Your Health & HIV

Taking Care of Both Mind and Body.

For people who are living with HIV, staying focused on both physical and mental health is key to staying healthy.

Your healthcare provider will help you decide when to start treatment and which treatment is right for you. He or she will also use different kinds of tests -- including measuring your CD4+ cell count and viral load -- to measure the strength of your immune system and how effectively your body is fighting HIV.

While HIV medication is important, taking care of yourself means more than taking pills regularly. You'll want to keep your body strong to resist the effects of HIV.

It all starts with taking the first step. This may mean quitting smoking, committing to regular exercise, eating a variety of healthy foods, learning to relax and beat stress, talking to a friend about how you're feeling, or joining a support group.

Listen to your mind and body and learn to understand what they need. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine the right wellness plan options for you.

* "Undetectable" is defined as a viral load that is too low to be picked up by a particular test. Typically, it is a viral load of less than 400 or 50 copies/mL (depending on test used).