Saturday, February 9, 2008

Long-term Care of Children with HIV / AIDS

Cases of HIV infection and AIDS among children are complex and should be managed by health professionals experienced. Children need their treatment schedules closely monitored and adjusted regularly. Any infections that could be life-threatening must be recognized and treated promptly.

The drugs are adjusted in relation to the child's viral load. A child's health is monitored by measuring the frequency of T-cell levels because they are the cells that destroy the HIV virus. Many of the T cells is a positive sign that medical treatments are working to keep the disease under control.

Children will need to visit their health care providers often work for the blood, physical examinations and discussions on how they and their families cope socially with all the stress of their illness. Some vaccinations during routine visits may be slightly different for infants or children living with HIV / AIDS. A child whose immune system is severely compromised not receive live virus, including vaccines measles-mumps-rubella and chickenpox (varicella). All other routine vaccinations are given as usual, and an annual influenza vaccine (flu) is recommended as well.

If a family wants to health care in an emergency department, parents should make sure to tell the nurse who registers the child that the child is infected with HIV. This will help medical caregivers alert to look closely for any sign of illness of opportunistic infections and to provide the best possible treatment.

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