Today is World Aids Day - tell someone!

Hope you can browse through the websites here to find really important information and stats on AIDS in the DR and the rest of the Caribbean. Just sharing...

Regards,
Natasha

After 13 Years, Importance of World AIDS Day Grows

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - From rock concerts in Laos to rallies in Washington, World AIDS (news - web sites) Day has raised awareness about one of the world's biggest killers for more than a decade.

St Paul's Cathedral in London, the South African parliament and the Sydney Opera House are bathed in red light and millions of people wear red ribbons each year on December 1, making it one of the most well-known international days.

But 20 years into the HIV epidemic, poverty and ignorance in developing countries and a growing complacency in rich nations are fuelling the crisis. More than 21 million people have died from HIV/AIDS, three million of them in 2000 alone.

``World AIDS Day is definitely more important now than ever before,'' said Paula Harrowing, the co-founder of Body & Soul, a British support agency for families affected by the disease.

``It is a very good day and we need to keep it on our agenda but societies across the world need to change because there are very few HIV-positive people who are open about their status.''

Global Initiative

World AIDS Day was initiated 13 years ago at a meeting of health ministers as a way to inform people about the devastating illness. Since then it has mushroomed into a truly global event.

Newsletters, video tapes, documentaries, special songs and posters will be released around the world for this anniversary.

An AIDS awareness train will be traveling between Kunming in China's Yunnan Province and Pingxiang in Guangxi Province.

Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin will preach safe sex in a TV documentary, available free to broadcasters around the world.

But with 5.3 million new infections this year and 36.1 million living with HIV/AIDS, according to the latest U.N. figures, has World AIDS Day made a difference?

``Having this day and the events around the world won't reduce infection rates but we still need this day to remind people that HIV/AIDS is still a problem,'' said Tony Farmer, of the New York-based National Association of People with AIDS.

He said the challenge was to ensure that minds remained focused on the crisis for more than one day a year.

``It doesn't translate or trickle down into prevention activities or stress the importance of not infecting other people or taking precautions,'' Farmer told Reuters.

Impact Of World Aids Day Varies

The impact of World AIDS Day varies from country to country but activists believe it has made a difference.

``It helps people think more clearly about HIV and AIDS.... With 36 million people living with HIV around the world we have an awful uphill struggle in terms of our response to HIV,'' said Derek Bodell of the National AIDS Trust in Britain.

``It's not totally gloom and doom. In places like Thailand and Uganda where there has been a strong political leadership we are seeing an impact that is reducing the number of people with HIV,'' he added.

``So it is possible, if there is that sustained response to HIV, to actually begin to make a difference.''

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

Especially after reading the sobering statistics today in Listin.The numbers are appaling and the cases getting younger and younger. And Puerto Rico, that ranks #2 in cases in the USA (according to a recent article in the NY Times)just abandoned plans for sex education in the schools....After what I hear from patients....SOMEONE better get busy with the sex education/health program. The ideas some people have are absolutely bone chilling. Thanx Natasha for the introduction of a very serious problem that most would like to avoid.

Have you read the article in La Ultima Hora? As bad as the one in the Listin..

If anyone has an open mind and would like to read about a different view point on HIV and AIDS. I have been listening to this guy for 12 years now on the radio in NYC (WBAI 99.5 FM). I follow his recommendations on a holistic approach to diet, health and medicine. The web site in garynull.com. Check it out. Tom

Tell me more ECH

I'm a volunteer here in Canada and work with kids on the streets and try to instill some of the dangers of unprotected sex. I know this is not the place to discuss this but can you tell me what some of the ideas that you have heard of that are totally wrong?
Thanks

Re: Tell me more ECH

WE ARE 20 YEARS INTO THIS EPIDEMIC AND HERE IS WHAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE: IT IS AMAZING THE LACK OF EDUCATION.
1. AIDS is a homosexual disease and if not homosexual; you have no worries. In other words, they think it is NOT transmitted via heterosexual contact.
(Also, can't show interest in learning about the disease because that might imply I am homosexual)
2. AIDS is transmitted via casual contact (it is amazing the number of people who still believe this)
3. If you have AIDS; having sex with a virgin will cure you.
4. You can't get AIDS (or GET PREGNANT) the first time. It takes repeated contacts with many people.
5. Use of a spermicidal lubricant will PREVENT AIDS.
6. Urinating immediately after ejaculation will prevent AIDS.
7. Only way to get AIDS is via anal sex
8. "IF I get AIDS, someone gave it to me and I will just give it to someone (and therefore be rid of it by passing it on to someone else). This is the stupid response.
9. If I get AIDS, someone gave it to me and I will just pass it on to someone else. This is the response to anger.

