How is HIV Treated?
Ans. Currently there is no way to get rid of all the virus once a person is infected. However, new medicines can slow the damage that HIV causes to the immune system. Also, doctors are getting better at treating the illnesses that are caused by HIV infection. Many people now consider HIV infection a manageable, long-term illness.
Current HIV antiviral treatments and treatments for opportunistic infections are prolonging the lives of many HIV+ individuals. However, many of the drugs used to treat HIV are very harsh on the body, very difficult to take, and don’t work for some people. Research is making great strides toward developing vaccines and better medications for people who are living with HIV, but there is still no cure. Most people who are taking HIV treatments are taking two or more medications at the same time. This is called Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART). It may also be called combination therapy or “the cocktail”. Combination therapy has been found most effective at combating HIV by attacking the virus in many different ways. There are currently three main classes of medications that are used to treat HIV: Entry Inhibitors, Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (Nucleoside, Non-Nucleoside, Nucleotide), and Protease Inhibitors.
Currently there is no way to get rid of all the virus once a person is infected. However, new medicines can slow the damage that HIV causes to the immune system. Also, doctors are getting better at treating the illnesses that are caused by HIV infection. Many people now consider HIV infection a manageable, long-term illness.
We’ve come along way from the days when diagnosis with HIV equaled a death sentence. Today, there are a variety of treatments that, when used in combination can significantly slow down and in some cases stop altogether, the progression of HIV infection. After HIV infection is confirmed, your doctor will start you on a drug regimen consisting of several drugs; combinations of different types of anti-HIV drugs sometimes are called HAART, for highly-active anti-retroviral therapy (HIV is a kind of virus called a retrovirus). Unfortunately, taking HAART therapy isn’t easy. These drugs must be taken at exactly the right time, every single day. If the drugs aren’t taken appropriately, a range of side effects may occur, including: diarrhea, nausea, or abnormal distribution of body fat. And, the virus often mutates, or changes, making the treatments ineffective. If your disease has progressed to AIDS, your treatment may also include drugs to combat and prevent certain infections.
