When used consistently, antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the amount of virus in the blood and body fluids to very low or undetectable levels (known as viral suppression). As a result, people living with HIV who start ART early, remain on treatment, and achieve and maintain viral suppression can stay healthy and live a near-normal lifespan.
Full Answer
How long does it take for HIV medicine to work?
HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is no effective cure for HIV. But with proper medical care, you can control HIV. Most people can get the virus under control within six months. Taking HIV medicine does not prevent transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases. When should I start treatment?
What is the treatment for HIV?
HIV treatment involves taking medicines that slow the progression of the virus in your body. HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, and the combination of drugs used to treat it is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is recommended for all people living with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the virus or how healthy they are.
How long does it take to cure HIV?
1 HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). 2 There is no effective cure for HIV. But with proper medical care, you can control HIV. 3 Most people can get the virus under control within six months. 4 Taking HIV medicine does not prevent transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases.
How long do people with HIV receive medical care?
For that continuum, among people ages 13 and older with diagnosed HIV at year-end 2019, 81% were linked to medical care within one month of diagnosis, 76% had received HIV medical care, 58% were retained in care, and 66% had achieved viral suppression. ( Read about this diagnosis-based approach to monitoring the HIV care continuum.)
How long does treatment for HIV last?
This means that most people will need to be on treatment for 7 to 12 months to have a durably undetectable viral load. It is essential to take every pill every day to maintain durably undetectable status.
How successful is treatment for HIV?
Almost everyone who takes HIV medicine as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load, usually within 6 months after starting treatment. Many will bring their viral load to an undetectable level quickly, but it could take more time for a small portion of people just starting HIV medicine.
What is the treatment plan for HIV?
The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. ART cannot cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives.
Do you have to take HIV medication for life?
While you may indeed need to take HIV medication for the rest of your life, new treatment options are being developed all the time, and many revolve around long-acting injectables. In a few years, your HIV treatment might require one shot every three months instead of a daily pill.
Is Undetectable the same as negative?
Being HIV positive and having an undetectable viral load would be considered the same thing as being HIV negative. Instead, we would frown upon those who don't know their status. Being HIV positive and having an undetectable viral load would be accepted, especially within the gay community.
What is the name of the new ARV pill?
Early results from people taking a new antiretroviral medication called lenacapavir are promising. The long-acting drug is still at the research stage, but if the developers are able to pair it effectively with other drugs that also only needs to be taken twice a year, it could revolutionise HIV treatment.
How long does PEP stay in your system?
Efavirenz can last in the system for days but the levels will drop over that time. You need to get tested at 4 weeks and 12 weeks after your exposure. The PEP will not effect your 12 week results. So, if they are negative, you do not have HIV.
What are the four goals of Arvs?
The guidelines state that the primary goals of antiretroviral therapy are to maintain maximal suppression of the viral load (i.e., fewer than 50 copies per mL), restore or preserve immunologic function, improve quality of life and reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality.
What are the five goals of antiretroviral therapy?
Thus, once initiated, ART should be continued, with the following key treatment goals:Maximally and durably suppress plasma HIV RNA;Restore and preserve immunologic function;Reduce HIV-associated morbidity and prolong the duration and quality of survival; and.Prevent HIV transmission.
What is HIV treatment?
HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. HIV treatment reduces the amount of...
When should I start HIV treatment?
Start HIV treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis. All people with HIV should take HIV treatment, no matter how long they’ve had HIV or how h...
What if I delay HIV treatment?
If you delay treatment, HIV will continue to harm your immune system. Delaying treatment will put you at higher risk for transmitting HIV to your p...
Are there different types of HIV treatment?
There are two types of HIV treatment: pills and shots. Pills are recommended for people who are just starting HIV treatment. There are many FDA-app...
What are HIV treatment shots?
HIV treatment shots are long-acting injections used to treat people with HIV. The shots are given by your health care provider and require routine...
Can I switch my HIV treatment from pills to shots?
Talk to your health care provider about changing your HIV treatment plan. Shots may be right for you if you are an adult with HIV who has an undete...
What are the benefits of taking my HIV treatment as prescribed?
HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load). Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low. HIV t...
Does HIV treatment cause side effects?
HIV treatment can cause side effects in some people. However, not everyone experiences side effects. The most common side effects are Nausea and vo...
What should I do if I’m thinking about having a baby?
Let your health care provider know if you or your partner is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant. They will determine the right type of HIV...
