Living with HIV in the Philippines: Dry Cough and HIV?

hello po... im kevin.

salamat po sa blog nato at naging open pa po yung mind ko about HIV.
may tanong lang po ako.. last December po nag umpisa itong ubo ko.. dry cough po.. meron po akong experiences with men (ngsimula noong November ) tatlo po dun ay unprotected. nagpa HIV test po ko sa Cagayan de Oro City dito sa Mindanao noong February pero negative naman po yung result.. im NON-REACTIVE..pero until now may ubo pa po ako.. the counselor advised me to come back after 6 months ( so that would be on August)... ang tagal pa po bago ko malaman ang final result.

Ano po maipapayo nyo sa akin? normal lang po ba ito? sabi ng doctor ko may pneumonia daw ako.. may kinalaman po ba dito ang HIV? Inaasahan ko po ang sagot nyo sa mga tanong ko. Maraming salamt po.

POZZIEPINOY’S RESPONSE

Hi Kevin.

Thank you for your email. Thank you for reading the blog.

With regards to your HIV test, please follow what your counselor had advised you to do. Sometimes, the initial HIV test won't be able to detect the HIV antibodies yet, thus the need for a retest.

With regards to your dry cough which you said was diagnosed by your doctor as pneumonia, you need to get it treated fast. Usually pneumonia can happen to anybody but a recurring pneumonia especially pneumonia happening within months after a first bout of pneumonia within one year, triggers an investigation from a health care provider. Recurring pneumonia doesn't happen to young people and may signify a weakened immune system, which can be caused by anything including HIV. Like in my previous posts in the blog, only the HIV test can diagnose HIV so if the doctor suspects it, then you may need to retake the HIV test now. One more thing, you may need to be honest with your doctor about your lifestyle and or your previous unprotected sex to make the proper diagnosis. Some people omit or deny this and would just prolong the actual diagnosis of the health care provider. Of course it is your choice, but just a suggestion from me.

I hope I was able to answer your concerns. Feel free to email me again if you have other questions.

Stay healthy,

Pozziepinoy

"WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

NO PLHIV is alone with his or her struggle with HIV!"

-Pozziepinoy-

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