When you first learn that you have HIV, it can feel like your life is completely over. But what you must understand is that your life is not over. Instead, your life is just going in a new direction. There are millions of people around the world with HIV who are living completely normal and happy lives. You just have to know how to take care of yourself and then you can be happy and productive in your life too. Below are 5 tips on how you can take care of yourself in this way.
1) Listen to your Doctor
Make sure you take all the prescription drugs that your doctor gives you and never skip a day. These drugs will help reduce the symptoms of the virus and it will keep your immune system stronger. If you were to skip just one day, the virus could find a way to become resistant to the prescription drugs. This would be devastating because then it would be harder to treat.
2) Safe Sex Only
This tip should be self-explanatory but it is still worth mentioning. Since you have HIV, you could easily infect another person if you were to have unprotected sex with them. But even if you do have safe sex, you should also tell the person that you have HIV beforehand. In addition, you also want to make sure you are not getting another disease from the person you are having sex with. This could worsen the symptoms of your HIV if you do get another disease.
3) Be Extremely Sanitary
You have a weakened immune system once you have HIV. This means that you are more prone to getting infected by germs and bacteria that exist on practically everything. That is why you need to wash your hands regularly and avoid being around other people who may have the flu or virus too.
4) Get Healthier
If you have been neglecting your physical and mental health, it is time to do something about that. HIV can easily make you depressed which will then lead to more self-destructive decisions like eating junk food, smoking, alcoholism, and so on. You need to cut out the junk food and eat healthier. You need to get rid of all stimulants from your life including tobacco, alcohol, and even coffee in some cases. Instead, you’ll want to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, and do everything else you can to make the rest of your body healthy. Since HIV affects the immune system, you cannot afford to be unhealthy any longer.
5) Find Support Groups
HIV is a disease that you must live with for the rest of your life once you have it. This can have a devastating effect on you mentally. Like alcoholics, you need to find other people who are in a similar situation as you if you are going to learn to deal with your problem. Fortunately, you can search for HIV support groups in your local community by simply going online. You can even find support blogs and forums to do this where you don’t even have to leave your house.
