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HIV and your brain

The Red Ribbon

with Rosie Stone

Monday, June 14, 2010

Dear Eve,

Does your thinking ability go down when you get HIV? I know someone who seemed changed by it.

Concerned Friend

Dear Concerned Friend,

As a general rule, being infected with HIV (Human Immuno-Deficiency virus) does not mean that you lose your ability to use your brain. Anything that you could do before, you certainly can continue to do. There are many HIV-infected persons who are at colleges and universities and doing very well, academically. I know many persons who have continued their education since finding out their positive status.

As I have said many times, HIV does not discriminate, so infected persons can be found everywhere, from the boardrooms to the groundskeeper.

You said you know someone who seemed changed by their HIV infection and related that change to their inability to think. Probably you are referring to behavioural changes that might be related to the stress brought on by their change in status. Navigating the world is very challenging for someone who is infected.

Many of us have to learn new ways of operating within what is for us a new reality. There might be some who think that we dwell too much on the factors of stigma and discrimination that are all around us, but it is difficult to exist in a world where you are devalued. It is difficult to be treated unfairly, to be discriminated against just because of your HIV status. There are many infected persons who, because of this environment, choose not to disclose their status and are prepared to live the rest of their lives in this state.

There are others of us who need psycho-social support. We need help in accepting our status and then trying to live the best life we can under the set of circumstances that we have found ourselves in. All of us need clear thinking to be able to understand how important it is to follow the instructions of our doctors and our health-care providers.

We also should try to learn everything we can about HIV so that we can become our own advocates, and an integral part of managing our health-care.

Not all negative

Dear Eve,

When you write about HIV it seems so serious and negative, are there any positives that have to do with HIV and AIDS?

The fact that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a very serious fact.

There are many positives that I have mentioned in relation to HIV and AIDS in Jamaica since the first case in 1982. One important positive, as far as the PLHIV (Persons Living with HIV) community is concerned, is the introduction of a public access treatment programme in 2004. This was made possible by the Global Fund. This meant that medicines for the treatment of the virus (anti-retrovirals) were available to Jamaicans free of cost.

Another important positive aspect of the comprehensive National HIV Programme is the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission, which has been very successful.

Collaboration in 2001 by the University of the West Indies and the Ministry of Health by a team of doctors and health care professionals brought anti-retroviral therapy to prevent HIV transmission from infected women to their children. This programme has reduced mother-to-child transmission from 29 per cent to fewer than 10 per cent. This involves universal HIV testing of pregnant women, ARV treatment for all HIV-positive pregnant women and counselling for all HIV-positive women on treatment.

You can send your questions or comments relating to HIV or related issues to info@eveforlife.org or write to Eve for Life, C/O Jamaica Observer.

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HIV and your brain