When beginning any course of treatment for a chronic yet manageable disease such as HIV and AIDS it is important for one to follow their HIV specialists advice, maintain a regular schedule of appointments, and strictly adhere to the pharmaceutical treatment regimen. These three practices establish early on a life-time of disciplines that one will require to effectively manage living with the HIV/AIDS virus. If ever there was doubt as to the importance of regular visits with one’s HIV/AIDS health care practitioner, those doubts can now be put to bed. A study has recently surfaced which has identified a causal link between missed doctors’ visits, and an increased mortality rate.

This analysis focused retrospectively within a group of HIV clinical patients who had established their initial outpatient treatment for HIV infection at the University of Alabama HIV/AIDS Clinic. All of the 543 study participants were evaluated between 2000 through to 2005. Patients who missed visits within the first year after initiating outpatient treatment were shown to have twice the rate of long-term mortality when compared with those patients who maintained regular visits, and attended all of their regularly scheduled appointments.

The results of the analysis showed that among those 543 HIV patients participating in the study, 60% of them missed a visit within the first year. The mortality rate in those patients who missed visits within the first year was 2.3 deaths per 100 person years. In contrast, the mortality rate for those who attended all scheduled visits and appointments with their HIV/AIDS practitioner was 1 death per 100 person years. Other factors such as age, overall health, and CD4 counts were all taken into account when comparing the risk factors and determining the overall mortality rate.

One thing is clear when reading the results of the study, and that is that mortality rates increase when skipping or missing regularly scheduled appointments. However, it is worthwhile to note the study’s authors posit that the nearly doubling rate of mortality is not a direct consequence of missing those appointments, but rather, are identifiers of those HIV patients who are more likely to exhibit behaviors which can lead to increased mortality earlier in life.

One of the more devastating moments in a person’s life is finding out that a spouse or partner has been diagnosed with HIV. In the end, such a diagnosis results in a whole host of considerations and concerns. Towards the top of the list is the issue of what can be done in order to be intimate and sexual with a spouse or partner that has been diagnosed with HIV. At the foundation of any sexual connection with a spouse or partner that is afflicted with HIV should be the proper use of condoms. In the end, condoms provide you with the best line of defense when it comes to preventing the transmission of HIV from partner to partner. With this in mind, there are some facts and factors that you need to keep in mind when it comes to using condoms to prevent the transmission of AIDS.

First, you need to make sure that you need use condoms consistently. You cannot use them occasionally or only for some types of sexual activity and not others. The bottom line is that you need to use condoms each and every time you have any type of sexual conduct or engage in any sort of sexual activity with an infected partner. Second, in addition to consistency, you need to make sure that you use condoms correctly. In this regard, you need to follow the directions made available to you with each condom package for putting on, using and then taking off a condom. The failure to follow these directions is the most significant reason why condoms fail to work correctly. Third, you absolutely must make certain that you use only those condoms that have not reached their expiration date. Condoms do not last forever and should never be used when they have reached their expiration date. Fourth, you need to make certain that you store condoms correctly as well. Once again, you will want to follow the directions that are set forth on the condom package when it comes to the storage of these products. Finally, if you have a partner that is infected with HIV, it is important that you obtain testing yourself to determine your own HIV status with regularity. While you can take all of the necessary safe sex steps to work to prevent the spread of HIV, nothing is 100% effective in this regard. Therefore, it is important for you to have an HIV test from time to time. Most medical experts recommend obtaining such a test every six months. By being tested regularly, you will be in the best possible position to proactively deal with an HIV infection should you ever face such a condition of your own.