Coping With Your AIDS Diagnosis
If you have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS it could be the most devastating time in your life. Many
decisions will need to be made including finding a doctor, taking care of the financial parts of
your life, and deciding who you should tell about your illness. This can be a confusing
and depressing time in your life and you should have ways of coping with everything that is happening.
One of the ways to cope with this devastating illness is to find a good support group or private
counselor. Your family and friends may be trying to cope with their own emotions and are not able to help
with your needs. A support group of others in your situation will help you to understand each stage of your
disease.
Choose carefully whom you will tell about your diagnosis. You, of course, will need to tell your current
and former sexual partners and anyone else who may be at risk of getting the disease from you. Your personal
medical doctor and staff will need to know so they can take safety precautions while treating you. There are
no legal obligations to tell anyone else of your diagnosis. Your employer will not be told and the law
guarantees your privacy.
The second way to cope with your diagnosis is to come to terms with it. It will probably be the hardest
thing you have had to do in your life. For some people, a strong faith will help them get through this
difficult time. A higher power or something greater than yourself can give you strength and courage to fight
the disease and stay positive.
Others will find support with a professional support group or private counselor. There are many resources
available for people diagnosed with HIV. Some HIV or AIDS patients may decide to live their life to the
fullest. They may want to experience feelings and emotions they have wanted to try but had not done so
yet.
Did You Know?
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Homeopathic treatments for patients with the early stages of HIV and for patients
with early stages of AIDS have been proven effective. Some homeopaths have been able to help
patients in advanced stages of AIDS but these are not considered a normal result.
There are exceptions to this rule and some patients were given a better quality of
life after receiving homeopathic treatment. The use of conventional drugs takes a toll on the body
because of the many side effects. Conventional drugs can stop working if the virus becomes
resistant to those drugs.
An advantage to using homeopathic treatment is they can begin immediately when a
patient starts displaying symptoms of opportunistic infections. Homeopathy has a history for
success in treating infectious diseases. Many of the most fatal infections have successfully been
treated with homeopathic treatment.
History shows patients treated with this natural therapy had lower death rates from
diseases like scarlet fever, pneumonia, typhoid, and cholera. Hospitals, prisons, and insane
asylums experienced high success rates in treating patients with these diseases with homeopathic
treatments. Homeopathic medicine is now being used to treat viral infections in the world
today.
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The song “Live Like You Were Dying” speaks to this issue in an eloquent way. Many HIV and
AIDS patients do things they had been putting off or neglected to do while healthy. Maybe they wanted to see
the world, take a sky dive, or write a novel. Some patients will want to live every second like it was their
last one and get every enjoyment out of life they can.
If you have a companion pet, you can still keep that pet. Your dog or cat can help you with the emotional ups
and downs involved in fighting this disease. There are some safety concerns because of the possibility of
touching parasites your pet may carry on them. If you take the right precautions and keep your hands clean,
you can still keep your pet with you. If you are emptying the kitty litter you will want to take precautions
or have someone else do it for you. If you pick up after your dog there is a similar danger.
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AIDS Facts
You can’t get the virus by breathing the same air as an AIDS patient. It is not an airborne
virus.
You can only get the infection by coming into direct contact with body fluids of a person who
has the HIV virus.
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If you are going to take care of your pet yourself, wear latex gloves and be sure to wash your
hands thoroughly after performing these chores. Always wash your hands with soap and hot water after playing
or petting your pets. Cleanliness is extra important for those patients who have HIV or AIDS.
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