Helen Ivy Vilakazi, the three letter word, the hairy monster that kicks – call it what you will, HIV/Aids is a disease that none of us, even the most brilliant scientist, fully understands. And it is a disease that all of us fear.
HIV is easy to prevent. If you are HIV+ it is important to have a positive attitude – speak out about being infected, eat carefully, exercise, smile often. HIV need not be a death sentence. For many people it becomes an opportunity to become powerful individuals. HIV will defeat you only if you let it.
To help all of us learn more about HIV/Aids, the Teacher begins a column this month that answers your questions about HIV/Aids and begins a process of all of us defeating HIV.
Q: Dear Charlene,
Do skin rashes related to HIV/Aids just affect the private parts or all over the body? Is it painful or itchy? How many kinds of rashes are there? Does the skin change colour with HIV? Can skin rashes be cured with creams or medicines? Thank you.
-Peter Z, Pietermartizburg
A: Hello Paul,
What a lot of questions. I will try my best to help you.
There are a lot of skin conditions you can get with HIV, first of all of course, you must be certain that you are HIV+, and that the skin disease is not caused by another illness. It might be eczema, or sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) can cause very painful genital ulcers. Here are a few more tips that might help you:
An HIV+ person can get a number of skin diseases they can include painful, itchiness, sores on the genitals and/or mouth, it can include various cancers including dark blotches called Kaposis sarcoma.
Around the hairline and eyelids as well as the chest there might be a dry rash called seborrhoeic dermatitis; often if you put liquid paraffin or vaseline on these it helps remove the crust – this is different to the paraffin you use in stoves, get it from a chemist.
Shingles is another itchy and painful skin ailment – see a doctor because that usually means your CD4 cells are down (CD4 cells fight HIV in your body). Lemon juice on shingles or cold sores often helps.
Thrush is common in the mouth or the genital area and can be very painful if not treated, try using the sour fig remedy or spread the juice from the leaves of a plant called bulbinella (that also grows wild) on skin conditions. Sometimes skin conditions look just like a cold sore on the mouth.
With all skin conditions if you cannot get rid of them see a doctor as soon as possible.
It is very important that you keep your body clean and that you frequently wash your hands and dry your body properly after bathing. Aqueous cream is cheap and good to put on your skin. Make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables
To prevent skin infections stop eating sugar and sweets, don’t eat fried food. You should eat foods like bananas, avocado, tuna, pasta, garlic, pumpkin, rice, sweet potato and ndumbi.
A free Aids booklet issued by Metropolitan Life recommends, the sour fig Ikhambilimadbabulawo – Zulu or uurvy in Afrikaans) – ”indigenous succulent, traditional treatment for vaginal (and oral) thrush: chop leaves finely to fill half a cup. Fill other half of cup with vinegar. Let it stand for a few hours. Strain out chopped leaves, leaving the liquid in the cup. Fill the cup with warm water, and wash the inside of the vagina (or mouth) withthe liquid. Repeat every eight hours.”
For a free copy of the booklets contact Metropolitan Health in Cape Town (021) 940-5772; or go to their website www.redribbon.co.za or write to Empowerment Concepts, Box 13043, Riverside, Nelspruit, 1200.
If you have questions for Charlene Smith, or comments, please write to the Teacher/HIV Positive, PO Box 91667, Auckland Park, 2006. All letters will be treated as confidential unless you say you want your name used.
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, July 2001.
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