4 Tips to Avoid Infection as an HIV Caregiver

While it’s true that you can’t get HIV from everyday contact with air, food, water, insects, animals, dishes, or toilet seats; you can get it from bodily fluids. If you are a caregiver of someone that is living with HIV, it’s highly likely that you are coming in contact with bodily fluids so it is important to take the appropriate preventative steps to protect yourself. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, Black caregivers experience higher burdens from caregiving and spend more time caregiving than other ethnicities. So these important tips on eliminating your risk of getting HIV from someone you care for are extremely important.

“There’s something we refer to as universal precautions. A person should take precautions against infectious diseases whenever they come into [contact with] anybody’s blood or body fluids,” says Jennifer A. Shuford, MD, MPH, director of applied science at the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Tex.

1. Wear disposable gloves

Protecting your skin from infectious bodily fluids is very important, Shuford notes. Blood and other infected bodily fluids can enter the body through open wounds or sores, mucous membranes (moist areas of skin like the mouth, the vagina, and the eyes) and even through tiny cracks in the skin that you can’t even see.

If you are coming in contact with the bodily fluids or blood from an infected person, it is best to wear disposable gloves when doing so. If you are cleaning articles soiled with urine, feces, or vomit, wear rubber gloves. Although HIV isn’t spread by contact with these body products, it can prevent infection with other germs. Additionally, in the case that your loved ones’ feces or urine contains blood, gloves and other skin protection can protect you when cleaning the toilet or bedpan.

“If you know a surface has been contaminated with blood or body fluids, clean it with a 10 percent bleach solution,” says Shuford.

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You should also remember to cover any cuts, sores, or breaks in your exposed skin when dealing with the bodily fluids or blood of an infected person.

“Any time they are dealing with blood or body fluids with anybody who is HIV infected, they should wear gloves,” says Dr. Shuford, and they should also take care to cover and protect any other part of their body that could be exposed to the infected body fluid.

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2. Wash your hands

Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after contact with blood or bodily fluids even if you are wearing gloves.

3. Handle needles or lancets carefully

These are used for people living with diabetes who inject themselves with medicine to test their blood for diabetes. When dealing with needles or lancets, pay close attention to how you are handling them to avoid sticking yourself. If you do accidentally stick yourself, contact your doctor as soon as possible for further evaluation and/or treatment with antiviral medications. The risk of developing an HIV infection is about 1 in 300, but this risk can be greatly reduced if you get treatment right away, preferably within 1 to 2 hours, according to the CDC.

4. Treat wounds with caution

If your loved one injuries themself, you’ll need to take precautions when dressing the wound and cleaning up the blood. Wear gloves when treating any wounds and cleaning up the area.

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Avoid putting the needles back on the cap with your bare hand.

If you are handling used syringes, you should carefully pick them up by the barrel and drop them into a puncture-proof container.

Additionally, if you are caring for someone with HIV, remember these tips from Kaiser Permanente:

• Wash clothing and linens as you normally would. The clothes do not need to be separated from the rest of the household laundry.
• Separate dishes or eating utensils are not needed. Dishes used by a person infected with HIV do not require special methods of cleaning.
• Let the person infected with HIV prepare meals if he or she would like to. The virus cannot be spread through food handling.
• Do not share razors or toothbrushes with anyone who has HIV because these items sometimes have blood on them.
• Flush all liquid waste that contains blood down the toilet.
• Place in a plastic bag all items that are soiled with blood, semen, or vaginal fluid and are not flushable, such as paper towels, sanitary pads and tampons, and wound dressings. Close the bag securely before placing it in a trash container. Check with your doctor or local health department to be sure you are following proper disposal regulations for your area.

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Getting assistance

Being a caregiver for someone with HIV may not always be easy. If you are unsure of what to do in a particular situation, contact your loved one’s doctor. In some cases, if you are unsure of how to proceed or uncomfortable with performing a task, doctors may be able to provide in-home nursing assistance. Caring for someone that is living with HIV does come with some risks, but you can greatly eliminate your risk by understanding the best way to protect yourself.