Hesperian Health Guides
Living Positively with HIV Infection
You can have a good life with HIV. You can have good times with your family and friends. You can have sex safely by taking ART regularly and using condoms. You can work and be active in your community. You can also help others who need support to live with HIV.
When your partner has HIV
By practicing safer sex and taking ART, someone with HIV can avoid passing it to a sexual partner. Condoms are the best way to prevent HIV, and there are other ways to be sexual besides vaginal and anal sex. Anyone with HIV should also cover open wounds and get treated promptly for any other STIs.
Try joining or starting a group of people with HIV. Some people with HIV work together to educate their communities, to provide home care to those who are sick, to support the rights of people with HIV, and to increase access to treatment.
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Mental healthLook after your spiritual and mental health. Make time for things you enjoy. Your faith, friends, and traditions can bring you hope and strength.
If you have children, give them your daily care and guidance. Think about their futures and which family members they could live with if you become very ill. You may want to make a will, especially if you have some money, a house, or other things, so these will go to whom you wish. Women who are not legally married may not be able to leave their possessions to those they choose, so you may consider getting legally married to make this possible.
Take care of your health
If you have children, make staying healthy for them a goal.
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prevent infections- Look for an HIV care and treatment program as soon as you test positive for HIV.
- Take care of health problems early. See a health worker regularly, and if you get sick, get the treatment you need.
- Prevent infection as much as possible. Each infection can weaken your immune system more. Wash your hands often and use safe water for drinking and cooking. Get tested for TB and hepatitis, and take cotrimoxazole to prevent many common infections.
- Eat plenty of nutritious food to keep your body strong. The same foods that are healthy for people who do not have HIV are good for you if you have HIV. Buy nutritious food instead of spending money on vitamin injections.
- Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.
- Practice safer sex for your own and your partner’s health.
- Try to get enough rest and exercise. This helps your body and spirit stay strong and able to fight infection.
ART–medicines that treat HIV
In some places, ART is called HAART or Triple Therapy. These are all the same thing.
There is still no cure for HIV, but antiretroviral medicines now let people with HIV live a long life with fewer health problems. Anti means against, and the virus that causes HIV is a retrovirus. If used correctly, antiretrovirals control HIV infection by reducing how much virus is in someone’s body. The immune system then becomes stronger and the person can fight off infections and be healthy.
This treatment is called Anti-Retroviral Therapy, or ART. ART is becoming cheaper and more available in many countries. Government health facilities and other programs may offer ART at low or no cost.
ART works when used correctly
ART helps most people with HIV stay healthy for many years.
ART means taking 3 or 4 antiretroviral medicines regularly, usually every day. Once a person begins ART, the medicines must be taken without missing any doses. People taking ART will gain weight if they had lost it, and will become (or stay) healthy, but must keep taking ART because small amounts of HIV remain in the body. If they stop or miss doses, or take them at the wrong times, HIV can make them sick again.
Drug resistance: When people do not take ART as directed, their HIV can become resistant, which means the medicine will no longer work as well against the HIV. If drug-resistant HIV spreads among many people, then ART medicines will no longer work very well for anyone. Taking ART correctly helps keep it effective.