Tuesday, March 19, 2024

How To Take Care Of Hiv Patient At Home

Care Services For People With Hiv And Their Families

How To Care For Persons Living With HIV/AID – Tips For Home Care Givers
RESOURCE GUIDE

Contra Costa County provides services for people with HIV to increase access to medical care and to help people to stay as healthy and as independent as possible. The core of our system revolves around medical case management services that provide service coordination to clients living with HIV based on their level of health.

Our network consists of medical and nurse case management services that operate at homes and clinics throughout the community. Referrals into the medical case management program can be made by clinical providers, self-referrals or referrals from other network supports.

When enrolled, a consumer of services will be eligible to access medical case management education and prevention services assistance with partner notification medication adherence support AIDS Drug Assistance Program other community resources. Home-based services are also available for those who are severely ill or who are homebound.

The HIV/AIDS & STD Program Medical Social Worker of the day serves as a centralized source of information and referral for people living with HIV in Contra Costa County. If you or someone you know is HIV+ and interested in finding out more about services in our county, call 925-313-6771 during regular business hours for more information.

In addition, if you have no health coverage, contact the Medical Case Management Social Worker of the Day at 925-313-6771 to discuss your options.

Nurse Case Management

  • HIV Positive,

Watching Out For Their Health

The caretakers need to watch out for any changes of physical symptoms in people with HIV. It may include the weight of the patient, their glucose levels, any signs of weakness or their eye health. They should also keep a watch on the medicines they are taking and make sure that no new medicines they are taking without consulting a doctor.

Help Prevent The Spread Of Hiv

If you are on HIV medicine and the amount of virus in your body is undetectable, your risk for spreading HIV to someone is very low. Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load is the best thing you can do to stay healthy and to prevent spreading HIV. Here are some tips:

  • Never share needles or other equipment for drug use.
  • If you get tattoos or have any parts of your body pierced, be sure that the needles are destroyed afterward.
  • Don’t donate blood, plasma, semen, or organs.
  • If you are trying to have a baby, make sure you are taking your antiretroviral medicine each day and your viral load is undetectable. This is important both before conceiving and during the pregnancy.
  • If your viral load is not undetectable, you can protect your sex partner by:
  • Using condoms every time you have anal or vaginal sex.
  • Choosing lower risk sexual activities, such as oral sex.
  • Talking with your partner about pre-exposure prophylaxis . This is medicine your partner takes daily to prevent HIV.

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How Do I Talk With People About Having Hiv

It might feel scary to admit that you have HIV, but talking about things can really ease your mind. You could lean on a close, non-judgmental friend or family member whom you trust to keep the conversation private. Counselors and support groups can also be sources of comfort and they can help you figure out how to talk with others about your HIV. Be careful about who you tell your status to people with HIV sometimes deal with unfair discrimination.

Theres no one right way to talk to your partners about having HIV, but here are some basic tips that might help:

  • Try to stay calm and remember that youre not the only one dealing with this. Millions of people have HIV, and plenty of them are in relationships. Try to go into the conversation with a calm, positive attitude. Having HIV is a health issue, and it doesnt mean anything about you as a person.

  • Know your HIV and AIDS facts. There are a lot of myths about HIV out there, so read up on the facts and be ready to answer your partners questions. Check out HIV.gov. Let your partner know there are medications that can help you live for a long time and avoid passing HIV to them. Safer sex like condoms and PrEP can also help protect your partner.

  • Its really important to also tell your past partners that you have HIV, so they can get tested, too. A lot of health departments have programs that let your partners know they were exposed to HIV without giving them your name unless you want them to.

    Tend To Their General Wellness

    (RED) on Twitter: " Korle Bu Hospital is leading the AIDS ...

    Do your best to give them a well-balanced diet with plenty of nutrients, fiber, and fluids. Fatty or fried foods aren’t a good idea.

    Take care while you’re making meals and snacks to avoid food-borne illnesses. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables well peel or cook organic vegetables. Cook meats and poultry well, and avoid uncooked seafood and raw eggs. Keep your hands, cooking utensils, and prep surfaces clean.

    Encourage your loved one to eat as much as they can. Their doctor may prescribe a drug that can help fight queasiness and throwing up.

    If they spend a lot of time in bed, help them shift around often. Staying in one position can lead to bed sores, stiff joints, pneumonia, and more. A doctor, nurse, or physical therapist can teach you simple arm, leg, hand, and foot exercises that boost circulation and ease joint stiffness. If possible, get your loved one out of bed for part of every day. A nurse can show you how to move them to a chair safely.

