#AIDS Disease

[lupusbaby]

Say it with me! Wheelchairs aren’t sad! Mobility aids aren’t sad! Mobility aids are instruments of freedom!

[thattripleabattery]

This is a threat

[tumble-tv]

"kill them with kindness" WRONG run them over in your wheelchair 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽 👨‍🦼 👩‍🦼 🧑‍🦼 👨‍🦽 👩‍🦽 🧑‍🦽

[reasonsforhope]

"Since it was first identified in 1983, HIV has infected more than 85 million people and caused some 40 million deaths worldwide.

While medication known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, can significantly reduce the risk of getting HIV, it has to be taken every day to be effective. A vaccine to provide lasting protection has eluded researchers for decades. Now, there may finally be a viable strategy for making one.

An experimental vaccine developed at Duke University triggered an elusive type of broadly neutralizing antibody in a small group of people enrolled in a 2019 clinical trial. The findings were published today [May 17, 2024] in the scientific journal Cell.

“This is one of the most pivotal studies in the HIV vaccine field to date,” says Glenda Gray, an HIV expert and the president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, who was not involved in the study.

A few years ago, a team from Scripps Research and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) showed that it was possible to stimulate the precursor cells needed to make these rare antibodies in people. The Duke study goes a step further to generate these antibodies, albeit at low levels.

“This is a scientific feat and gives the field great hope that one can construct an HIV vaccine regimen that directs the immune response along a path that is required for protection,” Gray says.

-via WIRED, May 17, 2024. Article continues below.

Vaccines work by training the immune system to recognize a virus or other pathogen. They introduce something that looks like the virus—a piece of it, for example, or a weakened version of it—and by doing so, spur the body’s B cells into producing protective antibodies against it. Those antibodies stick around so that when a person later encounters the real virus, the immune system remembers and is poised to attack.

While researchers were able to produce Covid-19 vaccines in a matter of months, creating a vaccine against HIV has proven much more challenging. The problem is the unique nature of the virus. HIV mutates rapidly, meaning it can quickly outmaneuver immune defenses. It also integrates into the human genome within a few days of exposure, hiding out from the immune system.

“Parts of the virus look like our own cells, and we don’t like to make antibodies against our own selves,” says Barton Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and one of the authors on the paper.

The particular antibodies that researchers are interested in are known as broadly neutralizing antibodies, which can recognize and block different versions of the virus. Because of HIV’s shape-shifting nature, there are two main types of HIV and each has several strains. An effective vaccine will need to target many of them.

Some HIV-infected individuals generate broadly neutralizing antibodies, although it often takes years of living with HIV to do so, Haynes says. Even then, people don’t make enough of them to fight off the virus. These special antibodies are made by unusual B cells that are loaded with mutations they’ve acquired over time in reaction to the virus changing inside the body. “These are weird antibodies,” Haynes says. “The body doesn’t make them easily.”

Haynes and his colleagues aimed to speed up that process in healthy, HIV-negative people. Their vaccine uses synthetic molecules that mimic a part of HIV’s outer coat, or envelope, called the membrane proximal external region. This area remains stable even as the virus mutates. Antibodies against this region can block many circulating strains of HIV.

The trial enrolled 20 healthy participants who were HIV-negative. Of those, 15 people received two of four planned doses of the investigational vaccine, and five received three doses. The trial was halted when one participant experienced an allergic reaction that was not life-threatening. The team found that the reaction was likely due to an additive in the vaccine, which they plan to remove in future testing.

Still, they found that two doses of the vaccine were enough to induce low levels of broadly neutralizing antibodies within a few weeks. Notably, B cells seemed to remain in a state of development to allow them to continue acquiring mutations, so they could evolve along with the virus. Researchers tested the antibodies on HIV samples in the lab and found that they were able to neutralize between 15 and 35 percent of them.

Jeffrey Laurence, a scientific consultant at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, says the findings represent a step forward, but that challenges remain. “It outlines a path for vaccine development, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” he says.

For one, he says, a vaccine would need to generate antibody levels that are significantly higher and able to neutralize with greater efficacy. He also says a one-dose vaccine would be ideal. “If you’re ever going to have a vaccine that’s helpful to the world, you’re going to need one dose,” he says.

