Living - and coping - with HIV

Once the devastating news about one’s HIV status has been received comes the next crucial part: accepting and learning to live with the infection.

Though medical advancements and greater dissemination of relevant knowledge has increased the life expectancy of HIV positive individuals, adapting to a different life after infection is a daunting, emotionally exhausting challenge. One has to adjust to a very strict drug regimen, give up alcohol, practise safe sex, eat well and at the same time cope with opportunistic infections that arise from time to time.

Sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, syphilis, genital ulcer disease and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are among a host of infections that HIV infected persons have to endure. Their immune system, having been attacked by HIV, isn’t strong enough to resist anything else that attacks it. For instance, tuberculosis is a big killer of the HIV infected because of impaired immunity. Skin diseases take advantage and further weigh down the infected person. As though the immune system wasn’t facing torture enough, fungal infections such as candidiasis and oral thrush strike, thriving in warm, moist areas of the mouth and genitals. Mouth infections curb the appetite of the infected yet adequate nutrition is what they need most in order to stay healthy.

Skin infection gives rise to rumors about one’s health status. “I can’t wear miniskirts and sleeveless tops because of skin infection. I feel ugly when I look at myself,” says one girl whose brown skin is poked with black marks caused by skin ailments, “I have lost my self confidence, my friends gossip, shun me and don’t want to share with me anymore. I am lonely.”

To their relief, at least physically, medication exists to alleviate the suffering caused by the infections of opportunity. Creams and disinfectant solutions can manage skin conditions and genital itching. Genital itching can be so severe as to completely distract one’s attention at work, says a youth living with HIV in the Kenyan town of Kisumu. Herbal medicine extracted from locally available plants is an affordable option to HIV positive youth, many of whom are unable to find meaningful work due to their health condition. There are tales of people improvising with yoghurt and vinegar as a relief to genital itching.

At youth counseling centres youth are advised on hygiene standards that could keep pathogens away from their bodies.  However, joining support groups and learning how to live with HIV positively can only prepare them for what they can do for themselves. It cannot do anything about the people they encounter at their homes, neighborhoods, churches and market places. Youth living with HIV contend with constant gossip, discrimination and rejection. They are looked down upon as useless and dying. They are given nasty names by colleagues who may not have taken the test themselves. Even the family members of infected youth are stigmatized and ridiculed by neighbors.

HIV positive youth organize meetings, without the involvement of older persons, in an approach termed, “Peer led Approach to Counseling.” Working under a peer leader, selected from among them, youths initiate and maintain HIV/AIDS related behavior change within their group. A peer led approach covers larger areas and attends to more people using minimal resources. At the same time, the sharing of knowledge among infected youths enhances self confidence and self reliance – a hallmark of positive living.  “Peers understand and trust themselves so they don’t feel threatened by each other,” says Nicholas Ouma, a Peer Counselor also living with HIV. Nicholas, popularly known as Nick, is a well known and respected peer counselor in his village of Mambo Leo, near Kisumu. He is reportedly skilled at communicating ideas in the local Luo language.

Living positively with HIV can be learnt through the peer groups and support organizations. However, the choice of coping positively with HIV has to be made at a very personal level, bearing in mind one’s own tastes and financial status. “I accepted my HIV status and now I live with the hope that, someday, a cure will be found,” says Veronica Avisa, a young woman in the suburbs of Kisumu. Veronica goes on morning jogs along the hilly paths of her neighborhood to stay in good physical shape.

Knowing the importance of staying calm, Veronica manages stress levels by seeking spiritual solace in the church. “Involvement in social work helps keep my mind off sex and whenever I am on a date, we discuss the issue of sex in the relationship, like how far we should go,” adds Veronica.

© 2004 Godfrey Kimega

Back to top