Supporting someone who is HIV-positive can play a key role in making them feel more hopeful about their future. If you know someone, a family member or a close friend, who is living with HIV, you can help them in many ways.
Although it may seem challenging, providing relief to an HIV-positive can be a challenge. Hopelessness and despair have been the two most prevalent emotions they experience. Understanding this is vital in taking care of HIV-positive individuals. Sensitivity and compassion are the keys to motivate them.
How To Live With an HIV-Positive Person
There are several ways you can show your support to an individual diagnosed with HIV. We have identified the five most important actions you can take to provide comfort to an HIV-positive friend or member of your family.
- Constantly communicate with them. Make yourself available for open, honest conversations about HIV. Constant communication can serve as an outlet for them to express their emotions fully. They may wish to communicate with you as they did before their diagnosis. Do things you did together before testing positive. You can talk about common topics of interest just how you did before. Convey that you consider them as the same person before getting the virus. Let them know that they are more than their diagnosis.
- Always be there to listen. Getting a positive result can be shocking news. Give your loved one your undivided attention and support. Reassure your friend or family that HIV is a treatable disease. You can explain that there are medications to keep people healthy. It can help them be more at ease.
- Educate yourself about HIV. Understanding HIV is a huge step in being able to help your loved one. You can learn the basics of HIV: what it is, how it is transmitted, its treatment, and how people can stay healthy while living with HIV. Knowledge can be empowering and help you in lots of ways.
- Encourage treatment. Some newly diagnosed HIV patients may find it challenging to take the initial step toward HIV treatment. HIV treatment is recommended for all HIV patients and should begin as soon as they get a positive result. You can talk to them about the benefits of undergoing treatment. Be their guide as they learn more about the treatments available for them.
- Ensure medication compliance. Now that you have convinced them to undergo treatment make sure they adhere to what the doctor prescribed. It is crucial for people living with HIV to take their HIV medication daily, exactly as prescribed. How to live with HIV without medication? Well, that would be hard. If you’re the sexual partner of someone positive with HIV, you should also get tested so that you are aware of your HIV status. If you get a negative result, talk to your doctor about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), which involves taking HIV medication regularly to avoid HIV infection.
PrEP is advised for individuals at high risk of HIV infection, such as those in an intimate relationship with an HIV-positive partner. If you test positive for HIV, get treatment and care immediately.