Knowing that you are HIV positive poses new challenges but is not the end of the world. Being HIV positive does not mean you have AIDS. While there is no medicine or treatment to cure HIV, there are several medicines that can keep the virus in check, protecting the immune system from damage and thus slowing the progression of HIV to AIDS. There are many people who are HIV positive but living a healthy life. With proper medical care and by taking care of yourself, you can live a long healthy life with HIV allowing you to achieve your goals and dreams in life.

There are a number of things you can do as way of living positively with HIV.

Learn all what you can about HIV

Knowing as much as you can about HIV is one of the most powerful weapons in your fight against the virus. Learn about how HIV weakens the body immune system, types of treatment available, how to prevent re-infection and infecting others etc.

Choose a counselor

Find a counselor who you can relate to, who understands HIV/AIDS and the challenges of living with HIV and who is prepared to be there for you in an ongoing and flexible way. The counselor will listen to your worries and what you are going through and will give you professional advice.

Choose a healthcare provider

You need to choose a healthcare provider you trust and fell comfortable with. The healthcare provider needs to have a lot of experience dealing and treating people with HIV/AIDS. You will need to regularly visit the HIV doctor for monitoring your viral load and CD4 count. In case of medication, your doctor will need to prescribe the right doses and schedule for taking ARVs. You need to consult your doctor whenever you don’t feel well with the medication or you have undesirable side-effects. Seek medical care quickly when infections such as bronchitis, rush and skin sores appear.

Join HIV positive support groups

Knowing that you are not alone and being connected with other people living with HIV and AIDS can be a powerful source of support and an important resource. By sharing your experiences and worries with other people living with HIV, you can reduce anxieties, learn new strategies for coping with HIV and build new friendship with people who are facing similar challenges.

Make healthy lifestyle choices

Your lifestyle choices affect how well your treatment works well in the future.
Exercise regularly but not strenuous exercises. Exercising strengthens muscles, improves mood, relieves stress and increases appetite.
Don’t feel guilty or ashamed and have a positive attitude towards yourself and others.
Eat plenty of food which is rich in protein, vitamins and carbohydrates.
Avoid alcohol consumption. Alcohol can make medications like ARVs less effective and reduces appetite. It also can lead to risky behavior.
Avoid smoking because it increases the risk of illness and infections like pneumonia.
Reduce stress and worry by knowing that there are many useful people who are living with HIV and by participating in socializing activities.
Abstain from sex or and if you are sexually active be mutually faithful to a single partner  and always use a latex condom correctly every time you have sex to prevent you from re-infection with HIV, infection from other sexually transmitted infections and infecting others. Remember you have a big role to play in the prevention of the spread of HIV.

Adhere to doctors’ prescriptions for medication

In case the doctor recommends ARVs medication to you, take every dose of ARV medication on schedule. ARVs don’t cure AIDS. Some stop the HIV from entering body cells and others stop HIV from making copies of themselves (replicating). You   must take ARVs exactly in the right amounts of each medicine and at the right times and frequency as described by the doctor. The goal is to keep the right amount of each medicine in your body at all times. This helps to keep the viral load (amount of HIV in your body) low and the CD4 count high. Skipping doses, gives the virus a chance to change form (mutate) and become resistant to the medication. Your medicine might not be able to control the new form of HIV.

Tell your parents and trusted close relatives and friends about your HIV status

Parents and very close friends are an important part of your support system, being open to them about your HIV status as early as possible will help you to deal with the infection. Your parents may have a number of questions about how you got infected. You can get help with telling your parents about your HIV status from your counselor. Though difficult, you need to tell your parents because you will need their financial and emotional support and care.

Other Random Questions

• Dear Counselor, some people say that if you don’t practice sex, you do find difficulty in producing in future. Is it true? (0)
• Dear Counselor, I am a girl aged 16 and have very small breasts unlike those of other girls in my class. A boy in our class told me that if I don’t have sexual intercourse, I will not grow and my breast will also remain small. Is it true? (0)