HIV Positive - This Bodybuilder is Positive about Life

As Schwarzenegger wannabes pit muscle against muscle to win India’s top bodybuilding prize, among these combatants will be one individual who is competing against life itself. This is an inspiring story of the can-do spirit. He is HIV+ but he is also positive about life. If you meet Khundrakpam Pradipkumar Singh you might feel a tinge of sympathy about a man who might soon come to the end of the road. But for Khundrakpam the journey is just beginning. Even today there might not be a cure for the dreaded virus but this inspiring individual busts the myth that HIV+ means a date with mortality and despair. Pradipkumar, tested positive for HIV seven years ago. Today, seven years down the line he is a bodybuilder and one of the contenders for the Mr. India title. "I was into drugs and that is how I contracted the virus. There was pain, anguish and a deep sense of guilt. That is when I decided to channelize all my emotions into body building and maintaining a fitness level."He began bodybuilding in 2003 and along with retroviral therapy he turned to the gym. He won the state title in the 60kg category. Medals and title came his way and soon he was competing at the national level. A runner-up at the Senior Mr. India Challenge Cup provided him further motivation to look at the bigger horizon. For the ultimate national title in the sport, he has had to mortgage his sister’s gold jewelry to make the trip to Kolkata.
Khundrakpam summarizes his gung-ho spirit by saying,"I want to prove that HIV is not the end of the world. I want to be a role model for such patients and tell the world that WE CAN."His motivational journey has been recognized by his state government which made him the face of their AIDS campaigns as a brand ambassador. Despite being a household name in his state of Manipur, financial help has been difficult to come by. Though that has hindered his diet and preparations, it hasn’t blocked his vision and attitude.
Even as he has his sights set on winning the national crown he dreams of contributing to society one day.

Things about HIV/AIDS you didn’t know:
2.3 million people were HIV positive in India. The disease was found to be most prevalent in southern and northern states with Andra Pradesh and Manipur having the highest number of cases. HIV was more prevalent men than in women and was seen in people between 15-49 years of age. The good news here is that the survey found that the number of people infected with HIV has decreased by 50% in 2011. This World AIDS day, the theme is ‘Getting to Zero’ – zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. So in order to help us all move towards that goal here are eleven things about HIV/AIDS that you might not have known. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A person is termed to be HIV positive when they are found to be infected by this virus. As the disease progresses it eventually eats away at the immune system of the patient, causing a number of opportunistic infections to take hold along the way.  AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease is a host of conditions that are associated with the loss of one’s immune system – according to the CDC when a person’s CD4 count is below 200 cells/mm3.  This is the most severe stage of the infection. HIV and AIDS are different and a person who is HIV positive does not necessarily have AIDS.

You probably knew that HIV originated in monkeys. But did you know that there are actually two types of HIV strains? Labeled as HIV 1 and HIV 2, these two strains have been found in chimpanzees and small African monkeys. HIV 1 is the more potent of the two strains and is what most commonly causes HIV infection.

Once a person is infected with HIV it takes at least 10 years for it to progress into AIDS. AIDS is the final or most severe stage of the disease when the immune system of the patient’s body has been compromised greatly. 

The symptoms of HIV/AIDS very often mimic the symptoms of other very common diseases like the common cold or flu. While a person infected with the virus may experience symptoms within 2-3 weeks of being infected it may take up to three months. There are also some people who may be absolutely asymptomatic. The common symptoms of the condition are fever, rash, chills, sore throat, rash, night sweats, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches and ulcers in the mouth.

The test for HIV involves either testing your blood or your saliva for the presence of the antigen against HIV. The problem with this test was that it could not pick up the presence of the antigen you a patient’s body until he/she started producing antibodies to the virus, which usually takes about 12 weeks.  Recently a new test has been devised that tests for the presence of antibodies against the virus. This is far more accurate and one can get the test done as soon as they think they have been infected. All you have to do is go to a nearby testing center and check if you have been infected by giving a simple blood test. The test is not painful and is completed in about 10 minutes. Many people believe that if an HIV positive person cooks for them or somehow their blood is ingested they can contract the disease. This is not possible, because the HIV virus – for all the havoc it creates in our body – is extremely fragile and cannot survive outside a host. More importantly it is essential that blood containing the virus enter a person’s blood stream, this requires a deep injection directly into the blood vessels. Another fact to consider is the HIV virus cannot stand excessive heat. Even the heat generated by the sun damages it, so if one were to bleed into your food and cook it, you are highly unlikely to contract HIV. And finally everybody has a mucosal lining on the inside of our mouth and nose. So when we eat the HIV virus will not be able to infect a person.