In the AIDS hotline and clinical work, we often receive calls for AIDS phobia consultation, which manifests as one or a combination of symptoms of anxiety, suspicion, fear, compulsion, depression, and in severe cases, suicide. They experience both physical and psychological stress. Popularizing knowledge of AIDS prevention and treatment and establishing a healthy lifestyle is the key to eradicating this disease.
A 26-year-old young woman, Xiao Li, had multiple sexual partners and one of her boyfriends had intravenous drug use, so she suspected that the other had AIDS and infected herself. However, she still suspected that she had AIDS and kept calling for advice, saying that she had generalized pain, fever, weakness, rash, etc. She matched the symptoms with those of AIDS patients introduced in the book. Another male, 45 years old, had high-risk sex with a lady twice in six months after drinking, and was afraid of getting AIDS, and asked twice to take preventive drugs for one month, even though he had a gastrointestinal reaction to the drugs. There is a couple working outside, has gone to the hospital to do four times the AIDS antibody test are negative, but also asked to eat antiretroviral drugs, because there is a high-risk behavior, it is too afraid of getting AIDS.
In the face of this group of people, psychological guidance is the most important. Most of the AIDS-phobic people have had high-risk behaviors, and these behaviors do increase the chance of HIV infection greatly. On the other hand, because such behavior is not allowed by social moral norms, they often feel moral condemnation and social pressure deep inside, creating a sense of contradiction, shame and guilt. In addition, they exaggerate the infectiousness of AIDS and put themselves in a deep fear by matching some AIDS symptoms with their own feelings. AIDS is a disease that is almost 100% fatal, and there is no cure for it yet. Some people with poor mental health are more likely to suffer from AIDS phobia. This disease also reflects their character defects. Facing this group, it is important to give them more care and help them get rid of the shadow of AIDS phobia. Director Sun said that two attitudes are most important in dealing with AIDS: one is fear, which is the instinct to protect oneself, and fear comes from lack of understanding; the other is discrimination, which comes from our ignorance and prejudice about AIDS. Therefore, to get out of fear, the first thing is to overcome ignorance and prejudice. Studying, working, living and playing together with AIDS patients, eating together or eating meals cooked by patients, swimming, shaking hands and hugging together, sharing bathrooms, office utensils, telephone sets, water cups, tableware and bedclothes, in addition to sneezing and mosquito bites are not infected with AIDS. AIDS transmission is not like anthrax and plague which can be spread through air and daily contact, and there is no need to isolate them from society. It is important to strengthen the publicity of AIDS knowledge and let the public understand how AIDS is transmitted, so that everyone can realize that the transmission of AIDS, like the transmission of other diseases, requires specific transmission routes (blood, sexual transmission and mother-to-child transmission), as well as a sufficient number of viruses, and is related to one’s own resistance, and that general living contact will not be infected. Therefore do not be blindly afraid of AIDS. Secondly, it is important to provide the necessary information support for people with AIDS phobia. Help them to assess their own actual risk level of HIV infection, so that they can get rid of some unnecessary fears. Third, it is important to help AIDS-phobic people reinterpret their somatic symptoms so that they can realize that their clinical presentation is not a symptom or manifestation of HIV infection. In addition, the family and friends of AIDS phobics are their support. Only by making them feel the warmth of life and gathering the courage to live positively can they reintegrate into a good life.
A high-risk behavior requires immediate, January, March and June HIV primary screening tests and, if necessary, co-testing of HIV viral load for early diagnosis; after high-risk exposure, go to a designated hospital for professional physician assessment before deciding whether to use preventive drugs.