Can I take birth control while on HIV treatment?
You can use any method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. However, some HIV treatment may make hormone-based birth control less effective. Talk...
What Is HIV Treatment?
HIV treatment involves taking medicines that slow the progression of the virus in your body. HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, and the combination of drugs used to treat it is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is recommended for all people living with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the virus or how healthy they are. ART must be taken every day, exactly as your health care provider prescribes.
Why Is HIV Treatment Important?
Getting and staying on HIV treatment because it reduces the amount of HIV in your blood (also called the viral load) to a very low level. This keeps you healthy and prevents illness. There is also a major prevention benefit. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. This is called treatment as prevention.
What Is HIV Drug Resistance?
Drug resistance can be a cause of treatment failure for people living with HIV. As HIV multiplies in the body, it sometimes mutates (changes form) and produces variations of itself. Variations of HIV that develop while a person is taking ART can lead to drug-resistant strains of HIV.
Why do you prescribe HIV?
Your health care provider may prescribe medicines to prevent certain infections. HIV treatment is most likely to be successful when you know what to expect and are committed to taking your medicines exactly as prescribed.
How soon can you start ART for HIV?
Treatment guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that a person living with HIV begin ART as soon as possible after diagnosis. Starting ART slows the progression of HIV and can keep you healthy for many years.
Can HIV drugs prevent HIV?
With drug resistance, HIV medicines that previously controlled a person’s HIV are not effective against new, drug-resistant HIV. In other words, the HIV medicines can't prevent the drug-resistant HIV from multiplying. Drug resistance can cause HIV treatment to fail. A person can initially be infected with drug-resistant HIV or develop ...
Is HIV treatment a prevention?
There is also a major prevention benefit. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. This is called treatment as prevention.
What is the treatment for HIV?
It’s called antiretroviral therapy (ART). The drugs help keep your body’s virus count, called an HIV “viral load,” low or “undetectable.” That in turn lets your immune system heal itself and stay strong. It also lowers the odds that you might spread HIV to other people.
How to lose muscle from HIV?
Aim to walk, bike, swim, or do another moderate workout for 30 minutes 5 days a week. Lifting weights or doing another resistance exercise can help make up for muscle loss from HIV.
How often do you get tested for HIV?
After that, your doctor will check your viral load every 3 to 6 months for the rest of your life. If your doctor changes your HIV drugs, you’ll probably get a viral load test about a month later, and then every 3-6 months.
How many people in the US get HIV each year?
If you’re one of the nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with HIV each year, you’ll want to start treatment right away. Even if you feel fine, early drug treatment -- as soon as the same day as your diagnosis -- gives you the best chance to stay healthy and to keep from passing the virus to others.
How often should you check your CD4?
HIV attacks these cells, and makes it easier for you to pick up infections and get sick. Your doctor will check your CD4 count every 3-6 months if it’s in the low range (less than 500 cells per cubic millimeter of blood). If your CD4 count is higher and your HIV viral load is undetectable, you may not need routine testing for CD4.
How often should you check your blood for HIV?
Your doctor will check your blood every 3-6 months to keep tabs on your HIV and how well your treatment is working. The main tests are:
Does medication help with HIV?
Medication can help keep your HIV in check. But your personal actions also will have a big effect on your health.
How does HIV treatment affect the body?
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.
What is the treatment for HIV called?
The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. People with HIV should start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible.
Why is it important to have less HIV?
Having less HIV in the body gives the immune system a chance to recover and produce more CD4 cells.
How many classes of HIV are there?
There are many HIV medicines available for HIV regimens. The HIV medicines are grouped into seven drug classes according to how they fight HIV. The choice of an HIV regimen depends on a person's individual needs.
How long after HIV infection can you start taking a drug?
(Early HIV infection is the period up to 6 months after infection with HIV.)
Can HIV be treated with ART?
People with HIV should start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible. ART can’t cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission. A main goal of HIV treatment is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level.
Can HIV medications interact with other HIV medications?
HIV medicines can interact with other HIV medicines in an HIV regimen or with other medicines a person is taking . Health care providers carefully consider potential drug interactions before recommending an HIV regimen.
How long does it take for HIV to be undetectable?
Almost everyone who takes HIV medication daily as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load, usually within 6 months after starting treatment. There are important health benefits to getting the viral load as low as possible. People living with HIV who know their status, take HIV medication daily as prescribed, ...
