December, which is HIV Awareness Month, comes in exceptional circumstances this year due to the Corona pandemic.

The World Health Organization warns of the acceleration of the disease and its devastating impact in countries, especially with the suspension of health services for HIV patients as a result of restrictions imposed on movement due to the epidemic.

According to the organization, a third of people receiving HIV treatment have been out of stock of medicines or interrupted supplies since July 2020, and the interruption of access to HIV medicines for 6 months is expected to double AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in the region. Africa 2020 alone.

Nevertheless, these exceptional circumstances are experienced by the whole world this year, while the AIDS patient suffers exceptional conditions throughout his life linked to his disease and the myths and societal stigma that follow him, without awareness and awareness of the nature and reality of that disease.

An old woman living with the virus after her husband died of AIDS (Al-Jazeera)

The difference between HIV and AIDS

HIV was discovered for the first time in 1981, and it is one of the deadliest epidemics for humanity, and there is a difference between HIV and AIDS.

According to HIV.gov, HIV is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to infection and other diseases.

The human body cannot get rid of HIV and there is no effective treatment for it, but with proper care and treatment, people with HIV can avoid contracting AIDS and can stay healthy for a long time.

As for AIDS, it is the late stage of infection with the acquired immunodeficiency virus, which occurs when the body's immune system is severely damaged by the virus that activates and attacks the immune system, and here a person becomes infected with AIDS, i.e. acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Most people with HIV do not get AIDS because taking HIV medicine every day as prescribed stops the disease progression.

Flu symptoms

There are 38 million people infected with HIV, and one out of every 5 people infected with the virus did not know that he was infected, according to World Health Organization data.

However, according to Hivcare, some people develop flu-like symptoms when they first contract HIV, and they are as follows:

Sore throat.


Swollen glands.


Muscle pain.


Skin rash.


Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.


Night sweats.

The disease is only discovered when an HIV test is taken.

There are many myths and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS (communication sites)

Facts and myths

There are many myths and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS that amount to stigmatization and social exclusion of the patient.

These are the most prominent common misconceptions about disease and patients worldwide:

1- What kind of contact with the patient transmits the disease

The affected community shuns the belief that the disease is transmitted by touch, air, or any form of contact with it.

While it is not possible to get HIV from insect bites or stings, hugging, shaking hands, or sharing toilets, dishes, food, drinks, or cooking utensils even if the person preparing the food is infected, and it is also not possible to catch the infection through contact Sweat or tears of an infected person.

It is only transmitted through certain bodily fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, anal mucus and breast milk.

2- HIV can be cured

There is no cure for HIV, but there is one that can keep its levels low and help maintain the immune system, according to "HIV" (Hiv.gov).

3- HIV infection means having AIDS

Being infected with HIV does not mean having AIDS.

And if a patient starts taking HIV medication right away, it can help protect him from progressing to AIDS.

It is possible that he will not deal with AIDS at all, and will live a near-normal life if he continues to take medicines in the correct manner.

4- Exercising is dangerous for someone with HIV

Exercising for 30 to 45 minutes a day, including aerobic (aerobic exercise) and strength training, is a good way to protect the health of a person with HIV, as exercise works with medication to reduce fatigue, improve appetite, reduce stress, and maintain Muscle and bone protection.

5- Herbal medicines treat HIV

According to the charity Avert, HIV Awareness and Sexual Health, some patients choose to take alternative forms of medication, such as herbal medicine, as a natural way to treat HIV, but these herbal remedies do not work.

The Foundation warns that taking herbal medicines is dangerous because it will not protect the immune system from infection. Rather, it may interact badly with antivirals if the patient takes them together with treatment.

The only way to stay healthy when living with HIV is to take antiviral therapy and see your doctor regularly.

6. AIDS patients are gay

HIV infection has been linked in the minds of many people with sexual practices, especially homosexuality, and patients have been stigmatized by their abnormal tendencies.

According to "Everydayhealth", anyone can become infected with HIV, through unsafe sexual relations as a whole, or by pricking needles and syringes and things contaminated with HIV that puncture the skin, whether drug injection or drawing needles on the skin, as well as Contaminated blood transfusions.