Are you HIV positive? Here’s how to make sure your family does not get it

These precautions should be taken to minimize the risk of spreading the HIV infection to your family.

People with HIV are not dangerous to the people they live with at home or to the community and with whom they have non-sexual contact. That being said, certain precautions should be taken to minimize the risk of spreading the infection to your family. So if you are tested positive for HIV, here are a few measures you should take to keep your family safe.

• First, personal items such as razors, toothbrushes or earrings, should not be shared with anyone else in the family. The virus can spread through open cuts and lesions in the body.
• Latex gloves should be worn by the uninfected family members when they may come into contact with bodily fluids. Also, make sure that your family members wash their hands with soap and water after touching blood and other fluids, even if they were wearing gloves.
• If you are a mother who is HIV positive, you can pass on the virus to your child during pregnancy. Mother-to-child transmission of the virus can also take place through breastfeeding because breast milk in an infected mother has a high viral load. If detected early, chances of passing on the virus can be lowered with medications and ART.
• Make sure that you do not share your syringe with others in your family. Use of unsterilised syringes is still practised in various parts of developing countries, including India. This even includes vaccination given to children. These 9 factors can increase the risk for HIV. 

And if you are HIV positive, you should minimise your exposure to food-borne illnesses carried by raw or undercooked meat, eggs or unpasteurized milk; limiting contact with people who have colds, flu or diarrhoea; and avoiding contact with cages or litter boxes of pets. Here are 11interesting facts about HIV/AIDS you did not know. 

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