1. The client/caregiver can define AIDS.
    1. AIDS is caused by HIV.
    2. HIV kills or damages cells of the body’s immune system.
    3. This damage destroys the body’s ability to fight infections and certain cancers.
    4. Viruses or bacteria that are not a threat to healthy people become opportunistic and life-threatening infections for the person diagnosed with AIDS.
    5. The term AIDS usually applies to the most advanced stages of HIV infection.
  2. The client/caregiver can list methods of transmission.
    1. HIV is spread through contact with contaminated blood. Because of blood screening and heat treatment for donated blood, the risk of getting HIV from transfusions is extremely small.
    2. HIV is spread most often by having unprotected sex with an infected partner.
    3. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex.
    4. HIV can spread among injection drug users by sharing needles or syringes that are contaminated with infected blood.
    5. Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or at the time of birth.
  3. The client/caregiver can list risky behavior practices to be avoided in the prevention of the spread of HIV.
    1. Sharing of drug needles or syringes
    2. Having sexual contact, including oral, with an infected person without using a condom
    3. Having sexual contact with someone whose HIV status is unknown
  4. The client/caregiver can recognize early signs and symptoms of HIV.
    1. Flu-like symptoms within a month or two after exposure to the virus
    2. Fever
    3. Headache
    4. Swollen glands
    5. Fatigue
  5. The client/caregiver can recognize symptoms experienced later in the course of the disease.
    1. Swollen glands for more than 3 months
    2. Weight loss
    3. Frequent fevers and sweats
    4. Persistent or frequent yeast infections of mouth or vagina
    5. Persistent skin rashes
    6. Pelvic inflammatory disease in women that do not respond to treatment
    7. Short-term memory loss
    8. Frequent or severe herpes infections that cause mouth, genital, or anal sores or the painful nerve disease called shingles
  6. The client/caregiver can list tests common for the diagnosis of AIDS.
    1. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
    2. Western blot, which is used to confirm the results of the ELISA test
  7. The client/caregiver can list measures to prevent AIDS.
    1. Avoid sex with multiple partners.
    2. Avoid intravenous drug abuse.
    3. Avoid sharing needles or syringes.
    4. Use condoms correctly.
  8. The client/caregiver can list measures to manage AIDS and prevent opportunistic infections.
    1. Avoid infections with good handwashing and personal hygiene.
    2. Avoid exposure to infection, such as people with respiratory infections, shingles, and tuberculosis or children with chicken pox.
    3. Report any signs and symptoms of infection.
    4. Use stress-management techniques.
    5. Set up an emotional support network with family, friends, or support groups.
    6. Eat a nutritious diet. Check high-calorie diets in therapeutic diets. Check food safety and prevention of foodborne illness in nutrition education.
    7. Maintain a balance of rest and exercise.
    8. Avoid donating blood or semen.
    9. Inform health care providers of the diagnosis.
    10. Inform sex partners of diagnosis.
    11. Keep follow-up appointments with the physician and laboratory.
    12. Avoid alcohol and tobacco product use.
    13. Avoid exposure to infection, such as people with respiratory infections, shingles, and tuberculosis or children with chicken pox.
    14. Use extra care when dealing with pets. Do not touch pet litter boxes, feces, bird droppings, or water in fish tanks.
    15. Use extra care with gardening activities. Germs live in gardens and potting soil. Wear gloves while handling dirt, and use good hand hygiene.
  9. The client/caregiver can list measures to maintain body requirements for nutrition.
    1. Provide good oral hygiene.
    2. Eat small, more frequent meals.
    3. Rest one-half hour after meals.
    4. Take vitamin and mineral supplements as ordered.
    5. Take medication (antiemetics) for nausea and vomiting as needed.
  10. The client/caregiver can list precautions to prevent transmission of the virus.
    1. Personal care
      • Hands and other parts of the body should be washed immediately after contact with blood or other body fluids. Surfaces soiled with blood should be disinfected appropriately.
      • Gloves should be worn during contact with blood or other body fluids that could possibly contain visible blood, such as urine, feces, or vomit.
      • Cuts, sores, or breaks on both the caregiver and client’s exposed skin should be covered with bandages.
    2. Equipment
      • Needles and other sharp instruments should be used only when medically necessary.
      • Do not put caps back on needles by hand. Do not remove needles from syringes. Dispose of needles in puncture-proof containers out of the reach of children and visitors.
      • Infected persons should not share razors, toothbrushes, tweezers, nail or cuticle items, pierced earrings, or other pierced jewelry.
      • Disposable gloves should only be used once and then discarded.
    3. Household items and linens
      • Clothes and bed sheets used by someone with AIDS can be washed the same way as other laundry.
      • 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 soiled linens in plastic bags until you can wash them. You can but do not need to add bleach to kill HIV; a normal wash cycle will kill the virus.
      • Fabrics and furniture can be cleaned with soap and water or cleansers that you can buy in a store; follow the directions on the box. Wear gloves while cleaning.
      • About one-quarter cup of bleach mixed with 1 gallon of water makes a good disinfectant for floors, showers, tubs, sinks, mops, sponges, and so forth.
      • Soiled disposable items such as gloves, soiled underpads, or dressings should be secured in heavy-duty plastic garbage bags.
      • Clean the food preparation area and bathroom area with hot, soapy water and then with a solution that is one part bleach to nine parts water.
    4. Personal
      • The proper and consistent use of latex or polyurethane (a type of plastic) condoms when engaging in sexual intercourse— vaginal, anal, or oral—can greatly reduce a person’s risk of
        acquiring or transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection.
      • If a person with AIDS has a cough that lasts longer than a week, the doctor should check for tuberculosis.
      • If the person with AIDS has fever blisters or cold sores (herpes simplex) around the mouth or nose, do not kiss or touch the sores.
      • If you have to touch the sores to help the person, wear gloves and wash your hands carefully as soon as you take the gloves off.
    5. Proper condom use
      • Use latex or polyurethane condoms. Never reuse a condom.
      • Store condoms in a cool, dry place. Do not store in car or wallet.
      • Check expiration date.
      • Place the condom on an erect (hard) penis before any contact with the partner’s genital area.
      • Use a water-based lubricant with latex condoms to help prevent the condom from tearing. Do not use oil-based products, such as baby or cooking oils, hand lotion, or petroleum jelly as lubricants.
      • Hold the condom in place at the base of the penis before withdrawing after sex.
      • Properly dispose of condoms.
      • Avoid use of lubricants with spermicide called nonoxynol-9 (N-9). It may cause skin irritation or abrasions that can make the area more susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases.

Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/factsheets/index.html

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
www.nih.gov/

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
www.hhs.gov

AIDSinfo
800-HIV-0440 (800-448-0440) or 301-519-0459
888-480-3739 (TTY/TDD)
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov

CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) 800-458-5231
www.cdcnpin.org

Caring for Someone with AIDS at Home
www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/BROCHURE/careathome.htm

CDC-INFO 24 Hours/Day for more information about sex 800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)
888-232-6348 (TTY), in English, en Español

American Social Health Organization
www.ashastd.org/condom/condom

References

Ackley, B. J., & Ladwig, G. B. (2006). Nursing diagnosis handbook: A guide to planning care. Philadelphia: Mosby Inc.
Caring for someone with AIDS at home. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/BROCHURE/careathome.htm.
Cohen, B. J., & Taylor, J. J. (2005). Memmler’s the human body in health and disease (10th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Hitchcock, J. E., Schubert, P. E., & Thomas, S. A. (2003). Community health nursing: Caring in action. Clifton Park, NY:Thomson Delmar Learning.
How to use a condom. (1999–2007). American Social Health Organization. Research Triangle Park, NC.
Hunt, R. (2005). Introduction to community based nursing. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Lutz, C., & Przytulski, K. (2001). Nutrition and diet therapy. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company.
Nutrition made incredibly easy. (2003). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Timby, B. K., & Smith, N. C. (2003). Introductory medical-surgical nursing (8th ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Credits

Client Teaching Guides for Home Health Care, 2nd ed.
© 2008 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
www.jbpub.com

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