Targeting more regions of the virus envelope could produce a more robust response. Haynes says the next step is designing a vaccine with at least three components, all aimed at distinct regions of the virus. The goal is to guide the B cells to become much stronger neutralizers, Haynes says. “We’re going to move forward and build on what we have learned.”

-via WIRED, May 17, 2024

[mythologiestofollow]

Lady Gaga, 01/31/25

[delta-hexagon]

Chronically Ill Hexagon asking for help

im desperate

on July 4th i returned home from a small family vacation and caught something on the plane that triggered a bad crohns disease flare. i went to the ER twice in excruciating pain and each time they sent me home telling me it was just a stomach bug

on July 17 i finally got my remicade infusion 2 weeks late, and on July 19 i had a gastroscopy. on July 24 i had a CT scan

i still havent heard about the results from either, and my specialist hasnt returned any of my calls asking for a letter so i can go on medical leave

my workplace similarly has NOT responded to my request for a Record of Employment, which keeps me from going on EI

i have not been able to work since July 4th and have had zero money coming in because i cant apply for EI without any of the paperwork ive been asking repeatedly for. after barely managing to pay rent, im solidly at -5 dollars

this entire ordeal has been awful. i feel like im being failed at every opportunity by medical professionals and my workplace and i dont know what to do. i can barely eat, drink, or walk without pain, and while im slowly recovering, i still dont know when i'll be able to return to work

so im asking here for help. for anything to help get me food i can actually keep down while i recover

[genderqueerdykes]

reduced prices on all jewelry items in our ko-fi shop!

hello, my name is Equinox- i'm a multiply disabled intersex trans lesbian who is currently working on paying their electric bill & for necessities. i deal with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, gastro intestinal issues (hiatal hernia, IBS, delayed gastric emptying), hypermobile ehlers danlos, degenerative disk disease and other health issues. i am in the middle of applying for disability benefits, but my evaluation appointment was cancelled due to the fact that they did not reach out to my lawyer to tell me when the appointment was. i am currently waiting for this process to sort itself out- in the mean time, i have expenses to take care of

feel free to check out my shop, if you have any questions feel free to ask!

[hellyeahsickaf]

Low Spoons and Hygiene

Sometimes being disabled means struggling with hygiene and that can be embarrassing, even though it's not your fault or a reflection of you as a person. Nobody wants to be stinky or feel dirty, especially when a lot of illnesses and disabilities can entail symptoms like excessive sweating that can make the issue of struggling with hygiene a million times worse.

But smelling bad is the least of your worries, as poor hygiene can lead to things like skin infections. Bacteria and fungi like hanging around in stagnant, often damp areas that collect sweat. And most people have folds- even if just a little, which can be the ideal habitat for dangerous microorganisms. Not changing your underwear/bra or washing your body for an extended period can lead to things like jock itch, intertrigo, yeast infections, athlete's foot, UTIs (anyone can get one and they can spread to the kidneys within days or even hours- and you need those little guys!), all sorts of complications. The existence of foul or sometimes even a slightly "sweet" odor on your body or even in your urine tends to indicate the existence of bacteria (it's why armpits stink) or fungi like candida. Dental hygiene is equally important- an infected tooth or excessive cavities can be bad news. If you experience these things or struggle to regularly care for your body, it's not something to be ashamed of. All of those complications can and do happen to people who do everything right.

Note that issues like UTIs or dental infections don't tend to just go away on their own and need to be treated as urgently as possible.

However, I'll share some things that may prevent or remedy issues like infections and odor that's gotten out of hand and hopefully some may find this list helpful in some way. Any products I've listed may be found at other retailers or at different prices, they're just examples. Feel free to add on to it.

The bare minimum is always better than nothing. Brushing with just a dry toothbrush, using disposable body wipes or a washcloth/sponge instead of a shower, dry shampoo (the sprays are actually pretty bad for you, I'd stay away from those if possible), leave in conditioner, also whole body deodorant is a thing. If the most you can do is change your clothes- hell even just change your bra and/or underwear, it can be the one thing between you and an awful infection.

If infections are a concern, like if say you suffer from chronic UTIs or yeast infections it's advisable to wear breathable cotton underwear.

