Plastic-Coated Hospital Beds For HIV Patients On Social Media, Experts: No Need

JAKARTA – Information is currently circulating on Twitter that a hospital is considered discriminatory no HIV . This is because the patient’s operating bed is covered in plastic.

Twitter account @darah***** shared this news. She said that when she was accompanying a friend with HIV (ODHIV) who was about to have surgery, she found his bed covered in plastic.

“Accompanying a friend with PLHIV who wanted to operate, I was surprised how the bed was laminated. I thought it was because after the pandemic, it was apparently explained that the livelihood was due to HIV,” said a netizen quoted Thursday (15/12/2022).

Knowing that this information exists, MNC Portal is trying to find out if the beds of HIV patients really need special care.

Read also: There is already a cure, head of IDAI Children’s HIV Task Force suggests pregnant women get HIV tested

According to Dr Dicky Budiman, a health specialist at Griffith University Australia, the act of lining beds with plastic for HIV patients is an exaggeration. “It’s not necessary,” he said when confirmed on Thursday (12/15/2022).

Why does Dr. Dicky think lining hospital beds with plastic for HIV patients is overkill?

He explained that HIV is mainly transmitted due to microholes in the human body, whether it be through infections or injuries, then through exposure to the patient’s bodily fluids.

“But it’s not that simple. Because, if an HIV patient has a small amount of the virus in their body because they take ARVs on a regular basis, then obviously there’s little chance of passing it on, especially since healthcare professionals strictly apply universal precautions,” he said. said Dicky.

Universal precautions are prevention efforts such as wearing masks, gloves, hazardous materials, obviously also avoiding exposure to needles used by HIV patients.

If this prevention is done correctly, according to Dr. Dicky, it will reduce your exposure to the virus. “So, it doesn’t have to be like that, the bed is covered in plastic. It’s not like that,” he said.

(hri)