Caring For Someone With AIDS
Food
Someone with AIDS can eat anything they want; in fact, the more
the better. A well-balanced diet with plenty of nutrients, fiber,
and liquids is healthy for everybody. Fixing food for a person
with AIDS takes a little care, although you should follow these
same rules for fixing food for anybody.
- Don't use raw (unpasteurized) milk.
- Don't use raw eggs. Be careful; raw eggs may be in
homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, ice cream, fruit
drinks (smoothies), or other homemade foods.
- All beef, pork, chicken, fish, and other meat should be
cooked well done, with no pink in the middle.
- Don't use raw fish or shellfish (like oysters).
- Wash your hands before handling food and wash them
again between handling different foods.
- Wash all utensils (knives, spatulas, mixing spoons, etc.)
before reusing them with other foods. If you taste food
while cooking, use a clean spoon every time you taste; do
not stir with the spoon you taste with. Don't let blood from
uncooked beef, pork, or chicken or water from seafood
touch other food.
- Use a cutting board to cut things on and wash it with soap
and
hot water between each food you cut.
- Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Cook or peel
organic fruits and vegetables because they may have
germs on
the skins. Don't use organic lettuce or other organic
vegetables that cannot be peeled or cooked.
A person living with AIDS does not need separate dishes, knives,
forks, or spoons. Their dishes don't need special cleaning either.
Just wash all
the dishes together with soap or detergent in hot water. A
person with AIDS can fix food for other people. Just like
everybody else who fixes food, people with AIDS should wash
their hands first and not lick their fingers or the utensils while
they are cooking. However, no one who has diarrhea should fix
food.
To keep food from spoiling, serve hot foods hot and cold foods
cold. Cover leftover food and store it in the refrigerator as soon
as possible.
