Living With HIV

Are you silently falling apart and giving up on life because you have been diagnosed with HIV? OR, are you up to the challenge of living a long productive life? MAKE YOUR CHOICE.

HIV is a serious illness, but with treatment and medication available on the island a better quality of life is possible. HIV is no longer a death sentence. If you are HIV positive you will need to take better care of your health.

Follow these steps:

• Be yourself. Don’t pretend to be who you are not.

• Follow your doctor’s advice

• Have an open mind and have positive thoughts and actions. This will make a difference in your health and the way others behave towards you .

• Find out as much as you can about living healthily with HIV.

• Talk with a counselor

As an HIV positive person, you have a responsibility to yourself, your partner your friends and others. Now that medication is available , which will allow HIV positive persons to live longer, some people may believe that there is no reason to be careful. Your advice to others can be very helpful.

You can continue to have meaningful relationships and love in your life, but be very careful. NEVER , NEVER have unprotected sex. Never expose your self to sexually transmitted infections. An HIV positive person who also has an STI will spread the infection quicker and may progress to AIDS faster.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

An HIV positive person can have a long and happy relationship, marry, or have children who may be free of HIV,

Help others to learn from your experience

Remind sexually active friends to use a condom every time they have sex, and to seek counseling and testing for HIV.

Change your life style . Exercise , eat healthy foods and talk to a doctor about vitamin supplements.


Anguilla National STI HIV & AIDS Programme:
Source; A personal booklet for persons living with HIV