Treatment FAQ

how is hiv contracted, and what are the treatment options? (3 points)

by Easton D'Amore Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

HIV is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids; there is no cure or safe treatment to reduce the symptoms and consequences of the disease. HIV is transmitted by sharing drug needles or food with an infected individual; it cannot be cured, but there are experimental medications to minimize the risk of AIDS.

Key Points
HIV can be transmitted only in certain body fluids from a person who has HIV. These fluids are blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. To reduce your risk of HIV, use condoms correctly every time you have sex. Do not inject drugs.
Aug 9, 2021

Full Answer

What are the treatment options 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 can’t cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission.

What is HIV treatment and how does it work?

Routine care and treatment is the best way to keep people with HIV (PWH) healthy. PWH who take medication as prescribed can achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load (or viral suppression), resulting in effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.

How do HIV medicines reduce the risk of transmission?

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 loadmeans that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test.

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.

What are 3 ways HIV can be contracted?

How is HIV passed from one person to another? Most people get HIV through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment (for example, cookers). But there are powerful tools to help prevent HIV transmission.

What are 3/5 ways to protect yourself from contracting HIV?

You can:Use condoms the right way every time you have sex. ... Choose less risky sexual behaviors.Limit your number of sexual partners.Never share needles.Talk to your doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), taking medicine daily to prevent HIV infection, if you are at very high risk for HIV.More items...

How is HIV treatment given?

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.

How is HIV treated or prevented?

Overview. People with HIV should take medicine to treat HIV as soon as possible. HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy, or ART. If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine reduces the amount of HIV in the body (viral load) to a very low level, which keeps the immune system working and prevents illness.

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 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.

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.

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 to prevent HIV infection?

People who are HIV-negative can prevent getting HIV by using PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a way to prevent HIV infection after a recent possible exposure to the virus. There are other ways to prevent getting or transmitting HIV through injection drug use and sexual activity. Topics.

What is not spread by HIV?

HIV is not spread by: Air or water. Mosquitoes, ticks or other insects. Saliva, tears, or sweat that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV. Shaking hands; hugging; sharing toilets; sharing dishes, silverware, or drinking glasses; or engaging in closed-mouth or “social” kissing with a person with HIV. Drinking fountains.

What fluids are HIV in?

Blood. Semen ( cum) and pre-seminal fluid. Rectal fluids. Vaginal fluids. Breast milk. For transmission to occur, the HIV in these fluids must get into the bloodstream of an HIV-negative person through a mucous membrane (found in the rectum, vagina, mouth, or tip of the penis); open cuts or sores; or by direct injection.

What is viral load?

Viral load is the amount of HIV in the blood of someone who has HIV. Taking HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) daily as prescribed can make the viral load very low—so low that a test can’t detect it (this is called an undetectable viral load).

What happens if you don't get HIV?

If you have HIV and you are not on HIV treatment, eventually your body’s immune system will weaken and you will progress to AIDS. People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune systems that they get a number of severe illnesses, called opportunistic infections.

Why is the risk of getting bitten by a person with HIV so small?

The risk is extremely small these days because of rigorous testing of the U.S. blood supply and donated organs and tissues. Being bitten by a person with HIV. Each of the very small number of documented cases has involved severe trauma with extensive tissue damage and the presence of blood.

Does HIV medicine work?

HIV medicine is a powerful tool for preventing sexual transmission of HIV. But it works only as long as the HIV-positive partner gets and keeps an undetectable viral load. Not everyone taking HIV medicine has an undetectable viral load.

Answer

I believe the correct answer is: HIV is spread during unprotected sex or through contact with infected blood; it cannot be cured, but early treatment can minimize the long-term consequences.

Answer

The HIV is spread in unprotected sex or through contact with an infected blood. Although it cannot be cured but still the early treatment can reduce the long term consequences.

New questions in Biology

Example: 1. Problem: I want to know if a bean plant will grow more quickly outside or inside. Which will grow more quickly in the period of 3 weeks - …

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.

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.

What is drug resistance in HIV?

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.

How long do HIV side effects last?

Some side effects can occur once you start a medicine and may only last a few days or weeks.

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.

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.

Can HIV be drug resistant?

A person can initially be infected with drug-resistant HIV or develop drug-resistant HIV after starting HIV medicines. Drug-resistant HIV also can spread from person to person. Drug-resistance testing identifies which, if any, HIV medicines won’t be effective against your specific strain of HIV.

How to treat HIV?

Take HIV medicines daily. Treatment with HIV medicines (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART can't cure HIV, but it can reduce the amount of HIV in the body (called the viral load ). One of the main goals of ART 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 an HIV-negative partner through sex.

How to prevent HIV transmission?

Here are some other steps you can take to prevent HIV transmission: Use condoms correctly every time you have sex. Talk to your partner about taking PrEP.

How can HIV be transmitted?

The person-to-person spread of HIV is called HIV transmission. People can get or transmit HIV only through specific activities, such as through sex or injection drug use. HIV can be transmitted only in certain body fluids from a person who has HIV: Blood. Semen.

What fluids are used to treat HIV?

These fluids are blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. To reduce your risk of HIV, use condoms correctly every time you have sex. Don’t inject drugs. If you do, use only sterile injection equipment and water and never share your equipment with others.

What is a PrEP?

PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who don't have HIV but who are at risk of getting HIV. PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day to reduce the risk of getting HIV through sex or injection drug use. For more information, read the ClinicalInfo fact sheet on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

Why do pregnant women get HIV?

Pregnant women with HIV take HIV medicines for their own health and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. After birth, babies born to women with HIV receive HIV medicine to protect them from infection with any HIV that may have passed from mother to child during childbirth.

How to increase the risk of HIV?

Both of these factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission. Get tested and treated for STDs. Insist that your partners get tested and treated, too. Having an STD can increase your risk of getting HIV or spreading it to others. Talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

What is the DHHS HIV guidelines?

The DHHS HIV guidelines help inform healthcare professionals of the best ways to treat HIV based on the latest clinical evidence and expert opinions. In this article, we break down some of the key points of the DHHS guidelines and what to know about the most recent changes.

What are the different types of HIV drugs?

Types of drugs. Initial HIV treatment generally consists of two medications called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in combination with a third active antiret roviral (ARV) drug from one of three drug classes: integrase strand transfer inhibitors. non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

What is the purpose of the DHHS guidelines?

The main goal of the DHHS guidelines is to offer recommendations to healthcare professionals on the best treatment options for people with HIV. The guidelines are written and updated based on the most recent scientific evidence. Doctors can consult these guidelines to determine the right treatment at various stages of HIV.

What is the DHHS?

Current guidelines. Recent updates. HIV resources. Bottom line. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the U.S. federal government agency responsible for protecting the health of the American public. The DHHS HIV guidelines help inform healthcare professionals of the best ways to treat HIV based on the latest clinical evidence ...

Why is ART recommended for HIV patients?

ART is recommended for all people with HIV to reduce the chances of severe illness, death, and transmission. People with a new diagnosis of HIV should start ART as soon as possible. Genetic testing is recommended at the beginning of treatment to screen for potential drug resistance.

What happens if a viral load is over 200?

If a person’s viral load rises over 200 copies per milliliter, a barrier method should be used until the virus is resuppressed. People should be informed that maintaining a viral load under 200 copies per milliliter doesn’t stop the transmission of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

What is a slash between a protease inhibitor and a pharmacokinetic enhancer

The following drug regimens are classified as “recommended initial regimens for most people with HIV.”. A slash (/) between medications means they’re available as a combination drug within the same pill: bictegravir/tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine.

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