Why is it important to take HIV medication?
Taking HIV Medication to Stay Healthy and Prevent Transmission. If you have HIV, it is important to start treatment with HIV medication (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) as soon as possible after your diagnosis. If taken every day, exactly as prescribed, HIV medication can reduce the amount of HIV in your blood (also called the viral load) ...
How Do We Know Treatment as Prevention Works?
These studies monitored thousands of male-female and male-male couples in which one partner has HIV and the other does not over several years. No HIV transmissions were observed when the HIV-positive partner was virally suppressed. This means that if you keep your viral load undetectable, there is effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to someone you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex with. Read about the scientific evidence.
How does HIV affect a mother?
It reduces the risk of mother-to-child transmission from pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If a woman living with HIV can take HIV medication as prescribed throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery and if HIV medication is given to her baby for 4-6 weeks after delivery, the risk of transmission from pregnancy, labor, and delivery can be reduced to 1% or less. Scientists don’t know if a woman living with HIV who has her HIV under control can transmit HIV to her baby through breastfeeding. While it isn’t known if or how much being undetectable or virally suppressed prevents some ways that HIV is transmitted, it is reasonable to assume that it provides some risk reduction.
Why is it called viral suppression?
It is called viral suppression because HIV medication prevents the virus from growing in your body and keeps the virus very low or “suppressed.”. Viral suppression helps keep you healthy and prevents illness.
Can HIV be transmitted to HIV-negative people?
People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.
Does TasP work for HIV?
People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. TasP works when a person living with HIV takes HIV medication exactly as prescribed and has regular follow-up care, ...
Why is it important to stop HIV?
The Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign shows how people with HIV have overcome barriers to get in care and stay on treatment so that they can live longer, healthier lives.
Is HIV testing free?
HIV testing is often free of charge. The organizations listed in this widget indicate which services are free or at a reduced cost.
How does early HIV treatment help?
The Strategy calls for a concerted national effort to improve health outcomes for people living with HIV by establishing seamless systems to link people to treatment and care immediately after diagnosis. The Strategy also calls for efforts to support maintenance in care; increase the capacity of health and social support systems; and increase the number and diversity of professionals who provide clinical care and related services to those with HIV. Further, the Strategy supports comprehensive, patient-centered care for people living with HIV, including addressing co-occurring health conditions and challenges in meeting basic needs, such as housing, which can cause individuals to leave care and treatment.
What are the roles of federal agencies in HIV care?
Federal agencies play a variety of roles in supporting HIV care and treatment for people living with HIV in the United States. Some deliver HIV clinical services, others help pay for HIV care and treatment, while others provide housing, training, employment, or income supports that assist people living with HIV to remain in care ...
What are the disparities in HIV treatment?
There are numerous disparities in HIV treatment and care among certain subpopulations in the U.S. For example, CDC’s report on monitoring indicates that African Americans living with diagnosed HIV infection have percentages of linkage to care and viral suppression that are lower than whites and far below national goals.
How does HIV affect the immune system?
HIV is a virus that can multiply quickly and damage the body’s immune system , making it hard to fight off infections and cancers. While no cure exists for HIV infection, effective treatment is available. Today, there are more than 30 antiretroviral drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat HIV infection. When used consistently, antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the amount of virus in the blood and body fluids to very low or undetectable levels (known as viral suppression). As a result, people living with HIV who start ART early, remain on treatment, and achieve and maintain viral suppression can stay healthy and live a near-normal lifespan. Treatment also confers enormous prevention benefits—in research studies conducted to date, no case of HIV transmission has been linked to someone who had a suppressed viral load. U.S. clinical guidelines recommend that all people who are diagnosed with HIV receive treatment, regardless of how long they have had the virus or how healthy they are.
What is the HIV rate in 2020?
By 2020, the Strategy aims to increase the percentage of newly diagnosed persons linked to HIV medical care within one month of their HIV diagnosis to at least 85 percent ; increase the percentage of persons with diagnosed HIV infection who are retained in HIV medical care by at least 90 percent ; and increase the percentage of persons with diagnosed HIV infection who are virally suppressed to at least 80 percent. Further, the Strategy’s targets include reducing the percentage of persons in HIV medical care who are homeless to no more than 5 percent, and reducing the death rate among persons with diagnosed HIV infection by at least 33 percent.
How does ART help HIV?
