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Guarding Against Infections
People living with AIDS can get very sick from common germs
and
infections. Hugging, holding hands, giving massages, and many
other
types of touching are safe for you, and needed by the person with
AIDS.
But you have to be careful not to spread germs that can hurt the
person you are caring for.
Wash Your Hands:
Washing your hands is the single best way to kill germs. Do it
often! Wash your hands after you go to the bathroom and before
you fix food. Wash your hands again before and after feeding
them, bathing them, helping them go to the bathroom, or giving
other care. Wash your hands if you sneeze or cough; touch your
nose, mouth, or genitals; handle garbage or animal litter; or clean
the house. If you touch anybody's blood, semen, urine vaginal
fluid, or feces, wash your hands immediately. If you are caring
for more than one person, wash your hands after helping one
person and before helping the next person. Wash your hands
with warm, soapy water for at least 15 seconds. Clean under
your fingernails and between your fingers. If your hands get dry
or sore, put on hand cream or lotion, but keep washing your
hands frequently.
Cover your sores:
If you have any cuts or sores, especially on your hands, you
must take extra care not to infect the person with AIDS or
yourself. If you have cold sores, fever blisters, or any other skin
infection, don't touch the person or their things. You could pass
your infection to them. If you have to give care, cover your sores
with bandages and wash your hands before touching the person.
If the rash or sores are on your hands, wear disposable gloves.
Do not use gloves more than one time; throw them away and get
a new pair. If you have boils, impetigo, or shingles, if at all
possible, stay away from the person with AIDS until you are
well,
Keep Sick People Away:
If you or anybody else is sick, stay away from the person with
AIDS until you are well. A person with AIDS often can't fight off
colds, flu, or other common illnesses. If you are sick and nobody
else can do what needs to be done for the person with AIDS,
wear a well-fitting, surgical-type mask that covers your mouth
and nose and wash your hands before coming near the person
with AIDS.
Watch Out for Chickenpox:
Chickenpox can kill a person with AIDS. If the person you are
caring for has already had chickenpox, they probably won't get it
again.
Get Your Shots:
Everybody living with or helping take care of a person with AIDS
should make sure they took all their "childhood" shots
(immunizations). This is not only to keep you from getting sick,
but also to keep you from getting sick and accidentally
spreading the illness to the person with AIDS. Just to be sure,
ask your doctor if you need any shots or boosters for measles,
mumps, or rubella. Since these shots may not have been
available when you were a child. Discuss any vaccinations with
your doctor and the doctor of the person with AIDS before you
get the shot. If the person with AIDS is near a person with
measles, call the doctor that day. There is a medicine that can
make the measles less dangerous, but it has to be given very
soon after the person is around the germ.
Children or adults who live with someone with AIDS and who need to get vaccinated against Polio should get an injection with "inactivated virus" vaccine. The regular oral polio vaccine has weakened polio virus that can spread from the person who got the vaccine to the person with AIDS and give them polio,
Everyone living with a person with AIDS should get a flu shot every year to reduce the chances of spreading the flu to the person with AIDS. Everyone with AIDS should be checked for tuberculosis (TB) every year.
Be Careful With Pets and Gardening:
Pets can give love and companionship. Having a pet around call
make a person with AIDS feel better and enjoy life more.
However, people with HIV or AIDS should not touch pet litter
boxes, feces, bird droppings, or water in fish tanks. Many pet
animals carry germs that don't make healthy people sick, but
can make the person with AIDS very sick. A person with AIDS
can have pets, but must wash their hands with soap and water
after handling the pet. Someone who does not have HIV infection
must clean the litter boxes, cages, fish tanks, pet beds, and other
things. Wear rubber gloves when you clean up after pets and
wash your hands before and after cleaning. Empty litter boxes
every day, don't just sift. Just like the people living with a
person with AIDS, pets need yearly checkups and current
vaccinations. If the pet gets sick, take it to the veterinarian right
away. Someone with AIDS should not touch the sick animal.
Gardening can also be a problem. Germs live in garden or potting soil. A person with AIDS can garden, but they must wear work gloves when handling dirt, and must wash their hands before and after handling dirt.
Personal Items:
A person with HIV infection should not share razors,
toothbrushes, tweezers, nail or cuticle scissors, pierced earrings
or other "pierced" jewelry, or any other item that might have
their blood on it.
Laundry:
Clothes and bed sheets used by someone with AIDS can be
washed the same way as other laundry. If you use a washing
machine, either hot or cold water can be used, with regular
laundry detergent. If clothes or sheets have blood, vomit, semen,
vaginal fluids, urine, or feces on them, use disposable gloves and
handle the clothes or sheets as little as possible. Put them in
plastic bags until you can wash them. You can, but you don't
need to add bleach to kill HIV; a normal wash cycle will kill the
virus. Clothes may also be dry cleaned or hand-washed. If stains
from blood, semen, or vaginal fluids are on the clothes, soaking
them in cold water before washing will help remove the stains.
Fabrics and furniture can be cleaned with soap and water or
cleansers you can buy in a store; just follow the directions on the
box. Wear gloves while cleaning.
Cleaning House:
Cleaning kills germs that may be dangerous to the person with
AIDS. You may want to clean and dust the house every week.
Clean tubs, showers, and sinks often; use household cleaners,
then rinse with fresh water. You may want to wet mop floors at
least once a week. Clean the toilet often; use bleach mixed with
water or a commercial toilet bowl cleaner. You may clean urinals
and bedpans with bleach after each use. Replace plastic urinals
and bedpans every month or so. About 1/4 cup of bleach mixed
with 1 gallon of water makes a good disinfectant for floors,
showers, tubs, sinks, mops, sponges, etc. (or 1 tablespoon of
bleach in 1 quart of water for small jobs). Make a new batch
each time because it stops working after about 24 hours. Be sure
to keep the bleach and the bleach and water mix, like other
dangerous chemicals, away from children.
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