According to the French Public Health Agency, about 13% of the newly discovered HIV-positive patients in France every year in recent years are young people under the age of 25. Previously, France's National Aids Commission had criticized the failure of the authorities' AIDS prevention policies. Sidaction pointed out that young people in France have insufficient information on AIDS, "thinking that AIDS is a disease of the elderly", and the solution is to set up corresponding prevention and awareness programmes in schools.
"I'm so young, I can't get AIDS"
"I didn't expect my HIV test to be positive. At that time, I naively thought that young people were not at risk of contracting AIDS, and I could not get this disease. In 2014, Andréa, 22, was shocked to learn she had been diagnosed with HIV.
In fact, there are many young French people like Andrea. According to the French newspaper Le Monde, data from the French Public Health Agency shows that in recent years, about 13% of the newly found HIV-positive population in France every year is young people under the age of 25.
Lucie, a French girl who tested positive for HIV when she was 20 years old in college, wrote her story into a book and published it, and for her, the most effective way to fight AIDS is to tell people stories about people living with HIV, and AIDS should not become a taboo topic. "When the doctor informed me of the results of the examination, a bottomless pit appeared in front of me. But I did take the risk. She admitted. Lucie has had 7 male partners and has no protective measures when she has sex with two or three of them. "I thought people living with HIV were only involved in a very small minority, all gay or sub-Saharan Africans. I never imagined that a Frenchman from a small town in eastern France would also be living with HIV. Lucie comes from a middle-class family, his father is an engineer and his mother was a former OWNER of a BIO food store. After learning that she was HIV-positive, she terminated her undergraduate studies in sociology at the University of Nancy and left her hometown to pursue a diploma in technical college (DUT) in Cannes, where she worked as a journalist. (Screenshot of Amazon Books)
AIDS is caused by infection with the HIV virus, a virus that supplies the body's immune system. Since there is currently no effective vaccine, the most important thing in the prevention and control of AIDS is to have knowledge and take preventive measures. According to a 2019 survey by the French Association for AIDS Action (Sidaction), 23% of young people aged 15-24 in France said they did not have enough information about AIDS, the highest proportion in nearly 10 years.
Today, the 28-year-old Andrea still vividly remembers the shock and collapse when she got a positive HIV test result.
"I suddenly realized that my life would change dramatically from now on. I cried for a long time. Although I knew I wasn't going to die right away, the thought that HIV would revolutionize my social and emotional life left me terrified. I said to myself, "This is over, no man would want to be with me." ”
Loïc also felt unacceptable after learning that he was HIV positive. "I was 26 years old and I kept thinking: 'This is impossible!' I'm so young, I can't get AIDS. Although 7 years have passed, Royke still remembers it vividly: "At that time, I felt that I did not have a few days to live, and I should spend the last few months of my life traveling the world." I remember it was a Thursday, 3 p.m., and as an au pair I had to pick up the kids from school. Then my best friend kicked me in the face and said to me, 'Go, get to work!' Life has to go on. This sentence pulled me back to reality. ”
"I feel like I've changed from an ordinary person to a plague god"
For these young people who were originally carefree and fearless, it is very difficult to accept psychologically when they suddenly learn that they are infected with AIDS. "I live in shame and secrets. I felt that I had suddenly changed from an ordinary person to a plague god that everyone avoided. "Andrea recalls that after contracting AIDS, she fell into depression several times and attempted suicide once." Some days I really don't want to get out of bed, I just want to stare at the wall all day. For the first time, I had nightmares every night and couldn't sleep, like the walking dead..." Royk also felt this desperate helplessness.
A 2016 Sidaction Association survey showed that 30% of young people aged 15-24 have a wrong understanding of HIV and how it is transmitted.
In addition to psychological torture, patients also have to endure adverse reactions such as digestive disorders, insomnia, extreme tiredness, and loss of appetite caused by drugs. Some patients take months to find the right medicine for them. "The first year was terrible. Sore muscles and intense nausea made it impossible for me to live a normal life. Emmanuel Bodoignet, 26, was diagnosed hive positive 3 years ago.
