There is a great deal of research on new treatments for HIV. Treatment information changes quickly. To keep up-to-date, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. You can also contact CATIE (the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange) for free, current, and confidential treatment information. You can reach CATIE by phone (1-800-263-1638) or on the Internet (www.catie.ca). You can also check with your provincial Ministry of Health for information on provincial and local programs.

Anyone can become infected with HIV. Fortunately, it can be prevented. The main ways to prevent HIV infection are:

using condoms during sex (including vaginal, oral, and anal sex)
having fewer sexual partners
not sharing needles or other equipment to take illicit drugs

Unless you are in a mutually monogamous relationship (neither of you is having sex with anyone else), and you are sure neither of you is HIV-positive, make sure to use a condom every time you have sex.

In some cases, couples where one partner is infected may decide to risk infection of the other partner, especially if they are trying to get pregnant. If this is the case, talk to your doctor. Your choice of sexual partner is also important, since condoms do sometimes break or leak. You may know that you practice safe sex and that you haven't used dirty needles, but you must also know that your sexual partners and all their other partners do the same. Sharing needles is very dangerous – it carries a high risk of getting HIV.

People with other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as herpes are much more likely to contract HIV during sex, probably because of tiny breaks in their skin or vaginal lining. Keeping free of other STIs will help reduce your risk of HIV infection, but this alone will not protect you from infection. That's why it is important to use condoms.

If you have HIV and become pregnant, tell your doctor. The risk of infecting an infant during birth has been reduced dramatically through the use of medication and caesarean section when appropriate.

Benefits Of Custard Apple

Custard apples contain Vitamin A, which keeps your skin and hair healthy. 

This fruit is also known to be great for eyes, and cures indigestion problems. 

It's important to include this fruit in your diet, as the copper content helps to cure constipation, and helps to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. 

Given below is nutritional value per 100 gm of custard apple

* Thiamine (B1) - 0.05 to 0.08 mg

* Vitamin A -1 mg

* Riboflavin (B2) - 0.08 to 0.1 mg

* Natural Sugar - 14 to 18 gm

* Niacin (B3) - 0.5 to 0.8 mg

* Carbohydrate - 23.71 gm

* Iron - 0.7mg

* Total Acidity - 0.4 mg

* Energy - 76 to 96 cal (310 to 420 kJ)

* Protein - 1 to 4.3 gm

* Zinc - 0.2 to 2.7mg

* Magnesium - 32 to 88 mg

* Copper - 2.4mg

* Potassium - 250 to 578 mg

* Sodium - 4 to 14 mg

* Calcium - 17 to 22 mg

* Vitamin C - 22 to 43 mg

* Fibre - 1 to 3.2 g

* Total Soluble Solids (Brix) - 22.3%

Health and Nutrition Benefits of Eating Custard Apple

* Custard apple is a storehouse of Vitamin C, which is an anti-oxidant and helps in neutralizing free radicals.

* Vitamin A present in the fruit is good for hair, eyes and healthy skin.

* Custard apple contains magnesium, which plays vital role in relaxing muscles and protecting heart against diseases.

* Potassium and Vitamin B6 are also present in custard apple.

* Copper is yet another useful ingredient of custard apple.

* It is a rich source of dietary fiber, which helps in digestion.

* As it contains low fat levels, it is good for maintaining optimum health.

* The paste of the flesh of the fruit can be used for local application on ulcers, abscesses and boils.

* The fruit, in its unripe form, can be dried, crushed and used for treating diarrhea and dysentery.

* Custard apple serves as an expectorant, stimulant, coolant and haematinic and is even useful in treating anemia.

* The seeds of the fruit have insecticidal and abortifacient properties.

Ayurvedic Medicine for Healthy Digestive System

The human digestive system is a complex series of organs and glands that processes food. In order to use the food we eat, our body has to break the food down into smaller molecules that it can process; it also has to excrete waste.

Most of the digestive organs (like the stomach and intestines) are tube-like and contain the food as it makes its way through the body. The digestive system is essentially a long, twisting tube that runs from the mouth to the anus, plus a few other organs (like the liver and pancreas) that produce or store digestive chemicals.

Many digestive complaints and symptoms appear even in apparently healthy people. They frequently go undiagnosed because these complaints are not “serious”. Symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, belching, flatulence, food sensitivities, indigestion, malabsorption, irritable bowel syndrome, and the list goes on.... are so common that they are seen as normal. Consider that a sluggish bowel can retain pounds of old toxic fecal matter. This leads to a vicious cycle of autointoxication that taxes our defense systems and eventually leads to more serious disease.

Here are few Ayurvedic tips which helps to keep our digestive system healthy.

Ingredients:

Trikatu Powder (Ginger, Black Pepper and Long Pepper) – 150 gms

White cumin seeds (Soaked in lime water and dried )– 50 gms

Balck cumin seeds (Soaked in water and fried then make it powder) – 50gms.

Ajamoda – 50 gms

Indus Valley Salt  (Soaked in starch then make it powder )– 50 gms

Asafoetida – 50 Gms

Mix all the ingredients and make it as powder. As shown in the video take ½ half spoon of powder and ½ spoon of pure ghee and have before you eat food, It would be a good ayurvedic medicine for all digestive problems.

Avoid tea, coffee which is harm full to our digestive system, Instead coffee or tea powder you can use pomegranate leaves powder, or Dried Gooseberry powder which gives energy as well as it provides a lot of health benefits.

Home remedy for Twitching sensation

Ingredients

Cloves

Cardamom

Instructions

Mix both the ingredients in jiggery and have it twice in a day.