    To protect their skin, put soft material under them, such as sheepskin or an “egg crate” foam mattress, and keep the sheets dry. Massage the body parts that press down on the bed. If you notice redness or broken areas on their skin, let their doctor or nurse know right away.

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    National Institutes Of Health

    • CombatCOVIDThis site for consumers and health care providers offers facts about monoclonal antibody treatments and how to take part in clinical trials for COVID-19 new COVID-19 treatments. People over age 12 who are at high risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms may qualify for monoclonal antibody treatment.
    • COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network The CoVPN seeks to enroll thousands of volunteers in large-scale clinical trials of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for the prevention of COVID-19 disease. It was formed by merging four long-standing NIAID-funded clinical trial networks, including three that target HIV and AIDS. Interested individuals can sign up to potentially take part in a current or future clinical trial.
    • Interim Guidance for COVID-19 and Persons with HIVThis interim guidance reviews special considerations for persons with HIV and their health care providers in the United States regarding COVID-19.
    • NIH COVID-19 Treatment GuidelinesThese Treatment Guidelines were developed to inform clinicians how to care for patients with COVID-19. These Guidelines will be updated as new information becomes available.
    • NIH.gov/coronavirusThis page provides the latest news about COVID-19 research from NIH.
    • NLM: COVID-19This National Library of Medicine site provides links to clinical studies, journal articles, text mining collections, and other COVID-19 resources.

    What Can Women Do

    The most effective way to prevent HIV is to abstain from sexual activity and injection drug use. However, if you are sexually active or use injection drugs, today there are more tools available to prevent HIV. You can:

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    What Are The Most Important Things To Know About Abacavir

    Abacavir can cause serious, life-threatening side effects. These include a serious allergic reaction, a buildup of lactic acid in the blood , and liver problems.

    People who take abacavir may have a serious allergic reaction that can cause death. Your risk of this allergic reaction is much higher if you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701. Your health care provider can determine if you have this gene variation with a blood test. If you get a symptom from two or more of the following groups while taking abacavir, contact your health care provider right away to find out if you should stop taking abacavir.

    • Group 1 Symptoms: Fever
    • Group 3 Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain
    • Group 4 Symptoms: General ill feeling, extreme tiredness, or achiness
    • Group 5 Symptoms: Shortness of breath, cough, sore throat

    Your pharmacist will give you a Warning Card with a list of these symptoms. Always carry this Warning Card with you at all times. If you stop taking abacavir because of an allergic reaction, never take abacavir or any other abacavir-containing medicine again.

    Contact your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms that could be signs of lactic acidosis:

    • Weakness or tiredness
    • Shortness of breath or fast breathing
    • Stomach pain with nausea and vomiting
    • Cold or blue hands and feet
    • Dizziness or lightheadedness
    • Fast or abnormal heartbeat

    Search Methods For Identification Of Studies

    Dying at home

    The following electronic databases were searched from 1980 to March 2015: Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, AIDSearch, CINAHL, PsycINFO/LIT, with an updated search in MEDLINE in November 2016. Detailed search strategies were compiled for each database searched . Clinicaltrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched in March 2015 to identify on-going trials. The strategy was iterative, in that references of included studies were searched for additional references. All languages were included.

    Table 1 MEDLINE search strategy

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    Why Is It Important To Do This Review

    In addition to the delivery of ART, other current key issues in the multidimensional care of HIV/AIDS include counselling and home-based testing, pre-ART care , delivery of preventative interventions, distribution of prophylaxis, treatment of opportunistic infections and supportive psychosocial activities.

    Young found a range of HBC models and interventions for HIV but these were generally from small studies and the majority were based in developed countries . Since this review was published, there has been a change in the evidence with more focus on HBC in LMICs. Home-based HIV voluntary counselling and testing has been found to have the potential to increase uptake in developing countries . Nurses are an important element of HBC for HIV but have not been covered in depth in Young or any other recent review. This review assesses the effects of home-based nursing to reduce morbidity in people infected with HIV/AIDS.

    Addressing Gender Inequalities In Some Elements Of Home

    Selected components of home-based care programmes where gender inequalities may be most relevant are outlined below:

    Man enough to care?: Africare’s male empowerment project . Africare’s male empowerment project, Man enough to care?, is designed to address the imbalance in rural Zimbabwe between male and female caregiving for

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    Caring For An Hiv+ Family Member Or Friend

    HIV cannot penetrate healthy skin. In order for it to enter the body, there must be a break in the skin. As a safeguard against contact with blood or body fluids, a person providing care for bleeding wounds should wear disposable gloves. This is a precautionary measure to ensure that the person is not exposed to the virus through tiny cuts in the hands that may be unnoticed.