And the list goes on and on. I have found the more bizzar the tale; the more likely they are to accept it as fact and follow the suggestions!

It was alarming to read that Puerto Rico (the #2 ranked in AIDS in the USA) defeated a bill for sex education in school. There are still people and parents who BELIEVE they teach children HOW to have sex; they do not understand it is to teach them what the consequences and responsibilites of early sex is or can be.

Yes, I agree chastity is the BEST preventative but what are you going to do for those who do not follow the course of chastity? They need to know what the risks and options are.

Sorry to jump on my soap box but it is alarming the number of our youth in the early teen years are becoming infected with this terrible disease.

Re: Tell me more ECH

"If you have AIDS; having sex with a virgin will cure you."

This is a really sad one. Unfortunately a very large number of people believe this, not in the least in some developing countries (like some countries in Africa).

Of course, to be certain the girl IS a virgin, she has to be very young. And so this superstition is not only molesting little girls, it is also killing them - because Aids CAN spread the first time.

I agree - as often before - with Ernest: Educating people is the only cure. And you may as well begin at school. After all, sex is here to stay, and young people are quite aware of the act itself - but very often not its consequences!

Regards,
Susanne

Thanks

yes...some are very scary

Gary is knowledgeable about nutrition/health but..

I defer to licensed physicians when it comes to infectious diseases, especially those of the fatal and incurable variety.

Re: Gary is knowledgeable about nutrition/health b

My experience with licensed physicians has been pretty much writing out persciptions and not dealing with the issue of wellness. US medical schools do not properly train their doctors on other complementary approaches to health. From what I know, Europeans and people in the developing world know quite a bit more than the average american about alternative approaches and are more likely to have an open mind about when it comes to discussing them. We have been brainwashed in the US to believe out methods of treating the symtoms rather than the unlying cause of the disease.

As far as Gary Null is concerned, he is more knowledge than most physicians on how to stay healthy. I trust his opinion and he does extense research with internationally recognized medical journals to support his opinoins. More than any doctor I have ever known.

I'll take a US Doctor anyday

A Doctor has to treat what is presented by his patient. It appears your doubts of the physicians capabilities would severley handicap his treatment of your problem.
'
I would rather be treated by a US trained Doctor in a US Hospital then anyplace in the World.

Why do you suppose World leaders come to the US for complex medical problems, our cheap prices?

Re: Gary is knowledgeable about nutrition/health b

I took the time to check out the web site listed...garynull.com and found some very interesting things. First. His article AIDS THE BIG LIE was presented in PENTHOUSE MAGAZINE. I would hardly consider this a respected scientific journal! Second. He prefaces ALL of his writing, advice, etc. with the admonition "this is not a substitute for evaluation and treatment by licensed, qualified personnel." Third. It never states HIS QUALIFICATIONS to speak or write on the subject. What makes him a medical/nutrition expert? Is he a research scientist or does he just have some unsubstitantiated ideas regarding health and wellness? Click on "Meet Gary Null" and you are bombarded with a dozen or more photos of Mr. Null. One would think he is somewhat narcissistic. Not ONCE does it list HIS CREDENTIALS. For all one knows he is not even a high school graduate! The "specialists/experts" in the field that he quotes are NOT what one would consider mainstream investigators or Nobel Laureates. I read the article on AIDS he wrote and it is full of misstatements further demonstrating "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". This individual knows just enough to be conversant in the subject but by no means an expert in the field and therefore certainly not one to be giving advice to an unsuspecting, trusting public.
I can not help but be suspect of Gary Null and his motives. There are many individuals and groups that "believe" that ALL health springs from "diet, vitamin supplements and exercise". How many respected scientists have a marketplace of products. Mr. Null does. Gary Null Supplements, Gary Null Skin care products, Gary Null water purfiers, Gary Null Air filters, Gary Null hair care products and the list goes on.
And finally, I have heard over and over the argument by these fringe groups that HIV does not cause AIDS; that it does not meet Koch's postulates for the etiology of disease. If they are so sure that HIV does not cause AIDS, then let me inject them with HIV and lets see what happens! If one wants to pontificate on science, then one should first study and become a scientist.
And yes, Tom, I have seen medicine all over the world and believe me; I will pick the USA and our brand of medicine and physicians any day, as do most of the world who can beg or borrow their way to the USA if that is the only way. How many Nobel Laureates in Medicine do we have from developing countries?

