The concept of "discordant couples" is used to refer to spouses or partners in whom one is infected with HIV and the other is he althy. Having received a positive result during the examination for the presence of HIV infection, a person finds it impossible to conclude a marriage union with a chosen one who does not have such problems in the future. Experiencing shock, protesting such injustice or falling into a deep depression, an HIV-positive person chooses a soul mate only from such an environment.
But life goes on its own way, it cannot be enclosed in predetermined frameworks and schemes. What was previously considered unimaginable is already becoming part of the life path of an infected person today, and his he althy chosen one marries him. Discordant couples experience a huge amount of difficulties and problems along the way. For an infected partner, there is always a fear of losing a beloved half, in addition, the issue of procreation and the birth of he althy offspring is almost the main thing in a difficult relationship.
Married couples feel misunderstood by loved ones and friends,sometimes they find themselves isolated in their loneliness. Each of us understands that such unions need constant support, their experience is valuable for our society. They absolutely need help in developing fulfilling relationships, gaining behavioral information to reduce the risk of infecting a loved one, and enjoying sexual intercourse without the risk of transmitting the disease.
Knowing about the presence of HIV infection in the body
If a person is he althy, but his contacts are associated with the risk of infection, then by changing his behavior in accordance with the rules, he will avoid infection in future periods. Living in a discordant couple with knowledge of the status of a partner or one's own will allow you to agree on safe sexual contact and help you conceive he althy offspring. Pregnant carriers of the virus, mindful of their status, can bear and give birth to an HIV-negative child.
The life of an infected person is fraught with many difficulties, and, knowing about his illness, he protects relatives and friends from infection with the help of precautionary measures. The earlier the diagnosis is made, the sooner treatment begins, and there is a greater chance of maintaining your he alth.
Period after detection of infection
The adjustment period after diagnosis is extremely difficult for an infected person. At this time, pain or other disorders associated with the development of the virus appear. There is a whole range of emotions that are graded from the experience of life, the fear of leavingyoung children in case of death until the hope of recovery. Some people show the will to live by fighting the disease and wanting to end it.
Attitude towards infection is manifested in the way discordant couples live. Some are distinguished by adequate behavior, according to the state in which they are, others are dismissive of the existing situation, underestimating the seriousness of the situation. There are spouses who discard all thoughts about the future, others, on the contrary, overestimate their condition, their actions and behavior become a real phobia. Psychological help for such partners is to develop a stable attitude and search for positive emotions at every moment of the life path that discordant couples go through.
Main stages of behavior in the adaptation period
Emotions, even in a he althy person, are not stable. Speaking of HIV-infected people, several acute stages of experience should be noted:
- at the initial stage, a state of shock often occurs, which goes into the stage of disbelief and denial, the patient refuses to accept the results of the tests, he seems stunned, shocked, such a state of mind, despite the acuteness of the manifestation, is considered as a protective period for gathering strength and acceptance of the sad reality;
- angry mood strikes a person later, when he realizes that the disease intervened in his relationship and completely changed them, life in a couple becomes difficult or impossible, sohow an infected person blames their spouse or partner for everything;
- sooner or later, just indignation and anger are replaced by a desire to benefit from one’s condition, life frames are narrowed, and a person considers HIV infection as a certain deal, the partner begins to bargain for certain concessions, referring to a deplorable state;
- did not foresee in past frivolous acts;
- feeling of acceptance of reality comes after humility and reassurance about the expectation of the impending fatal consequences, a person morally feels doomed and subject to an inevitable sentence, sometimes destroys discordant couples with this, the patient cannot get infected a second time, he withdraws into himself and renounces from the present.
The patient's actions to develop a positive attitude
The period of comprehensive depression is reduced if the patient follows the rules of everyday behavior developed by psychologists. These tips are advisory, they will not restore he alth, but will allow you to overcome despondency, detachment, return to an ordinary way of existence and create discordant couples for lonely people. What it is, the doctor tells the patient, and the patient gradually begins to believe in the possibility of a he althy continuation of his kind.
At the stage of combating a depressive state, it is not recommended to set overwhelming tasks and far-reaching goals, to overestimate the requirements for yourself. Big things are divided into several easy stages, the realization that today a person has completed what was planned puts him in a good mood. HIV infection in discordant couples cannot be seen as a danger. Self-criticism, self-flagellation does not improve the state of mind, but small pleasures, favorite food, watching an interesting show will make the desire to live more acute.
