AIDS is a short hand term we have for describing someone with a very weakened defenses system. In 1980 and 1981, doctors in Los Angeles and New York became alarmed about the possibility of a new disease when they noticed that some of their homosexual patients had contracted rare forms of cancer and pneumonia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified the new disease-now known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-in June 1981. AIDS is believed to be caused by HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, which is mainly transmitted in one of three ways: in semen during sexual intercourse, from mother to fetus during pregnancy or delivery, and by the use of a syringe infected with the virus. HIV invades a person's white blood cells and disables the body's immune system.

A damaged immune system is not only more vulnerable to HIV, but also to the attacks of other infections. It won't always have the strength to fight off things that wouldn't have bothered it before.

As time goes by, a person who has been infected with HIV is likely to become ill more and more often until, usually several years after infection, they become ill with one of a number of particularly severe illnesses. It is at this point that they are said to have AIDS - when they first become seriously ill, or when the number of immune system cells left in their body drops below a particular point.

Different countries have slightly different ways of defining the point at which a person is said to have AIDS rather than HIV.

Herbal medicine

Herbal medicine is the most ancient form of health care known to man. Herbs have been used in all cultures since history records were recorded. Herbal medicine has such an extraordinary influence that numerous alternative medicine therapies treat their patients with herbal remedies, including naturopathy, orthomolecular medicine, and ayurveda. Approximately 25 percent of all prescription drugs are derived from trees, shrubs, or herbs.

By using herbs in their complete form, the body's healing process utilizes a balance of ingredients provided by nature. The World Health Organization estimates that of 119 plant-derived pharmaceutical medicines, about 74 percent are used in modern medicine. Much debate has circulated as to whether or not pharmaceutical companies should extract the potent ingredients from the herbs and synthesize their own man-made herbs, or prescribe herbs in their purest form.

Aloe vera has historically been known for assisting the functions of the gastrointestinal tract, and for its properties of soothing, cleansing and helping the body to maintain healthy tissues. This plant has a reputation of facilitating digestion, aiding blood and lymphatic circulation, as well as kidney, liver and gall bladder functions. Aloe contains at least three anti-inflammatory fatty acids that are helpful for the stomach, small intestine and colon. It naturally alkalizes digestive juices to prevent overacidity - a common cause of digestive complaints.

Herbal medicine is also known as botanical medicine (in Europe it is known as phytotherapy or phytomedicine). An herb is a part of a plant that can be used for healing purposes (as a potion or remedy). An herb can be a leaf, a flower, a stem, a seed, a root, a fruit, bark, or any other plant part that can treat wounds, abrasions, cuts, and a number of other conditions. There are an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 plants on earth today.

Herbs contain a large number of naturally occurring chemicals that have biological activity. Herbs work in a similar fashion to antibiotics, pharmaceutical drugs, and that is why there has been such a stirring furor about the pros and cons of both. In this debate, both drugs and herbs have been compared many times over. Herbal medicine is the most beneficial when it is used to cure chronic, ongoing diseases.