On 1st December every year, since 1988, the World joins hands in commemoration of the World AIDS day that seeks to shine light on the AIDS epidermic and mourn the lives that succumbed to the virus ever since it came about.
The disease has claimed over 40 million lives and over 35 million more are living with the virus thanks to available antiretroviral treatment. We are just 4 days after the World AIDS day and thought we would interest Pulsers on the little things they can do to avoid catching the virus.
Mind Your Company
HIV/AIDS is more than the eventual act of unsafe sex. There are things that lead to that eventual act and they’re what we are concerned with today.
Pulsers and young people all over love to have fun and sometimes, excess fun may be risky. If you’re not sure about the people you hang out with, you may get tempted to involve with them at the high expense of your life.
Whenever you are going out, go with friends that will watch out for you. Friends that will limit your excesses and be concerned for your safety. It takes just one night to completely transform your life and change it.
Practice Safe Sex
I would recommend abstinence but at the very extreme of it, when you reach a point of no return and must have sex, have it safe. Condoms may not be 100% effective, but when used rightly, your chances of acquiring the virus are minimal.
Whenever you have not tested with your partner, always use a condom. No matter how much you trust someone, you should never trust them with your life.
Multiple Partners? Not a Pulser Thing
HIV can be asymptomatic or showing no signs at all for several years. Having multiple partners puts you at risk of contracting it from a partner that didn’t even know they have it.
Having multiple partners increases your sexual network and puts you at a greater risk of contracting HIV or infecting those dear to you. Let us therefore avoid.
Be More Careful
HIV is not just spread through sex. There are other bodily fluids that it can come through and we must be careful handling them or tools associated with them. Avoid, therefore, reusing needles and syringes or sharing the same. Also, wear gloves or necessary protective gears for direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood.
Educate Yourself
In an era when the public still treats sex education lightly and some parents are shy to discuss matters sex with their children, it is important to take the extra steps and research and learn about HIV/AIDS, its transmission and how you can prevent it.
There is a lot of content online and in libraries about the topic. Interest yourself with it and you never know, the key to safe living may be just a click away.
Also, whenever I am discussing HIV/AIDS matters, I also remember to celebrate our own Ugandan Ms Winnie Byanyima who is at the forefront of prevention of the spread of the epidermic and is currently Executive Director of UNAIDS, the United Nations body that is inspiring and helping the world to control the spread HIV.