    The infected person should reserve a thermometer for personal use. It should be washed with warm soapy water after each use, soaked in rubbing alcohol for 10 minutes, dried and stored.

    Counselling And Emotional Support

    AIDS?

    Miles assessed the psychosocial impact of home visits carried out by three registered nurses in the homes of African American women with HIV who were the principal caregivers for one or more children under the age of nine . At six months, there was a statistically significant difference in scores for physical functioning ) , HIV stigma and HIV worry . For depressive symptoms scale), mood ), general health, and overall functioning , no statistically significant difference was found. This study however had a high loss to follow up which weakens the quality of results.

    Wang examined the effects of nurse-delivered home visits combined with telephone calls on the quality of life of HIV-infected heroin users . The intervention had a significant effect in reducing the symptoms of depression ) . Quality of life measures also improved including physical , psychological , social and environmental domains.

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    Take Your Hiv Medicine As Prescribed

    • This will help keep your viral load low and your CD4 count high.
    • Take your HIV medicine exactly how your health care provider tells you toat specific times of the day, with or without certain kinds of food.
    • Keep track of your medicine and schedule.
    • Talk to your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions about when or how to take your medicine, or if you are experiencing any side effects.

    The Stages Of Hiv Infection

    Currently, there is no cure for HIV infection.

    HIV infection has three distinct stages, as defined by the CDC : HIV Primary or Acute infection, HIV Chronic or Asymptomatic infection, and HIV as AIDS.

    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is the final stage of HIV infection. AIDS occurs when the bodys immune system has been so badly damaged that the individual is highly vulnerable to diseases, infections, and even infection-related cancers.

    Common problems of individuals with HIV infection are:

    • Consistently taking medication

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    What Else Can I Do To Take Care Of Myself

    Many of the things we do to take care of ourselves are common sense, such as eating well, exercising and getting plenty of rest and sleep.

    However, if youre living with HIV, checking in with your healthcare professional regularly is also important. They should monitor you for other health conditions, which you may experience more as you age, and adjust your treatment as needed.

    Teeth and mouth complaints are more common among people living with HIV. Regular brushing, flossing and seeing your dentist can lower the risk of cavities and mouth infections.

    How Can You Keep Your Child With Hiv Healthy

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    Many medicines are available now to suppress HIV. These medicines do not cure the HIV infection, but they can keep the virus undetectable for decades. One of the best ways to keep your child healthy is to make sure your child uses these medicines as directed by your child’s healthcare provider.

    Helpful ideas include those you would use for any other child, such as proper hand-washing techniques. Clean hands help keep your child from catching colds and from developing other illnesses. Teach your child to wash his or her hands thoroughly at an early age.

    Keeping healthy habits can prevent illness. Other ways you can help your child stay healthy include the following:

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    Help Manage Their Affairs

    You should understand what medications they’re taking, when and how to take them, what side effects are possible, and when to call their doctor. Stay in touch with the doctor for updates on your loved one’s health and what they need.

    Offer to drive them to doctor and lab appointments. Help with things like filling out insurance forms and calling the hospital billing department. Pick up their prescriptions.

    For some medical care or life-support decisions, you may need to be legally named as the coordinator for their care. If you’re going to file insurance claims or pay bills, you may also need a power of attorney.

    The subject of a will can be difficult to address, but they should make one — before mental competence becomes an issue. They should also think about a living will, which specifies the medical care they do or don’t want.

    If your loved one is open to it, you can talk about their wishes for the end of their life. For example, do they want to die at home or at a hospice? Do they want to plan their own funeral or memorial service?

    As difficult as this discussion can be, it can help you both feel confident that their remembrance will handled in a fitting way. And it makes decisions easier for friends and family when the time comes.

    Discharge Instructions For Hiv Infection And Aids

    Youve been diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS is a disease than can be life threatening. HIV attacks the body’s immune system, making it tougher to fight infection. For most people, infections are normally not severe or fatal. But for people with HIV or AIDS, these infections can sometimes cause severe complications. They can even be deadly if the body cant fight them well enough. Unlike most other viruses, the body can’t get rid of HIV. Here’s what you can do to help stay healthier and prevent the spread of HIV.

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