The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. HIV treatment involves taking medicine that reduces the amount of HIV in your body. There is no effective cure for HIV. But with proper medical care, you can control HIV. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. ART cannot cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission. Most people can get the virus under control within six months. Taking HIV medicine does not prevent transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases.
HIV attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells (CD4 T lymphocyte) of the immune system. Loss of CD4 cells makes it hard for the body to fight off infections and certain HIV-related cancers.
HIV medicines prevent HIV from multiplying (making copies of itself), which reduces the amount of HIV in the body (called the viral load). Having less HIV in the body gives the immune system a chance to recover and produce more CD4 cells. Even though there is still some HIV in the body, the immune system is strong enough to fight off infections and certain HIV-related cancers.
By reducing the amount of HIV in the body, HIV medicines also reduce the risk of HIV transmission. A main goal of HIV treatment is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test. People with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex.
People with HIV should start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible after an HIV diagnosis. Medical experts recommend that people begin treatment for HIV as soon as they know that they are infected. Treatment is especially important for pregnant women, people who have other infections (such as tuberculosis or hepatitis), and people who have symptoms of AIDS
HIV medicine is recommended for all people with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the virus or how healthy they are.
Research suggests that treatment early HIV infection to start HIV medicines right away. (Early HIV infection is the period up to 6 months after infection with HIV.) with antiretroviral medicines has long-term benefits, such as a stronger immune system.
HIV will continue to harm your immune system. Which will put you at higher risk for developing AIDS and opportunistic infections. And you at higher risk for transmitting HIV to your sexual and injection partners.
vial of blood |
Treatment Reduces the Amount of HIV in the Blood |
The amount of HIV in the blood is called viral load. |
Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low and your CD4 cell count high. |
HIV medicine can make the viral load very low (called viral suppression). Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. |
HIV medicine can make the viral load so low that a test can’t detect it (called an undetectable viral load). |
If your viral load goes down after starting HIV treatment, that means treatment is working. Continue to take your medicine as prescribed. |
If you skip your medications, even now and then, you are giving HIV the chance to multiply rapidly. This could weaken your immune system, and you could become sick. |
Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load (or staying virally suppressed) is the best way to stay healthy and protect others. |
HIV medicine can cause side effects in some people. However, not everyone experiences side effects. These symptoms are often temporary and disappear with time. The most common side effects are
Serious side effects can include swelling of the mouth and tongue and liver or kidney damage. If side effects are severe, the medications can be adjusted. By talk to your health care provider if your treatment makes you sick. Your health care provider may prescribe medicines to help manage the side effects or may change your treatment plan
There are no known drug interactions between HIV medicine and hormone therapy.
Talk to your health care provider if you are worried about taking HIV medicine and hormone therapy at the same time. Your health care provider will help you stay healthy and ensure your hormone therapy stays on track.
Your health care provider may change your prescription. A change is not unusual because the same treatment does not affect everyone in the same way.
Tell your health care provider right away if you’re having trouble sticking to your plan. Together you can identify the reasons you’re skipping medications and make a plan to address those reasons.
A busy schedule. Work or travel away from home can make it easy to forget to take pills. It may be possible to keep extra medicine at work or in your car. But talk to your health care provider first. Some medications are affected by extreme temperatures and it is not always possible to keep medications at work.
HIV treatment https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/livingwithhiv/treatment.html
A Comprehensive Guide to HIV and AIDS
https://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids#hiv-and-aids
HIV Treatment: The Basics
https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-treatment-basicsHiv-aids treatments https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/sexual-and-reproductive-health/hiv-aids/treatments.html
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