testing kids

[seekay70]

Well I have spent many hours reading the posts in here and feel I almost know everyone.  I have not yet found many posts or threads about the children of pos parents.  So my question goes as this.....  Both my husband and I are pos., his diagnosis came first, when he started wasting, and we could not find the reason.  I was given my diagnosis on my ninth wedding anniversary...woo hoo  Happy Anniversary.....We have trhee children ages 10, 6, and almost 4.  So my diagnosis came  June of 2005, my youngest son turned 2 in January of 2005.  When we were diagnosed we had all of the kids diagnosed, they all came back negative, thank the good lord.  At the time of all of my pregnancies I was tested for HIV due to that being a test my Dr. did on all of his patients, and during those times of being tested I came back negative.  So  what are the chances that my children are infected and it will just not show till later years and how often should I have them tested?

Any help would be appreciated!

Sherry

[Eldon]

Hello Sherry,

If the tests came back negative during all of your pregnancies and you had an additional test done for them, then they are negative. It is possible that you became infected after the last child was born. You may want to keep an eye out for any abnormal health issues that your children may have.


Happy Holidays!

[seekay70]

kool ty.....I still worry terribly though.  We are very careful about things such as bleeding, snot rags etc, I guess probably more careful than need be sometines but want them to have long healthy lives...Just a mothers worries I guess.

[Andy Velez]

Your concern is very understandable, Seek. As long as you and your husband take pretty ordinary precautions there shouldn't be any problem as far as the negative status of your children is concerned.

HIV is transmitted in very particular ways through an exchange of body fluids and of course, most particularly unprotected intercourse. In the ordinary course of things, even when the accidents of daily life happen, transmission just doesn't happen. You are among thousands of parents living with HIV negative children and we would have known long before today if there were any special risks.

Just stay healthy and keep on enjoying your life together is what I say. I don't see any need for HIV testing of your kids.

Cheers,

[Ann]

Hi Seekay,

I've been positive for nearly ten years and I have an hiv negative 19 year old daughter. I never took any special precautions - only normal, everyday hygiene considerations, just like anyone would.

In fact, you have more to worry about from them than the other way around. Kids are always bringing colds and flu home. When the kids are sick, make sure you keep your hands well washed anytime you touch them or their bedding or whatever else they might be breathing, coughing and snotting on. And when you do need to be in close contact with them when they're sick, try to keep your hands away from your face. Something as simple as rubbing your eyes with flu germs on your hands can transfer the bug to yourself.

I'm pretty big on the handwashing thing, to the extent that I have a travel size bottle of that antiseptic hand gel you can get nowdays. I take it with me during cold and flu season when ever I go shopping. If I've just popped to the store for milk or something, I make sure I wash my hands when I get back. LOL - I might sound neurotic, but I don't get as many bugs as I did before I started the hand washing.

You really don't need to worry about infecting your kids. You can relax on that one.

Ann

[ACinKC]

The more you read on this site the more you will understand how hard it will be to pass it on to your children in everyday life.

[DanKenny]

Seek,

Welcome to this forum. I am sure you will find your stay here very informative and rewarding !

True, there isn't much about kids here, but there are a couple of us around.  I have two kids: boy 8 is positive, and his older sister, 10 is negative. 

Pediatric HIV really shows up quite early...in fact way before 3yrs, most display some symptoms, especially, recurrent pneumonia, some form of zoster, etc.  My son began with recurrent colds, pneumonia, then herpes zoster and eventually, LIP. So, if you have tested and they also tested negative...then you don't need to worry.  My daughter is negative.  Of course, we don't worry much about infecting her, beyond taking care of regular hygiene etc.  I am cautious though about cuts etc when she and her brother engage in rough play. But I warn them about rough contact / sports.

I would say, relax now....but of course be prepared, given our own unique positions, to educate the bigger ones as they get closer to the teens.


So, welcome aboard.  Keep up the good work.

Regards, DK