HIV/AIDS - WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Lesia Oesterreich, M.S.
Family Life Extension Specialist
Human Development and Family Studies
Iowa State University

Copyright/Access Information


It is possible that you may knowingly or unknowingly care for a child with HIV infection. You should be aware that:

• HIV is known to be spread only 5 ways:
  1. through unprotected anal, vaginal, or oral sexual intercourse
  2. through shared needles or syringes contaminated by HIV infected blood
  3. through a blood transfusion
  4. from a pregnant woman to a fetus or newborn
  5. through infected blood or body fluids to an open cut or sore.
  
• No documented case of HIV infection has been spread by biting, swimming, kissing, or sharing food, utensils, and articles of personal hygiene.
  
• Not one of the known cases of HIV infection in children has been attributed to children transmitting the disease to other children.
  
• It is possible to have HIV infection and show no signs of illness.
  
• It is not possible to tell if a child has HIV infection without a medical diagnosis.
  
• Symptoms of HIV infection in children include: developmental delays and losses, weakness, irritability, fever, weight loss, diarrhea, frequent sickness, thrush, skin rashes, pneumonia, or enlarged liver, spleen, and lymph nodes.
  
• Children with HIV infection generally develop AIDS at an early age, approximately 50 percent by the first year and 82 percent by 3 years of age.
  
• Only about one-third of infants born to mothers who are HIV infected will also be infected.
  
• Children with AIDS will have periods of wellness and illness.
  
• Generally, under federal and most state antidiscrimination laws, it is illegal to refuse to accept a child into your program because he may be HIV infected.
  
• Notifying parents of other children about the presence of a child who is or may be HIV infected violates confidentiality and is illegal.

UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS

Be prepared to protect yourself and others against the transmission of blood-borne illnesses such as Hepatitis B or AIDS. You can become infected with these diseases if blood or body fluids containing blood from an infected person enters your body through your skin via a cut, a
needle stick, or a bite wound; through skin that is chapped, scraped, or otherwise broken; or through a mucous membrane, such as a blood splatter to your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Take precautions that protect your body from exposure to these substances, rather than concentrate on who may become or currently is infected. People who have these diseases often show no symptoms.

PROVIDE A BARRIER BETWEEN YOU AND THE BLOOD OR BODY FLUID BY:

• Wearing disposable latex gloves.
  
• Using paper or fabric to control bleeding. Use thick amounts of toweling to apply pressure to the wound.

CLEAN CONTAMINATED SURFACES:

• Wear disposable latex gloves to clean up any spilled blood or body fluids.
  
• Use freshly diluted bleach (1/4 cup of chlorinated bleach per gallon of water) to clean soiled surfaces.

DISPOSE OF WASTE PROPERLY:

• Put all paper products and gloves into a plastic bag that is closed with a twist tie or zipped shut.
  
• Place sharp items in a hard container before disposal.
  
• Remove gloves by pulling from the cuff down toward your fingertips, turning the gloves inside out as you take them off. Place gloves in a plastic bag.

WASH HANDS PROPERLY:

• Remove watches and rings.
  
• Use liquid soap (antibacterial soap is best). If not available, use bar soap.
  
• Lather and rub for 20 seconds. Rinse well under running water.
  
• Dry with paper towels, and put towels in plastic bag with other waste.
  
• If soap and water are not available, individual towelettes with a disinfectant could be used.

SOURCES

*Serving Children with HIV Infection in Child Day Care*, Donna Pressma & L. Jean Emery, Child Welfare League of America, 1991.

*Caring for Our Children, National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Program*, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1992.

*Universal Precautions*, Pm-1565, Iowa State University, 1994.