You get really sick, I bet dollars to donuts

You won't go running to Gary.

stay well

Re: Gary is knowledgeable about nutrition/health b

I respect your opinion and enjoyed reading your response. My approach is to always reevaluate my own position and I closely consider opposing opinions. That is one way I began really studying much of what Gary Null preaches. Just to clarify things. My own personal experience with traditional doctors is an exclusive reliance on pharmacuticals. I have had to deal with some health issue recently and tried the traditional approaches. After making the necessary diet and lifestyle changes as presently by Gary, I experienced incredible improvements in my general health and well being. I now take wheat grass to my traditional doctor and share my experiences with him. No one is saying to eliminate licensed physicians. I once had a severly broken leg fixed by inserting a 12 inch pin in my bone, in the DR. I was sure glad he was there (Brunegal in Puerta Plata) and Dr. Cesar in Sosua. Cesar studied in Cuba and I find that Dominican doctors have a much more integrative approach to health care. You will find many nontraditional approaches sneaking into the mainstream and the Dominican community I know here in NY, bring a lot of this from the Island. My Mother in Law, has her assortment of sythetics when anyone in the family gets sick, but she is also making teas, rubbing wierd stuff on you and when someone is really sick they bring in the big guns, the ladies who pray. They can go for hours if you let them.

ECH, another point about Gary

I found your observations of his web site as interesting. He is on WBAI in the NYC area at noon everyday. I listen to him when I have the opportunity and he does not sell his products, as his show is educational. I had the same initial impressions when I began reading about his view points on HIV and AIDS. I was going through and extentive NYC Dept. of Health training on the issue at the time and it contridicted much of what I was being taught and how I was supposed to carry out my job in social services. After 10 years of closely following the issue and listening the probably a 100 hours his position on the radio and reading a great deal about it, I feel it should be an issue which can be openly discussed. I am not a doctor and do not understand much of the technical language but would like to see the medical establishment address the issue that Gary and a group of reputable professionals are advocating. The pharmacutal companies have committed criminal acts and covered them up too many times. I am reading about this polio thing in the DR and Haiti and it is reported to possibly be caused by a vaccine. That is another issue he writes and speaks about which cause some strong reactions. Just keep and open mind and intelligently debate the issues. That sounds healthy to me.

Re: MEDICAL MYTHS & SHIBBOLETHS

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines a "myth" as a traditional story, popular belief or notion explaining a practice or natural phenomenon that may be unfounded or false. Similarly, a "shibboleth" is a commonplace idea or saying that is a criterion for distinguishing a custom or usage.
Medicine is filled with myths and shibboleths, some of which, though the foundation of clinical practice, are at best unsubstantiated and at worst false. It should be noted, however, that broadly held (consensus-based) approaches to medical diagnosis and treatment may be valid and appropriate even when not based on experimental evidence or we hope to distinguish what we know as "proven" from what we believe based on well meaning but unsubstantiated bias. As an example of an unproven though universally accepted effective therapy, realize that the life-sustaining regimen of maintenance hemodialysis has never been tested in a prospective, alternate case trial against a control group of undialyzed patients given optimized conservative care. Indeed, no Institutional Review Board would approve such a trial in 2001. Similarly, the stroke-preventive value of lowering blood pressure in malignant hypertension is inferred from historical controls rather than a concurrent cohort of untreated hypertensive controls. Common sense dictates that not every treatment premise can or should be subjected to experimental testing. Nevertheless, it is beneficial to segregate what is from what we wish it might be.
Folk medicine has been with us since the beginning. Some of the ways are humorous, some may, in unexplained ways, even be helpful but there are others that are definitely detrimental to a patient?s health.

My great grandmother, Martha, had a strange way of treating fevers, she would place a pan of water under the bed of the patient? ?to draw the fever?. We would all laugh but would let her do ?her thing? because it did not cause any problem even if it did not work.

We have an axiom that is from Medicine?s early beginnings and one to which I would hope ALL physicians would ascribe; ?primum nom nocere??first, do no harm. In other words, what ever you do, do not make your patient worse!

But there are other situations where advice and treatment from non traditional sources can not only harm the patient but cause a fatal outcome. I have had several such encounters with patients. One that readily comes to mind was a 17 year old boy who presented to the Emergency Room in Diabetic Coma. He was unaware he was diabetic at the time. With fluids and insulin we were able to control his diabetes and reverse his condition. It was carefully explained to both him and his family what his problem was and the need for insulin. He returned to the hospital about 8 weeks later in diabetic coma again. The family said he did not like the injections. We were able to reverse the process once again and again explained he could not live without insulin. He returned to the hospital again in a short time, only this time he was dying and we could not reverse the process. He had been told that insulin was totally unnecessary by a ?nutritional health specialist? and that they could control his diabetes with diet, herbs and exercise. To this day, I blame this individual for the boy?s death by circumventing accepted treatment methods for his ?snake oil? remedies.