If you can't get up to brush your teeth or struggle to do so, it may be helpful to purchase disposable toothbrushes. These ones have floss picks attached.

Flossing is just as, if not more important than brushing. If you only have the energy to floss on some days, do that. If you need to keep floss picks and a place to dispose of them near your bed, then that's fine (just don't let it pile on without disposing of it and create a biohazard). it can help remove food particles that help create a breeding ground for bacteria. Also gently moving in and out between your teeth with slight movement if needed is ideal, don't roughly saw across your gums, ouch.

If you struggle with wiping say due to mobility issues, there are products for this. Wiping back to front as an alternative risks yeast infections and UTIs. It's a very common cause of these diseases due to bacteria like e-coli. We do not want that.

Crashing and can't wash your sheets? Out of shirts with no energy to do the laundry today? Antimicrobial fabric spray may help with the odor and bacteria that accumulates on fabric as a temporary fix until you can properly wash it. Try not to wear clothing or interact with fabrics like blankets and couches that are still wet from the spray, as that can irritate the skin.

Try to avoid "feminine wash" products if possible, you don't need the fancy Summer's Eve premium strawberry hibiscus blush scented whatever, it can fuck up your PH and kill good bacteria despite claims to do otherwise. Same with PH wipes. It's recommended not to use soap on your genitalia, especially scented and especially if you have a vagina. If you must use some sort of soap, dermatologists typically recommend the most basic, unscented wash. And do not put it in your body by any means.

Rinse free shower sponges have been a life saver for me, especially the ones that also work as shampoo (it's probably not color safe tho). You just add water, lather, and make sure you dry off well. If it helps you determine how much to buy, I normally find myself using maybe 3-5 sponges each time.

OTC jock itch cream can work for some fungal infections on the body not limited to jock itch but if you see no difference or worsening within a few days of using it, consult a dermatologist as you may need something different or stronger.

Unscented pads and tampons are best and should be changed every 4 hours or so ideally. Never leave a tampon in for over 8 hours. Despite common fears, 9 hours won't give you toxic shock syndrome, that normally takes a few days and is quite rare with tampons but that doesn't mean that 13 hours or something is good or safe. I've just heard some say that sex ed scared them away from tampons after being told stories of TSS. I hear that menstrual cups are also a great alternative that many don't consider.

Monistat and similar yeast infection products often come with different options like 3 day treatment, 5 day treatment, 7 day. I know you want to feel better ASAP, but just take into account that 3 day will be highly concentrated and can cause more burning than the 7 day. Longer treatment may also be more effective in some cases. Penile yeast infections exist as well. Just be aware that some products are more potent than others regardless of birth sex. Antifungals in general may cause itching and/or burning, which some are more sensitive to than others or may even find triggering in cases where it must be applied to the genitalia.

Hydrocortisone cream is your best friend if you're experiencing itchiness due to things like skin infections, contact dermatitis, yeast infections, etc. But please don't use it to mask the symptoms of an infection without treating it.

How frequently you need to wash your hair varies by hair type. This can vary between every 2 days for some and every 1-2 weeks for coily and textured hair. Make sure you look into what is ideal for your hair type. And again on days where you cannot wash, disposable sponges and dry shampoo can be a life saver.

If something is discolored, odorous, itchy, inflamed, bumpy, producing moisture, warm to the touch, oozy, weepy, splotchy, sticky, burning/painful, it may likely be an infection or in some cases an allergic reaction. Familiarize yourself with what different skin infections and diseases may look like on your skin tone. Ringworm and other fungal infections for instance may appear red or pink on fair or lighter brown skin, but on darker skin may appear gray or darker brown.

Fungal infections are also super fucking contagious. To other parts of your body, other people, even to pets. Wash your hands well with antibacterial soap, especially before and after applying any topical treatment or touching the area in any way. After a shower, PAT the infected area dry and do not reuse that towel or use on other parts of the body.

Invest in a shower chair if you feel it may help you, it's one of the best things I've ever bought. I didn't want to get one at first because it felt like I was "giving in" to my disability more and more but that's the internalized ableism talking. Get the shower chair.

A bar to help you stand from the toilet/tub/shower chair may also be helpful.

Again, feel free to add to the list if you want!

