Children with HIV can have a happy, normal and, thanks to HIV treatment, long life.

However, your child will grow up with some different experiences from other children, and this could affect how they feel about themselves, as well as leading to a feeling of being different or alone.

Stigma and discrimination may be experienced, as might sadness, illnesses, or even the loss or death of loved ones.

Loving and supporting your child will provide the foundation for living through these issues. Helping them recognise that planning their days, developing a routine around their medication and talking to someone they can trust, will help them to adjust to the diagnosis and management of the condition. It’s also good to know that a lot of support is available to you and this will be outlined later in this booklet.

Children often get cuts or grazes whilst playing. These should be washed thoroughly and sticking plaster or another form of dressing should be applied. If somebody else has come into contact with your child’s blood, it should be washed off with soap and hot water.

The risk of being infected with the virus through open cuts and abrasions is extremely small. It’s impossible to contract HIV through intact, healthy skin.

Similarly, the risk of HIV being passed on by biting is extremely low.

It’s probably a good idea not to let your child share objects which may have had contact with their blood such as toothbrushes, although HIV transmission this way is highly unlikely.

HIV cannot be passed on by sharing cutlery, plates or cups, because HIV cannot be transmitted in saliva. Nor can it be transmitted by social contact, through the air or by touching objects handled by an HIV-positive person.