The patients who are most vulnerable are those with the diseases that have no cures and no options. The terminal cancer patient, the AIDS patient, or the paralyzed patient. Conventional medicine, in honesty and candor tell the patient the truth and that they have nothing further to offer. Those on the fringe of medicine, those with the non traditional approach appeal to these patients. ?Sure we can cure you.? They offer ?hope? in hopeless cases. And usually for a considerable fee. They will also say that the AMA or similar organization does not approve of them because the new approach will put traditional doctors or pharmaceutical companies out of business. This all sounds logical. After all, you are throwing a thread to a drowning man who will grasp at anything.

There are many things in medicine for which we have no explanation. Acupuncture for example defies a logical explanation but it does work! But, there are many things in medicine that should work when demonstrated on paper, but in actuality, does not work in a live model.

I do not know what Gary Null?s agenda is. I do not even know what his credentials are that make him such an expert in so many fields. I do know that one way to become famous (and possibly rich) is to go against mainstream thought. People immediately start saying, ?who is this person who is saying these bizarre things?? It sort of reminds me of another famous person who became famous (and rich in the process) with bizarre ideas and ideology, Rush Limbaugh, who said, ?it is not necessary to read or think, I will tell you what you need to know.?

I was somewhat amused at your statement about being really sick and calling in the big guns?the ladies that pray. Prayer is fine but I am reminded of a famous Russian proverb:
Pray to God, but keep rowing to shore!
And finally, ?your statement that Dominican doctors have a much more integrative approach to health care? I will leave for another time and probably not on a public forum.

Re: MEDICAL MYTHS & SHIBBOLETHS

Great reading and I agree with your response. The ladies praying was written with tongue in cheek, but I have witnessed it on numorous occassions. Positive thought and deep contemplation would be argued by alternative theorpists, to be powerful tools in allowing the body to function properly. Your example about the patient is awful. I would agrue that he needed the traditional approach to keep him alive, but than use the alternative approach to gradually reduce or eliminate the need for treatment. If it is possible. Gary Null is a reputable person with an unbending philosophy on what it takes to stay healthy. He is very careful in making statements publically and is extremely tedious in backing up his opinions. Eating a whole food diet of unprocessed whole food, eating 9 servings of organic fruits and vegatables a day, drink a gallon of water, taking vitaman supplements, regular exercise, and meditation of some sort are the dietary and basic principals of staying healthy in his program. He has his products available but advocates that the public educates themselves and use natural approaches when it makes sense.

Re: MEDICAL MYTHS & SHIBBOLETHS

You keep singing the praises of the person, Gary Null, but we have asked at least three times WHAT ARE HIS CREDENTIALS? What gives him authority to speak on the subjects he discusses? What gives me the authority to speak on medical subjects...I am a physician...AND I HAVE THE CREDENTIALS AND LICENSE TO PROVE IT. You keep talking about his "philosophy" and his "opinions" to which everyone is entitled, basically beliefs. When I give you an injection of insulin for high blood sugar...I don't believe it will lower the sugar...I KNOW it will. I also don't philosophize about the cause of your diabetes, I KNOW you have a problem with your pancreas (without going into details). One thing really puzzles me. You, thru Mr. Null, keep advocating vitamin supplements and then you also talk about a proper diet. I always thought that with a proper diet one did not need vitamin supplements? And is it not also known that the body can not and does not store water soluble vitamins and utilizes what is needed at the time and excretes the rest as waste? And is it also not known that MEGA doses of some vitamins (Vitamin D, for example) can actually be toxic and cause problems (Vitamin D = kidney stones)?
Again I ask, what is this person's CREDENTIALS to be promulgating his philosophy and opinions? I am really interested.

Re: Tell me more ECH

Thank you for talking about this. People need to think before sex nowadays. The freeloving 60's are way finished. I've already gone to 2 AIDS funerals, one was a gay male cousin of mine, and the other was a friend's daughter. Her boyfriend had given up IV drugs many years before but he did not know that he had HIV. He then infected her. First her boyfriend died of AIDS and she died a year later. Now I have a family member in the Dom. Rep. with AIDS. He went with an "easy" girl. Before we know it, it will be in everybody's circle of family or friends. AIDS gets gay people and straight people, sexually liberal people and sexually picky people. People have to protect themselves when they say "yes" and think more about serious values and learn to say "no" more often. I don't wish it on anybody.