AIDS

December 1 - World Aids Day

What are STDs?
STD stands for Sexually Transmitted Disease (sometimes called Sexually Transmitted Infection). This is an infection which can be caught by having sexual contact with someone who is infected.

What is HIV?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. People can become infected with HIV and they can pass it on to other people. A person infected with HIV is infected for life. People infected with HIV can look and feel well for a long time.

What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. A person is said to have AIDS if they are infected with HIV and in addition they have developed one of a number of particularly severe illnesses. There is currently no cure for AIDS and no vaccine to prevent it.

How can people become infected with HIV?
There are a number of ways you can become infected. These include:

• Having sexual intercourse with some who is infected.
• Injecting drugs using a needle or syringe which has already been used by an infected person.
• An infected pregnant woman can pass the virus on to her unborn baby either before or during birth. HIV can also be passed on during breastfeeding.
• Blood transfusions are a possible route of transmission, although most countries now screen the blood supply from HIV, meaning the risk is extremely small.
• Oral sex is a possible risk, although infection from oral sex (blowjobs) on its own seems to be quite rare.

You can't become infected by:

• Sharing a cup or cutlery with someone who is infected.
• Eating food prepared by someone who is infected.
• Touching, hugging, kissing or general contact with an infected person.
• Using the same toilet as someone with HIV.

What's the difference between HIV and AIDS?
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS is a serious condition in which the body's defences against some illnesses are broken down. This means that people with AIDS can get many different kinds of diseases which a healthy person's body would normally fight off quite easily.

How long does it take for HIV to cause AIDS?
The length of time between being infected with HIV and being diagnosed with AIDS depends on lots of different things. These days, there are many drugs that can be used to help people with HIV, and most doctors believe that a lot of people can be treated for a long time. Many people do not know exactly when they were infected with HIV, and the length of time between this happening and them being diagnosed with AIDS can be very variable.

So how can i protect myself?
Using condoms during sex will help to protect you. However, some STDs can be transmitted in other ways, such as kissing. You shouldn't have sexual contact with anyone who has visible sores or genital rashes.

What is safe sex?
Safe sex means sexual activities which you can do even if one person is infected with an STD that won't pass it on to the other person. Loads of activities are completely safe. You can kiss, cuddle, massage and rub each other's bodies. Nothing you do on your own can cause you to get an STD - you can't for example infect yourself by masturbation.

What is safer sex?
Safer sexual activities are things that aren't always completely safe, but mean you've taken precautions to reduce the risks. An example of this is using condoms. Using a condom is not absolutely safe as condoms can break, but they are generally very effective if they are used correctly.

Eye Donation

October 12 - World Sight Day

Why should Eyes be donated?
There is no substitute for human tissue. The transplantation process depends upon the priceless gift of cornea donation from one human to the next. The use of artificial tissue for transplantation has been unsuccessful.

Why you should consider Eye Donation?
There are lakhs of Children and adults in India who are blind. They know only one colour BLACK. If you donate your eyes, you are giving vision to two blind people and making their life self dependent and joyful.

The gift of sight that will dramatically improve the quality of life for a person who has otherwise lived a life of total darkness.

Where are we in Corneal Transplantation?
There is a severe lack of donor eyes in India and only 5,000 operations are being performed every year, while more than 30,000 new victims are added each year to the total list of 7 lakhs patients to be cured. In spite of having professional surgeons, corneal transplantation cannot be carried out due to lack of donor corneas. In India there are more than 80 lakh deaths every year but sadly the corneal donations do not exceed a few thousand.

The reason for this may be

• Lack of awareness in General public
• Improper development of infrastructure in villages
• Absence of motivation even among the trained personnel
• Social & religious taboos.

Who can Donate Eyes ?
Anyone can donate eyes. It does not matter even if you

• Have undergone any eye surgery
• Poor Eyesight
• Wear glasses
• Diabetic
• Hypertensive
• Extremes of Age

What should be the Age of the Donor?
There is no limit for Age. Eyes from all the age groups can be used for transplantation.

Can a living person donate his eyes?
No, Eyes are not taken from a living person. It can only be removed after death. Anybody can pledge to However, donate his eyes and his wish can be fulfilled by his kin after his demise.

What part of the eye is transplanted ?
Although the entire eye is removed from the body, it is only the CORNEA that can be transplanted.

Will eye donation affect the appearance of the donor?
No, Artificial eyes can be fitted in place so no disfigurement of the body will be there.

Does eye donation cause delay in the funeral process?
No, because time required for removal of eyes is only 15 minutes. Moreover eye bank personnel come to a place wherever the body of the deceased is kept. The body need not be shifted to Eye Bank.

