Living with HIV

If you take your medicines correctly every day, you can lead a normal life and live just as long as someone without HIV.
Take your medicines the way your healthcare provider tells you to. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best medication for you.

If you are not treated, you can infect someone through unprotected sex or your blood. You can infect your baby during pregnancy, delivery or when breastfeeding. With the proper treatment, women with HIV can have healthy children.

Take care of your health by doing the following:

• Eat healthily. This improves your resistance to diseases.
• Exercise regularly.
• Keep cigarettes, drugs and alcohol to a minimum.
• Rest well at night. It will reduce stress.

You cannot infect someone through social contact. You do not have to be scared if, for example, you share a glass or plate with someone or if you touch someone or give a kiss or a French kiss.

If you take your medicines correctly every day, the amount of HIV in your blood (viral load) will reduce. After a few months, it can often no longer be traced, although the virus is still in your body. Then you will no longer be able to infect someone else with HIV.

Under certain conditions, you can have sex without a condom with your steady partner (steady relationship) who does not have HIV. these conditions are:

• If you take your HIV medicines correctly every day.
• If your viral load can no longer be detected for at least six months.
• If your viral load was checked less than six months ago.
• If you and your partner have no other STI and the mucous membrane of your mouth, anus, penis, or vagina is not damaged.

Talk to your healthcare provider and your partner if you want to have sex without a condom.

It is not always easy to live with HIV, so it may help to talk with someone about HIV. Some volunteers provide HIV counselling.

You do not have to tell anybody that you have HIV.