[2lemon4lyfe]

Hello dears ! I am asking you to support my campaign to help me to reach my goal. I am now in bad need to your support to help me stay alive and safe. Gaza is a very dangerous place either on the level of livelihood or on the level of souls. I need your monetary support to ensble me to get the basic needs for my family till Rafah crossing point reopens to move my family to safety and peace.Pleasd help a family be alive through your small donations or througn your shares to others.Thank you so much for your stand beside people in need .

Thank you so much for contacting me!

Everyone, this family is in a very challenging situation. Walaa and her 3 siblings are trapped in Gaza, most recently displaced to Deir El Balah after the Zionist occupation of Rafah. Their parents are in Egypt, only able to send them money and hoping they can raise enough to help them escape. Walaa has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and liver disease, and has experienced multiple incidents of hospitalization in Rafah since the recent occupation started related to her blood sugar levels. They have only reached $1,397 CAD out of their $40,000 CAD goal, and desperately need aid to escape and receive treatment. All donations are vital to their survival and sharing with your community can help our donations reach a large enough aamount for them to travel to Egypt. Please do what you can!

[smashorpassgilf]

A mod post for a moment

If you have an std or an sti I want to make it clear: this blog supports you.

You are not dirty or wrong or any sort of irrelevant, degrading adjective people normally apply. You are still you, you are still a good person

And if you don't have an std/sti:

You need to grow the fuck up and wear a condom, even if you can't get knocked up.

I support people with stds and stis on this blog.

[spoonie-on-wheels86]

Using a wheelchair is not "giving up". Using a shower chair is not "lazy" using mobility equipment does not take it away from other people who "need it more"you deserve to be able to access life. Safely with less pain in the best way possible and on your own terms.

[azztiph]

One of the worst things about being physically disabled is how often you get left behind.

You get left behind when with friends because we can’t walk fast enough or you can’t go somewhere because it’s not accessible.

You get left behind by our doctors who don’t care about our pain

You get left behind by activists who couldn’t care less about disabled people

You even get left behind by other disabled people

We even get left behind by people who say they love us, eventually they only see us a burden and a kill joy for things we can’t control

[lupusbaby]

Any time I’m using my mobility aid and someone exists anywhere near me they go “oh sorry!” like they just kicked my crutch out from under me. Please, I know it’s a reflex but you don’t have to apologize just because you laid eyes on a disabled person 😭 you’re not in my way and I’m not mad at you!!

[tumble-tv]

WHY ARE MOBILITY AIDS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE

[ahomeforheadmates]

I just learned what "transabled" "is" and to all of you mobility aid users but especially I really should but i cant afford it/cant with my situation/am scared to admit I need it/scared im not "sick enough**" (future) mobility aid users

I see you, I see you looking at a little kid in a wheelchair and wishing you had your own, I see you looking at someone using a cane and wishing that were you. I see you watching someone with crutches and longing for your own or an elevator pass or a disabled parking spot and wishing you had that too

Dont feel bad for that, it sucks living in a situation where you cant get an aid or are scared, its normal to feel that kind of jealousy and dont you dare say "what if Im making it up? What if Im no better than the transabled community" YOU ARE NOT MAKING IT UP, YOU ARE LONGING FOR SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER AND THATS NORMAL you are not a bad person, and the fact you even worry about that proves it

**(also) dont wait until youre "sick enough" to get an aid or when you do feel bad that you suddenly feel better after using it. If youre considering getting an aid then you need it, people who arent in considerable pain dont consider that. "but its not considerabl-" shUT if youre looking at aids its considerable.

ALSO youre supposed to feel better/not as bad after using an aid THATS WHAT ITS MEANT FOR

I love you guys

Take care of yourselves, -Oliver 🦈🌕

[satellites-halo]

Hi. My doctors diagnosed me with diffused AMPS after running one physical exam and asking some questions. Looking online, apparently the only difference between this and fibromyalgia is fatigue and brain fog and headaches- but fatigue and headaches and brain fog are also considered symptoms of AMPS?

The doctors INSISTED this wasn't fibromyalgia at all and shut me down every time I called it that. What the fuck is going on? Why does AMPS exist as a diagnosis? What's the difference between it and fibromyalgia? Pleaase if anyone can explain it'd be very appreciated . I'm so confused and really trying not to assume the worst