"Speak up about your own experiences and warn others"
Fortunately, with the support of relatives and friends, after receiving psychotherapy, they all accepted the fact of infection and regained their strength. Emmanuel went a step further and became President of the AIDES (Association for the Prevention of AIDS and Viral Hepatitis) of the Burgundy-Franchente Region. "I hated myself very much at the time, and later I found out that there were many more situations like mine. Gradually, I came out of shame, and I felt the need to speak out about my experiences and warn others that others would never again experience the same experience. ”
Emmanuel called for an intensified development of an AIDS vaccine on the occasion of Global AIDS Day on 1 December last year. (Screenshot of Francebleu report)
Emmanuel recalls that when he was a teenager, he only heard the teacher mention HIV once in the fourth grade class, and that "the teacher always emphasized contraception and hardly mentioned the problem of sexually transmitted diseases." He expressed "concern" for the younger generation: "On the issue of AIDS prevention, there has been little progress in 10 years. However, if the message on AIDS prevention is not disseminated, people will feel that they do not care about themselves and will not pay attention to it. ”
Lucien, 26, was diagnosed hive positive four years ago. Coming from a "super conservative" family in Paris, he consulted a lot of scientific information and data on AIDS after his diagnosis. "It gives me a better understanding and rationale for this." In fact, AIDS is far more than just a matter of moral framework, nor is it just a matter of individual responsibility, AIDS is more often involved in the unstable life of gay men. According to the French Public Health Agency, 43% of newly diagnosed HIV-positive people in 2019-2020 are men who have had sex with the same sex.
In unprotected sexual relationships, the risk of HIV infection ranges from low to high as shown in the figure. (Photo of the official website of the French Public Health Agency)
Discrimination is hard to avoid
Thanks to antiviral treatment, Andrea, Royk, Emmanuel and Lucien have all been undetectable, which means they will no longer transmit the virus to others. "Relieved," Andrea says, "it was only after 6 months of medication that I began to slowly regain my enthusiasm for life. Later I met my current partner and started a family, and I felt very happy. Andrea's three daughters are all HIV-negative.
Still, they can't avoid discrimination in their lives, such as Andrea's encounters with people who ask her to put her toothbrush away; Emmanuel who refuses to shake his hand; Royke who has to buy mortgage insurance that is 1.5 times more expensive than normal, not to mention malicious abuse on social networks, "You ask for yourself", "You deserve to die", and so on. Lucien also said that after being diagnosed positive for HIV, he lost many "friends", and the advantage was that he "saw clearly who was the real friend".
The French Public Health Service recommends oral AIDS pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs to the following populations: men and transgender people who have sex with men, sex workers, areas with a high incidence of AIDS (sub-Saharan Africa, Guyana, etc.), injecting drug users, and people with multiple sexual partners. (info-vih.com photo)
Taking medicine can save your life, but normal life is gone
Although the disease load cannot be detected after taking the drug, the side effects caused by the drug cannot be ignored. "Sometimes I feel extremely tired, my memory is very poor, I have to take notes on everything, which is really very troublesome for daily life, but there is no way, I have to adapt." But overall, I'm in good health. Andrea revealed that she currently works at a restaurant.
Although a study published in 2017 showed that people living with HIV live almost the same lifespan as other populations, Lucien points out that life expectancy cannot simply be equated with "the length of time healthy to live":
"Some people have the illusion that thanks to medical research, they only need to take one pill a day to live as well as ordinary people. I strongly disagree with this statement! The truth is, people living with HIV can't be particularly well off. My life is a hundred and eighteen thousand miles away from 'normal'. I often felt tired, had neurological diseases in my legs, and had to ask the doctor to call me in sick every three to five minutes.
Like Lucien, Emmanuel's health is fragile. "In 2019, I contracted pneumonia, was hospitalized for 6 months, and after getting better, I fell ill with asthma." The physical condition also made it impossible for the young Emmanuel to plan for life: "Although I trust the doctor, I am really afraid of getting sick, because it is likely that I will not be able to get sick." 」 ”
While Andrea and Royke are relatively optimistic, these young people living with HIV are unanimously calling for everyone to be more vigilant about AIDS, because no one is immune in the face of the virus.
(Editor: Summer Rain)