Living with HIV/AIDS: Ways to stay healthy and live longer!

Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei

Dealing with HIV can be tough, but thanks to better treatments, now people with HIV/AIDS are able to have a longer and healthier life.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, approximately 37 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2014 and the disease has claimed more than 34 million lives so far.

As the number of people suffering from AIDS increases, medical science is trying to come up with new techniques to counter the virus every day.

Besides adhering to your medication regimen, here's a list of things you can do to help you have a long, healthy life while protecting others:

• Take medicines exactly as directed by your physicians
• Eat lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains which provide fiber and healthy nutrients
• Exercise regularly to help boost your T cells and to keep you fit
• Take multivitamin supplements to boost immunity while suppressing level of virus in the body
• Quit smoking for good
• Be sure that your partner knows you have HIV
• Practice abstinence to prevent the spread of HIV infection and some other STDs
• If abstinence is not possible, use condoms whenever you have sex
• Avoid sharing drug equipment as blood can get into needles, syringes and thereby spreading the infection to the next user
• Avoid sharing items such as razors, toothbrushes, etc, that may have your blood on them