To reduce the negative impact, you should avoid all kinds of stress, do not communicate with unpleasant interlocutors, identify morally critical situations and try to avoid them by any means. Every morning begins with physical activity, exercises to relieve muscle and nervous tension, walks in nature or in the park, as many discordant couples do. The risk of infection for others is insignificant, and it will bring positive emotions to the patient.
It is also important to observe the daily routine to reduce worries, which are not made up according to a strict principle. It is reasonable to include timed meals, sleep, periods of wakefulness, entertainment, simple duties, and communication with understanding friends. It is recommended to exclude from the diet strong drinks or psychotropic substances that relieve emotional distress for a while, but in general the situation can get out of control over time.
Even he althy people holdingemotions in oneself are more often prone to depression, so locking yourself in your grief is not the best way out, you need to cultivate a positive attitude in your thoughts. Life in a discordant couple means that a person should not underestimate self-esteem, no matter what situation he finds himself in, you need to look at the world objectively and try to do as much good as possible.
Planning for replenishment in a discordant family
Discordant couples are a special category of couples seen at the AIDS Center. What it is? Many spouses, if only one partner has a virus, are faced with the problem of having he althy offspring. Many of them, socially and financially accomplished couples, are in dire need of information to support their loved one.
If a woman is infected in the family, then there are many opportunities to conceive and give birth to a he althy child without the risk of a man getting the virus. In the Center, spouses consult with infectious disease doctors, epidemiologists, gynecologists, use the advice received in practice and become happy parents. Modern scientific methods for studying perinatal transmission of the virus make it possible to obtain he althy offspring from an HIV-infected mother in 98-99%.
Discordant couples in which a man is infected, thanks to modern drugs that are prescribed to a partner even before conception, also have the opportunity to get a he althy baby. Life gives an assessment of such a victory, every uninfected baby born in such a family is our future generation, andanother preserved cell of society. The risk of transmitting the virus to the mother from an infected partner remains, but modern science provides couples with the latest achievements in this regard. Medicine offers reproductive technologies, in particular ICSI, IVF, to discordant couples. Recent studies have shown that HIV infection does not pose an obstacle to such procedures.
In the Center, consultations are held on a permanent free basis. Examples of appeals from discordant parents indicate a high degree of trust of patients in clinic specialists, the usefulness of the work being done in terms of providing the necessary information for patients in need. Recent years have been characterized by an increase in couples who have applied by three or more times.
Common conception problems
Statistics show that discordant couples can now bear a child and become happy parents. Pregnancy, so impossible in recent years, is becoming a reality without the risk of transmitting the virus to the newborn baby. If the family is determined to get a he althy baby, then modern methods of preventive measures will help her in this. Complications arise only if advice and modern methods are ignored, this leads to the risk of infection of the second partner, more often the woman.
Conception is unprotected intercourse, because of this, the uninfected partner is at risk of becoming infected. If we are talking about a couple in which the woman is he althy, then during sexual contact the risk of transmitting the virus to the unborn fetus is much higher than ifthe partner is infected and the man tests negative.
A discordant couple wants to be happy today. HIV infection is not a death sentence, as scientists are working to create a tool designed to reduce the risk of infection during sexual contact.
Rules for conception in a discordant couple with an infected woman
With unprotected sexual contact, the risk of getting the virus is less for a man than for a woman, but it is not possible to completely eliminate the infection of a partner. So that the transfer does not take place, it is most rational to use the fertilization method at home. To do this, the pharmacy sells a special device that allows you to enter a single sperm directly into the female vagina for fertilization. All the smallest details of the procedure are described in the instructions for the device or are given upon consultation with a doctor.
This is the method used during the ovulation period in a woman, which should be remembered by a discordant couple. HIV infection will recede if such a time is correctly determined. To do this, contact a specialist gynecologist or buy a test in a pharmacy. There is an unjustified opinion that the method affects the he alth of the unborn child, but such a statement is far from reality, as evidenced by the ubiquitous statistics.
Tips for fertilization with an infected partner
In this case, the problems of conception exist in a much larger volume. To reduce the risk of infection of a woman, specialists have developed a method for purifying sperm. But this method is only used inoverseas clinics. Without this procedure, the risk of transmitting the virus to a partner exists and remains real, so discordant couples deal with it differently. The risk of infection is ignored, some turn to special institutions for the adoption of children, others use the method of artificial insemination from an uninfected donor.
