HIV and Massage Therapy

There is no known cure for it but it affects 35 to 46 million people in the world. It's a pandemic situation that not only affects the United States but the entire world. Young, old, male or female; it shows no discrimination toward who it affects. It is called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. This virus can be deadly as it is the precursor to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS.

As it has the word "immune" in the name, HIV suggests that it has some dealings with the immune system. The human immune system provides a layered defense system through innate and adaptive immune systems, so that homeostasis can be maintained. When there is an immunodeficiency, it means that one or more of the components of the immune system are inactive. The ability of the immune system to respond to pathogens is diminished at the beginning and towards the end of life. There are many factors that can also impact the immune system such as weight, alcohol consumption and stress. The biggest factor of immune system health is nutrition. Many humans have diets that lack in sufficient protein and other key nutrients that are associated with cell-mediated immunity. Immunodeficiencies can also be inherited or acquired.

HIV is a very serious immunodeficiency disease. It is a condition in humans where the immune system begins to fail, which could lead to life-threatening infections. It is a retrovirus, which means that its genetic information is stored in RNA rather than DNA which is protected by glycoproteins, a lipid bilayer and a capsid. Outside a host cell the virus is unable to replicate and since HIV is a fragile virus; it cannot survive for long periods of time outside the body. The only ways of contracting HIV is by having unprotected sex or sharing needles with an infected person, direct blood-to-blood contact, and finally by an infected mother transmitting it to their baby at birth and by breastfeeding.

HIV works on the principal of using a host cell's organelles to make thousands of copies of the virus. It then sends out these copies to other cells in the immune system to be infected. HIV mainly targets the CD4+ T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. The infection leads to lower levels of these CD4+ T cells through three types of procedures. There is a direct viral killing of infected cells or an increased rate of apoptosis in infected cells or killing of infected CD4+ T cells by CD8 cytotoxic lymphocytes that recognize infected cells.

Although the CD8 cytotoxic cells kill the infected cells they do not kill all the viruses that they may hold and eventually, these viruses find healthy cells to infect. In the beginning of the infection, CD4+ cells are replaced as fast as they are lost but after several years the body's ability to restore these cells is slowly exhausted and the circulation of these cells decline. This causes huge problems for the immune system. When CD4+ T cell numbers drop below a critical level, cell-mediated immunity is lost, and the body becomes progressively more susceptible to opportunistic infections. If untreated, eventually most HIV-infected individuals develop AIDS and die. However, about one in ten individuals remains healthy for many years, with no noticeable symptoms.

The only treatment for HIV is using an antiretroviral therapy program. The patient would take a combination of reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors that interfere with the actions of HIV. The name that they have for this drug regime is called HAART or highly active antiretroviral therapy. Although this drug therapy increases the life expectancy of people infected with HIV and slows the progression to AIDS, it is very costly, exceeding $10,000 per year. It also has highly toxic side effects that some patients cannot handle.

It has been said there is not a lot that massage can do for someone with AIDS/HIV. However, there are a number of reports and clinical studies that suggests that there is an overall benefit to complementary and alternative therapies have on the body by relieving stress, anxiety and depression in HIV and AIDS patients. Massage therapy is a viable option when trying to help alleviate the pain, discomfort and stress that arises from the symptoms of HIV. While massage may relax a person it also has a positive effect on circulation, digestion, the nervous system and immune function by boosting white blood cell count and activating CD8 cells. Massage can also help relieve the effects of neuropathy.

It also helps in a mental state because many HIV infected people may be considered 'untouchable' by others. The massage does not have to be some special kind of therapy. It could be the gentlest of relaxation massage where the therapist shows concern and that they care about the patient's wellbeing can have a profound influence on the state of mind and feelings. To have an hour of someone's undivided attention or to be the focus of another person's caring touch could be as healing to the mind and spirit as any medication for a physical ailment.

HIV can encompass many types of infections and those infections can call for different indications and contraindications. The most obvious contraindication would be if the patient had any open lesions, inflamed areas or bacterial diseases that can potentially be spread through the circulatory system. The massage therapist also needs to keep up communication with the patient as the body can only handle flushing so many toxins at once. An hour long massage may induce dizziness, nausea or some other discomfort. If this happens, a shorter session may need to be scheduled to fit with the patient's needs. The massage therapist needs to think of their own health also. If they're not feeling well then they should reschedule the patient for another day or week.

There is no cure for HIV but there are ways to bring comfort to a person who has this life-threatening illness.