How successful is corneal transplantation?
Over 90% of all corneal transplant operations successfully restore the corneal recipient's vision.

What happens if corneas are not suitable for transplant?
Donors and eyes are carefully evaluated. If your corneas are found to be unsuitable for surgery, the sclera (or white part of the eye) may still be suitable for Donation.

Are any costs involved in eye donation?
No fees are charged from the Family. The Eye Bank of India will rush a doctor to the donor's home. This is a free service in the public interest.

What can you do for Eye Bank ?
INFORM the Eye Bank if unfortunately there is death among the relatives
JOIN HANDS with us for the movement of EYE DONATION
MOTIVATE family members of the person who has died in your area.
SPREAD information about eye donation
Your WORD OF MOUTH will help the movement
YOUR WILLINGNESS to donate eyes of your close relative after death will be greatly appreciated by the blind who will now have sight.
You can ENROLL your name for voluntary eye donation
You can offer your SERVICE to eye bank in any form

Eye Bank in INDIA

Tobacco Smoking?

May 31 - Anti tobacco day

Effects
The effects of smoking will vary from person to person and depend on such things as:

• a person's susceptibility to chemicals in tobacco smoke;
• the number of cigarettes smoked per day;
• the age when the person began smoking; and
• the number of years of smoking.

Immediate effects

• Smoking one cigarette immediately raises a person's blood pressure and heart rate and decreases the blood flow to body extremities such as the fingers and toes.
• Brain and the nervous system activity is stimulated for a short time and then reduced.
• A smoker may also experience dizziness, nausea, watery eyes and acid in the stomach.
• Appetite, taste and smell are weakened.

Other effects of cigarette smoking

• Smokers typically experience shortness of breath, persistent coughs, reduced fitness, yellow stains on fingers and teeth and decreased sense of taste and smell.
• Smokers have more colds and flu than non-smokers and find it harder to recover from minor illnesses.
• Smoking can cause impotence in men, while women who smoke are less fertile than non-smokers.
• People who smoke tend to have facial wrinkles appearing much earlier and, in general, look older than non-smokers of the same age.

Smokers have an increased risk of developing:

• respiratory infections such as pneumonia and chronic bronchitis;
• emphysema (a progressive and potentially fatal lung disease);
• heart attack and coronary disease;
• cancer of the lung, throat, mouth, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach;
• stomach ulcers; and
• peripheral vascular disease due to decreased blood flow to the legs.

A person who is dependent on cigarettes may find that they experience withdrawal symptoms when they cut down or stop smoking cigarettes. These can include:

• increased nervousness and tension;
• agitation;
• loss of concentration;
• changes to sleep patterns;
• headaches;
• coughs;
• cravings.

Other dangers and important facts

• Smoking during pregnancy can affect the unborn child, and babies are more likely to be born underweight, premature or stillborn.
• Passive smoking, where a person is subject to breathing in the cigarette smoke of others, can cause lung damage, including cancer and heart disease.
• Fifty Australians die every day from smoking compared with 10 who die from alcohol-related conditions or 4 who die from road accidents.

10 ways to smoke & live a better life

1. Your butt looks smaller.
A fat wallet makes your butt look bigger. You spend most of your money on ciarettes, so your wallet is lighter.

2. You're footloose and fancy free.
Life's a party when your're single. As a smoker, you will always be single. Hey, who needs to date a chimmey?

3. You enjoy life more.
When you're about to die, every moment seems precious. Life is better because you enjoy the things you took for granted before.

4. You are popular.
Loners are mysterious cult figures. With passive smoking awareness catching on, you'll only have cigarette for company.

5. You'll go places.
You sneak out of no-smoking zones to catch up on a cigarette. You see many places others haven't seen. Basements, rooftops, cellars and staircases, for instance.

6. You are liberated and hip.
Skeletons always are. Advertising tells you that. They're used to advertising everything especially no smoking propaganda. Ever wonder why?

7. You have a satisfying sex life.
Most impotent men do. Impotence kills desire more that anything else. And when you can't get it up, you won't want to get it in.

8. You'll feel fit.
You can't climb stairs without panting. So you use the lift. You walk into places feeling fit.

9. You'll be your own master.
With every cigarette, you'll put an end to five minutes of your life. So you'll be a master of your own life. Or death.

10. You are respected and obeyed.
Everytime someone strikes up a conversation, you strike up a cigarette. No one likes to inhale carcinogenic smoke. They speak less to you. You could mistake it for awe. After all, you are smart enough to smoke?