Caring for a loved one with HIV/AIDS
Thanks to new treatments, people with HIV/AIDS are living longer than ever before, so if someone in your life has the virus, it is important to learn how to care for them. AW provides some tips.
At home
* Respect their independence and privacy.
* Ask them what you can do to make them comfortable. Many people feel shy about asking for help, especially help with things like using the toilet, bathing, shaving, eating, and dressing.
* Keep the home clean and looking bright and cheerful.
* Let the person with HIV/AIDS stay in a room that is near a bathroom.
* Leave tissues, towels, a trash basket, extra blankets, and other things the person might need close by so these things can be reached from the bed or chair.
* If the person you are caring for has to spend most of their time in bed, be sure to help them change position often. Usually a person in bed needs to change position at least every four hours.
* If possible, a person with AIDS should get out of bed as often as they can. This helps prevent stiff joints, bedsores, and some kinds of pneumonia.
Protect yourself
* A person with HIV/AIDS may sometimes have infections that can make you sick. Talk to a doctor or nurse to find out what germs can infect you and other people in the house.
* Wear disposable gloves if you have to clean up after or help a person with diarrhoea, and wash your hands carefully after you take the gloves off. Do not use disposable gloves more than one time.
* Flush all liquid waste (urine, vomit, etc) that has blood in it down the toilet. Be careful not to splash anything when you are pouring liquids into the toilet. Toilet paper and tissues with blood, semen, vaginal fluid or breast milk may also be flushed down the toilet.
* Paper towels, sanitary pads and tampons, wound dressings and bandages, diapers, and other items with blood, semen, or vaginal fluid on them that cannot be flushed should be put in plastic bags. Put the items in the bag, then close and seal the bag. Ask a doctor, nurse or local health department about how to get rid of things with such fluids on them. If you don’t have plastic bags handy, wrap the material in enough newspaper to stop any leaks. Wear gloves when handling anything with blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk on it.
As the disease progresses
Like other people nearing death, a person with AIDS who is near death:
* Sleeps more and more and is hard to wake up. Talk to them and do things during those times when they do seem alert.
* Becomes confused about where they are, the time or date, or who people are. Don’t scold them for forgetting, just tell them.
* Begins to wet their pants or lose bowel control. Clean them using gloves and use powder or lotion to prevent rashes. A catheter for passing urine may become necessary.
* Has skin that feels cool to the touch and may turn darker on the side of their body touching the bed as the circulation slows down. Keep them covered with warm blankets.
* May have trouble seeing or hearing. Even so, never talk to other people as if the person with AIDS can’t hear you.
* May seem restless, pulling at the sheets on the bed or begin to see things that you don’t. Stay calm, speak slowly and reassure the person.
* Has noisy breathing because they can’t cough up the fluids that collect in the back of their throat. Talk to their doctor; the doctor may suggest raising the head of the bed or putting extra pillows under their head. Turning them on their side may also help. If they can swallow, feed them some ice chips. If they have trouble swallowing, a cool, wet washcloth on the lips can keep their mouth and lips moist and may satisfy their thirst. If they begin to have irregular breathing or seem to stop breathing, call the doctor.