A statistically effective method is to reduce the virus in the semen at the moment of conception. The partner is taking antiretroviral medications that reduce the burden of infection to some level. This method does not give a full guarantee and cannot protect discordant pairs. The HIV viral load of semen does not always correspond to that in the blood, but still the method reduces the risk of virus transmission many times over.
The next way to prevent risk is the use of antiretroviral drugs by a woman immediately after sexual intercourse. Such a reduction in infection is rarely used, as doctors are concerned about the negative effect of drugs on the unborn fetus. To reduce the possibility of infection at the time of conception, partners should not have other diseases of the urogenital area. For example, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and other infectious lesions to a certain extent contribute to the penetration of the virus through the threshold barrier.
Reducing the risk of transmission of the virus to the baby during pregnancy and lactation
The doctor of the infectious diseases department in the early stages of gestation develops individually for each futureHIV-infected mother an individual protection program. The complex includes taking ARV therapeutic drugs, which are prescribed after a thorough study of the woman's he alth and the study of the effect of medications on the unborn baby. An HIV-positive pregnant woman must be especially attentive to her he alth, think about the full-fledged future of the child, so her main task is to follow the doctor's instructions.
Cesarean section is considered the safest method of delivery, however, after a series of tests and tests, the doctor allows a normal birth if the indicators are normal. During the period of feeding after childbirth, the baby is prescribed gentle antiviral therapy, but the woman will have to refuse breastfeeding, as this greatly increases the risk of infection of the child. In this case, discordant couples resort to feeding with ready-made milk mixtures and drugs, who, in therapy to prevent the transmission of the virus, try to keep the baby he althy.
Food for HIV-positive patients
Eating natural and high-quality products helps the body fight the virus at any stage, as it adds strength and enhances immune defenses. The main rule for compiling a diet is the inclusion of high-calorie foods and high-quality protein foods. If the patient has previously eaten according to this scheme, then he will not have to reconsider the principles of eating food.
Proper nutrition is followed by many discordant couples. Here's what it means in terms of cooking and quantity of food:
- meals are distributed evenly throughout the day, their number is at least four times;
- natural products in the form of hard grated cheese, homemade butter, sour cream are always present in the diet, home-made mayonnaise is used;
- water in the diet is replaced with juices, compotes, milk, kefir, if the body responds well to dairy products;
- be sure to introduce high-quality chocolate, cream, dairy types of ice cream into the diet;
- eat at least three full servings of protein meals per day, an example of a serving is, for example, one chicken leg or two eggs, two pieces of cheese or a saucer of shelled nuts.
In addition to the obligatory products, food consists of cereals (not instant food), potatoes, bread. To enhance intestinal motility include raw and boiled vegetables, fruits or juice from them. In order not to aggravate the painful condition, you should be responsible for washing vegetables and fruits before eating. It is not recommended to use semi-finished products of dubious origin, sausages, fast food.
Basic rules for being in the open sun
Photosensitivity refers to the transition to a state where even a small amount of sunlight triggers an undesirable reaction of the skin. Often photosensitivity occurs after a visit to the solarium. When buying sunscreen, pay special attention to the composition of the cream, as some components cause complications:
- oily ingredientsbased on sandalwood, cedar, lemon, bergamot juice;
- cosmetics and sunscreens use harmful 6-methylcoumarin, which is undesirable for exposure to the skin of HIV-positive people.
Photosensitivity of the skin in infected patients is caused by some medications, the cause may be the virus itself. Many patients suffer from sensitivity to solar radiation. Co-infection with hepatitis C exacerbates this harmful effect. To protect against light exposure, it is recommended to wear wide-brimmed hats, cover the surface of the body with tight clothing and not use the services of artificial ultraviolet irradiation. Sunscreens are used with a protection factor of at least 50.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the detection of HIV infection in the body does not mean the immediate termination of the life path. After a disappointing diagnosis, life continues in a discordant couple and relationships with a loved one, for young spouses there is a real opportunity to become full-fledged parents. Many people, after establishing the status of an infected person, begin to lead a he althy lifestyle, and subsequently a terrible infection recedes for a while, allowing you to do many wonderful things.