When used consistently, antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the amount of virus in the blood and body fluids to very low or undetectable levels (known as viral suppression). As a result, people living with HIV who start ART early, remain on treatment, and achieve and maintain viral suppression can stay healthy and live a near-normal lifespan.
How many people die from HIV each year?
When people with HIV do not receive the treatment and care they need, the disease worsens and eventually progresses to AIDS. Today, nearly 13,000 people with AIDS in the United States die each year. People with HIV who have not achieved viral suppression also remain at risk of transmitting the virus to others.
How long does it take to link HIV to care?
Linkage to care— According to CDC, of those who received an HIV diagnosis in 2019, 81% were linked to care within one month. This figure is calculated differently from other steps in the continuum, so it cannot be directly compared. CDC defines linkage as having one or more documented CD4 or viral load tests within 30 days (1 month) of HIV diagnosis. The denominator is limited to the number of people receiving an HIV diagnosis in a given year, rather than the total number of people living with HIV that is used in the calculations for the other continuum steps. Rapid linkage to care is important because it can shorten the time to viral suppression, which helps people stay healthy and virtually eliminates the chance of onward transmission.
What Is the HIV Care Continuum?
The HIV care continuum is a public health model that outlines the steps or stages that people with HIV go through from diagnosis to achieving and maintaining viral suppression (a very low or undetectable amount of HIV in the body).
How long does it take for a CD4 to be linked to HIV?
CDC defines linkage as having one or more documented CD4 or viral load tests within 30 days (1 month) of HIV diagnosis. The denominator is limited to the number of people receiving an HIV diagnosis in a given year, rather than the total number of people living with HIV that is used in the calculations for the other continuum steps.
How much of HIV is retained in care?
Retention in Care —Approximately 50% were retained in care. CDC measures retention in care as the percentage of persons with diagnosed HIV who had two or more CD4 or viral load tests, performed at least three months apart. People with HIV who have ongoing, regularly scheduled medical care have been shown to have better health outcomes and increased safer sexual behaviors.
What is the continuum chart for HIV?
This HIV Care Continuum chart is based on the prevalence of HIV in the U.S. Prevalence describes the number of people living with HIV at a given time, regardless of when they were infected or whether they have received a diagnosis. (Some people may have HIV but not know it). Prevalence data is useful for planning and resource allocation, as it reflects the number of people currently needing HIV care and treatment services. Prevalence rates are also useful for comparing HIV disease between populations and for monitoring trends over time. ( Read more about the prevalence-based approach to monitoring the HIV care continuum and how it is used .)
Why is the HIV continuum important?
Why Is the HIV Care Continuum Important? The HIV care continuum is useful both as an individual-level tool to assess care outcomes, as well as a population-level framework to analyze the proportion of people with HIV in a given community who are engaged in each successive step.
How many people with HIV do not know they have HIV?
That means that 13% of people with HIV (nearly 1 in 7) did not know they had HIV and were therefore not accessing the care and treatment they need to stay healthy and prevent transmitting the virus to their partners. Receipt of Care —Approximately 66% had received HIV medical care.
What to do if you miss a dose of HIV?
What Should You Do If You Miss a Dose? Taking your HIV medication every day, exactly the way your health care provider tells you to will help keep your viral load low and your CD4 cell count high. If you skip doses, even now and then, you are giving HIV the chance to multiply rapidly.
Why Should You Take Your HIV Medication Every Day?
Taking your HIV medication daily as prescribed provides many benefits. Among them, it:
Why is it important to take HIV medication?
Taking your HIV medication daily is also important because skipping doses makes it easier for HIV to change form, causing your medication to stop working. This is called drug resistance. HIV can become resistant to your medication and to similar medications that you have not yet taken.
What to do if you miss a lot of medication?
If you find you miss a lot of doses, talk to your health care provider or pharmacist about ways to help you remember your medicines. You and your health care provider may even decide to change your treatment regimen to fit your health care needs and life situation, which may change over time.
Does HIV medication protect you?
If you take HIV medication every day, exactly as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load, you have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex. This is called Treatment as Prevention. Learn more: Read our fact sheet about the health and prevention benefits ...
Do You Have to Take Your HIV Medication If Your Viral Load Is Undetectable?
Yes, antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces your viral load, ideally to an undetectable level. If your viral load goes down after starting ART, then the treatment is working, and you should continue to take your medicine as prescribed. If you keep an undetectable viral load, you can stay healthy and have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.
